Citi has rebranded its popular mid-tier Citi Premier® travel credit card as the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card. The new Strata Premier Card is nearly identical to the old Citi Premier except it has additional travel protections, bonus spending categories and a new limited-time welcome offer.
If you’re interested in applying for this card, here’s what you need to know about the card’s benefits and how to qualify for the intro bonus.
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card
Rewards
Earn 10 points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.; 3 points per $1 on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases, at Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas and EV Charging Stations; 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Welcome bonus
Earn 70,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $700 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com
Annual fee
Intro APR
Regular APR
Balance transfer fee
5% of each balance transfer, $5 minimum
Foreign transaction fee
Credit needed
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card details
The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card earns transferrable Citi ThankYou points and earns them in bunches. It also currently offers a welcome bonus worth 70,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months of account opening.
This bonus is worth $700 in gift cards, cash back or travel (booked through thankyou.com). To potentially get even greater value, you can also transfer these points to any Citi ThankYou travel partners, including Air France/KLM (Flying Blue), Avianca, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. Having the option to transfer your points unlocks all sorts of opportunities.
For example, you could take advantage of the monthly Flying Blue promo rewards and use the bonus points to book two round-trip economy awards flights from the U.S. to Europe which can easily cost over $500 a person depending on your itinerary. Want to go somewhere a little more tropical? Transfer those 70,000 points to Avianca LifeMiles and you have enough to book two round-trip economy awards flights from the U.S. to the Caribbean.
New Citi Strata Premier Card benefits
Aside from a new name and some travel protections, the new Citi Strata Premier is mostly the same as the Premier card it replaces.
One change is that the Strata Premier is making permanent the old Premier’s limited-time spending category bonus of 10X points on hotels, car rentals and attractions when booked through CitiTravel.com You’re also now able to earn 3X at EV charging stations.
But the most notable changes with the Strata Premier are the new travel coverages, including:
- Trip cancellation/interruption
- Trip delay
- Lost or damaged luggage
- MasterRental coverage (car rental insurance)
What’s staying the same with the Citi Strata Premier Card?
The Citi Strata Premier’s annual fee is staying at $95, and you’ll continue to earn:
- 3X points on air travel
- 3X points on hotels (not booked through CitiTravel.com)
- 3X points at restaurants
- 3X points at supermarkets
- 3X points at gas stations
- 1X points on all other purchases
You’ll still receive an annual hotel benefit valid for $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more that you book through CitiTravel.com. This card continues to have no foreign transaction fees and access to Citi Entertainment as well as all of the same Citi ThankYou transfer partners.
As before, if you have a Citi cash-back card, such as the Citi Double Cash® Card or the Citi Custom Cash® Card, you can pair it with the Citi Strata to convert your cash-back rewards into fully transferrable points.
Citi Double Cash® Card
Rewards
Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time. Plus, for a limited time, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24
Welcome bonus
Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
Annual fee
Intro APR
0% for the first 18 months on balance transfers; N/A for purchases
Regular APR
Balance transfer fee
For balance transfers completed within 4 months of account opening, an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies; after that, a balance transfer fee of 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies
Foreign transaction fee
Credit needed
Citi Custom Cash® Card
Rewards
Earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1% cash back thereafter. Also, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. Special Travel Offer: Earn an additional 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/2025.
Welcome bonus
Earn $200 in cash back after you spend $1500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
Annual fee
Intro APR
0% APR on balance transfers and purchases for first 15 months
Regular APR
Balance transfer fee
5% of each balance transfer ($5 minimum)
Foreign transaction fee
Credit needed
How to qualify for the Citi Strata Premier Card
You’ll want a good-to-excellent credit score to have the best chance of being approved for the Citi Strata Premier. There is also an additional restriction for qualifying for this card’s intro bonus. If you’ve received an intro bonus for the Strata Premier or the Premier card within the last 48 months, you can’t earn the bonus again with a new Strata Premier Card.
It’s important to note that this 48-month restriction applies to when you received the intro bonus points, not when you opened the account. If you opened a Citi Premier card in April of 2020 but didn’t earn the intro bonus until early July 2020, you have to wait 48 months from July — not April — to be able to earn the Strata Premier’s bonus.
Alternatives to the Citi Strata Premier Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card charges the same annual fee as the Strata Premier Card and offers similar benefits. It too earns transferrable travel rewards and has a long list of travel and purchase protections. But while the cards seem similar on the surface, dig a bit deeper and you’ll find the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card has a few advantages over the Citi card.
The Chase Ultimate Rewards airline and hotel transfer partners include programs such as World of Hyatt, Southwest Rapid Rewards and Air Canada Aeroplan, which help make Chase’s network one of the best in the travel rewards space. The Sapphire Preferred also features more robust protections than the Strata Premier, including purchase protection and extended warranty protection on top of travel insurance.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Rewards
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, and $50 annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
Welcome bonus
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s over $900 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
Annual fee
Intro APR
Regular APR
21.49% – 28.49% variable on purchases and balance transfers
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
Foreign transaction fee
Credit needed
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees) doesn’t have the same long list of bonus spending categories you get with the Strata Premier. Instead, it earns at least 2X miles on every purchase, which makes it a strong option for everyday purchases outside of standard bonus categories. The Capital One Venture Rewards also allows you to transfer miles to a strong list of partner travel programs or keep things simple by offsetting travel purchases with miles at a rate of one cent each.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Rewards
5 Miles per dollar on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 2X miles per dollar on every other purchase
Welcome bonus
Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
Annual fee
Intro APR
N/A for purchases and balance transfers
Regular APR
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
Credit needed
Bottom line
The Citi Premier Card is now the Citi Strata Premier. With this renaming, a few of the benefits are changing, but it is largely the same card. However, the biggest weakness of the Citi Premier has been solved with this update, which includes the addition of travel insurance perks.
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 personal finance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of financial 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.
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.
