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When Citi unveiled its all-new Citi Strata Elite℠ Card, it also announced an overhaul to the Citi Strata℠ Card.
The Citi Strata Card, which replaces the Citi Rewards+ Card (no longer available), offers a way to earn Citi ThankYou® Rewards in a number of helpful categories, like at supermarkets and transit, and in one category of your choosing. Considering the card has a $0 annual fee, it offers a fairly low-pressure entry into the Citi Rewards family.
The Citi Strata℠ Card is a solid rewards credit card that earns in several everyday spending categories, with no annual fee.
- No annual fee
- Customizable earnings category
- Earns transferable rewards
- Has foreign transaction fees
- Fewer built-in benefits
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 30,000 bonus Points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months; after that, the variable APR will be 19.24% – 29.24%, based on your creditworthiness. There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
- Earn 3 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent in an eligible Self-Select Category of your choice (Fitness Clubs, Select Streaming Services, Live Entertainment, Cosmetic Stores/Barber Shops/Hair Salons, or Pet Supply Stores). Choose your eligible Self-Select Category on Citi Online or by calling customer service. The default Self-Select Category is Select Streaming Services.
- Earn 5 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals and Attractions booked on Citi Travel® via cititravel.com; earn 3 ThankYou Points for each $1 spent at Supermarkets, on Select Transit purchases, and at Gas & EV Charging Stations.
- Earn 2 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent at Restaurants; earn 1 ThankYou® Point for each $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
- No Annual Fee
Balance transfer fee
There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. A balance transfer fee of 5%of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies if completed after 4 months of account opening.
Welcome bonus
TheCiti Strata Card has a limited-time welcome offer of 30,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first three months of account opening.
The card earns its bonus in the form of Citi ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for a range of rewards at varying rates. Citi ThankYou® Points are generally valued at roughly 1.75 cents per point by the industry, so this welcome bonus is worth about $525.
Benefits and perks
With the Citi Strata Card having no annual fee, it’s not unexpected for the additional benefits to be a little slimmer:
- Access to Citi Entertainment®: Get special access to thousands of events, including presale tickets and exclusive experiences
- Mastercard ID Theft Protection: This Mastercard program can monitor the information you choose to protect and alert you if suspicious activity is found. Enrollment is required but complimentary.
- Citi Shop®: A free browser extension, available exclusively to eligible Citi cardmembers, that helps you save by finding offers and coupons in the background.
The Citi Strata Card, unsurprisingly, doesn’t offer any kind of travel or rental car insurance, which is something to keep in mind if you’re searching for this protection.
How to earn and redeem Citi ThankYou® Points
Earning
For a no annual fee card, the Citi Strata offers some strong earning opportunities:
- Earn 5X points on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on Citi Travel® via cititravel.com
- Earn 3X points on an eligible self-select category of your choice (fitness clubs, select streaming services, live entertainment, cosmetic stores/barber shops/hair salons or pet supply stores)
- Earn 3X points at supermarkets
- Earn 3X points on select transit purchases
- Earn 3X points at gas & EV charging stations
- Earn 2X points when spending at restaurants, including restaurant delivery services
- Earn 1X points on all other purchases
The ability to earn 3X points in a category of your choice is a nice addition for those looking for increased flexibility in their card, and the card earns in some key everyday categories like supermarkets and gas stations. If you’re someone who enjoys going to restaurants, the 2X points the card offers are nice, but can be outpaced by some other more dining-focused options. While the 5X earned via Citi Travel purchases is a good rate, booking through a travel portal often means jumping through more hoops.
Redeeming
When redeeming ThankYou® Points earned by your Citi Strata Card, you have several options to choose from:
- Travel
- Gifts cards
- Cash back
- Shopping via select retailers
- Charitable donations
While options like cash back and gift cards are usually the simplest, they often don’t provide you with the best value. You’ll often get the most bang for your buck when transferring your rewards to select travel rewards programs, including:
- ALL Accor Live Limitless
- Aeromexico
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Choice Privileges
- Emirate Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- EVA Air
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Leaders Club
- Preferred Hotels & Resorts
- Quantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Shop Your Way
- Singapore Airlines
- Thai Royal Orchard Plus
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club & Virgin Red
- Wyndham Rewards
Being a cardholder of the Citi Strata Elite, Citi Strata Premier® Card (see rates and fees) or Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available) will unlock even more transfer opportunities with AAdvantage® miles and better conversion rates. Many rewards programs use dynamic pricing, meaning the exact value of your points may vary slightly based on seasonality and demand.
The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card aims to brings premium restaurant rewards and travel benefits to users, including an annual hotel benefit of $300.
- High rewards rate on travel
- 6X on restaurants
- Can transfer points to American Airlines at a 1:1 rate
- Up to $200 annual splurge credit
- High annual fee
- Limited rewards categories
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 80,000 bonus Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com and 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com
- Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time
- Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
- Up to $300 Annual Hotel Benefit: Each calendar year, enjoy up to $300 off a hotel stay of two nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
Balance transfer fee
Balance transfer fee applies with this offer 5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum.
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.
- Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 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
Balance transfer fee applies with this offer 5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum.
Rates and fees
The Citi Strata Card does not charge an annual fee, but does charge a late or refunded payment fee of up to $41.
Card comparison
Citi Strata Card vs. Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express has no annual fee and earns bonus rewards on a wide range of common expenditures.
- Up to $264 in streaming service and meal kit credits every year (subject to auto renewal)
- High cash-back rates in popular spending categories
- No annual fee
- The best bonus cash-back categories are capped
- Has a foreign transaction fee
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select’s editorial staff.
- Earn a $200 statement credit after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.
- No Annual Fee.
- Enjoy 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months from the date of account opening. After that, 20.24% to 29.24% variable APR.
- Plan It®: Buy now, pay later with Plan It. Split purchases of $100 or more into equal monthly installments with a fixed fee so you don’t have the pressure of paying all at once. Simply select the purchase in your online account or the American Express® App to see your plan options. Plus, you’ll still earn rewards on purchases the way you usually do.
- Earn 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, 3% cash back on U.S. online retail purchases, 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations, on eligible purchases for each category on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%). Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit and at Amazon.com checkout.
- Get up to a $7 monthly statement credit after using your enrolled Blue Cash Everyday® Card for a subscription purchase, including a bundle subscription purchase, at Disneyplus.com, Hulu.com, or Plus.espn.com U.S. websites. Subject to auto-renewal.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you’re approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you’re approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Balance transfer fee
Either$5or3%of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee
2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars
The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express is another no-annual-fee card (see rates and fees) that offers rewards in useful categories, earning 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, gas stations and online retail purchases. Each of these categories is capped at up to $6,000 a year on eligible purchases, then you’ll earn 1%. The card also offers an $84 Disney streaming credit in the form of up to $7 back per month as a statement credit when using your Blue Cash Card for the purchase.
When comparing this card to the Citi Strata, both have similar earning rates but in different categories. For example, the Blue Cash Everyday earns on online purchases, compared to the Citi Strata offering restaurants as a rewards category. The two cards also earn points in different ecosystems with differing transfer partner options, which is something to keep in mind if you’re considering travel redemption.
Citi Strata 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 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase TravelSM, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
- Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase TravelSM
- 10% anniversary points boost – each account anniversary you’ll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
If you’re looking for a card with a little more of an emphasis on travel, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) comes with 2X rewards on travel purchases and a $50 annual Chase Travel hotel credit in the form of a statement credit. The card also offers numerous travel protections, and the Ultimate Rewards® points it earns are among the most valuable credit card rewards due to Chase’s transfer partners.
While the Sapphire Preferred does have an annual fee, the $95 charge can be recouped fairly quickly through the hotel credit and through over $200 in partnership benefits via DoorDash and Lyft. The card offers less customization than what you get with the Citi Strata, but it’s better aligned for those who are interested in using their card for travel.
Is the Citi Strata Card right for you?
The Citi Strata Card is a strong $0 annual fee card. It offers rates of up to 5X points when booking via Citi Travel and earns rewards on common purchases, making it easier to save up your points for redemption. Citi Strata cardholders get access to Citi’s rewards ecosystem, too.
The card doesn’t offer many additional benefits or come with any statement credits, both of which are more common with premium cards. For those interested in a no-annual-fee card that earns rewards on everyday purchases, the Citi Strata Card is the perfect fit.
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For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, click here.
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.
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