The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card has competitive rewards rates and unlocks access to all of the Citi ThankYou® transfer partners, which boosts the value of your points.
- Unlocks point transfers to all of the Citi ThankYou® partners, including Emirates Skywards, Choice Privileges, Flying Blue and more
- Generous bonus spending categories include dining, supermarkets, hotels and flights
- Valuable welcome bonus
- Has an annual fee
- Car rental coverage is secondary, not primary
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select’s editorial staff.
- For a limited time, earn 75,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $750 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
- Earn 10 points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.
- Earn 3 points per $1 on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases, at Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas and EV Charging Stations.
- Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- $100 Annual Hotel Benefit: Once per calendar year, enjoy $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through CitiTravel.com. Benefit applied instantly at time of booking.
- No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
Balance transfer fee
5% of each balance transfer, $5 minimum
Welcome bonus
Benefits and perks
The card also includes several important travel and shopping protections, such as:
Find the best credit card for you by reviewing offers in our credit card marketplace or get personalized offers via CardMatch™.
How to earn and redeem rewards
Earning Citi ThankYou® Points
The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card earns rewards at the following rates:
- 10X points on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com
- 3X points on air travel and other hotel purchases
- 3X points at restaurants
- 3X points at supermarkets
- 3X points on gas and EV charging stations
- 1X points on all other purchases
Redeeming Citi ThankYou® Points
The value of Citi ThankYou® Points varies depending on how you redeem them, but a baseline value is one cent per point.
You can cash out ThankYou® Points for a statement credit, direct deposit or check at one cent per point. You’ll get that same return when redeeming points for gift cards or Citi Travel bookings. Since you can use the cash or gift cards for whatever you want, you’ll want to avoid redemptions that get you less than one cent per point, such as using points for Amazon purchases.
The best way to get the most value out of your points is usually to transfer them to one of the many hotel or airline loyalty programs Citi partners with. You can transfer ThankYou® Points to a long list of partners, including Etihad Guest, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Choice Privileges and many more. This allows you to pick and choose the best program for the travel you want to book.
For domestic flights on United Airlines, you could transfer points to Turkish Airlines which only charges 20,000 miles per roundtrip flight within the U.S. Plus, ThankYou® Points could become more valuable with Citi taking over as the exclusive American Airlines card issuer in 2026. This has led to speculation that American Airlines’ AAdvantage program could eventually become a Citi transfer partner.
When you’re ready to book hotels, you’ll have transfer options for that as well. ThankYou® Points transfer to Choice Privileges at a 1:2 ratio, and Choice charges 8,000 to 35,000 points per night for most hotels (some luxury hotels can cost 55,000+ per night). So it wouldn’t be unrealistic to book a five- or seven-night stay with the Citi Strata Premier Card’s welcome bonus.
Rates and fees
Card comparison
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card packs a punch for a $95 annual fee card, offering annual travel credits, comprehensive travel protections and more.
- You can transfer rewards to all of Chase’s travel partners including World of Hyatt, Southwest Rapid Rewards and many more
- Long list of travel and shopping protections
- $50 annual Chase Travel hotel credit
- Has an annual fee
- Requires a high credit score
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select’s editorial staff.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
The Strata Premier earns more rewards on gas and EV charging, on airfare and hotel bookings and at supermarkets. The Sapphire Preferred earns more on select streaming services and travel purchases that aren’t flights or hotel bookings. Streaming services are usually a small part of any budget and flights and hotels are typically the most expensive travel costs, so the Citi Strata Premier is likely to be more rewarding for most people.
However, if you want better benefits, the Sapphire Preferred offers more. It has all of the insurance perks provided by the Strata Premier plus travel accident insurance and baggage delay insurance. Plus, its car rental collision coverage is primary, which can easily save you $15 or more a day. You’ll get a 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point) when you redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards® points through Chase TravelSM and a 10% points bonus every card anniversary (based on your spending for the previous year).
Learn more: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has a reasonable annual fee and earns flexible travel rewards, which makes it a great travel card for beginners or heavy travelers.
- Valuable welcome offer worth at least $750 in travel
- You can transfer miles to over 15 Capital One partners, including Emirates Skywards, Choice Privileges and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- No foreign transaction fees
- Lacks ongoing travel benefits such as statement credits or lounge access
- Limited bonus spending category that only applies to certain Capital One Travel bookings
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select’s editorial staff.
- Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you’ll get Capital One’s best prices on thousands of trip options
- Miles won’t expire for the life of the account and there’s no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
Balance transfer fee
$0 at the Transfer APR, 4% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you
Foreign transaction fee
Is the Citi Strata Premier Card right for you?
Subscribe to the CNBC Select Newsletter!
Money matters — so make the most of it. Get expert tips, strategies, news and everything else you need to maximize your money, right to your inbox. Sign up here.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
Catch up on CNBC Select’s in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.
Information about the Citi Custom Cash® Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.
Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
