Why We Like the Citi Strata PremierĀ® Card
The Citi Strata PremierĀ® Card (formerly Citi PremierĀ® Card) remains one of our favorite midātier travel rewards cards. This card is issued by Citi, a partner of Travel Freely, and it earns strong bonus points on a wide range of everyday categoriesālike dining, groceries, gas, and travelāand offers flexible ThankYouĀ® points that can be transferred to airline and hotel partners or redeemed for travel within the Citi TravelĀ® portal. Itās a solid choice for travelers looking to diversify their points strategy beyond Chase and Amex.
Here’s the current offer:
Citi is an advertising partner of Travel Freely.
This is an excellent rewards credit card with a solid signup bonus and 3x spending categories. Read the application rule carefully regarding "48 months." Terms apply.
I talk a lot about the Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card
If you are familiar with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, then think of the Citi Strata Premier as Citiās version. It is VERY similar. The Citi Strata Premier is a flexible point currency card earning ThankYouĀ® Points that can be used for lots of different types of travel: airfare, hotels, and rental cars. Additionally, you can transfer ThankYou points to Citiās many airline and hotel transfer partners.
Here’s why the card is worth it:
1. Redemption options
a) Earn huge value when transferring your points to one of Citi’s transfer partners for business class to Europe. It takes some research, but it’s very possible. This is on my mind because I’ve had success myself booking $10,000 worth of business and first class tickets for Europe via Citi partners. I booked a $6,200 business class flight on Air France for 72,000 miles and a $4,120 first class suite on Emirates for 85,000 miles. Other people have been able to book Delta business class for as little as 50,000 miles when using Citi partner Virgin Atlantic to book Delta flights via Virgin’s website. Now that Citi transfers to American Airlines AAdvantage, youāll also have access to some of the worldās best premium cabins, including Qatar Airways QSuites, Cathay Pacific business class, and Etihad First Class.
b) Earn free travel when using the travel portal or redeem for statement credits. For beginners, if you decide that you don’t want to transfer your points to one of Citi’s transfer partners, we previously recommended redeeming for statement credits instead of using the Citi Travel portal but now we recommend seriously weighing the 2 options. This is because as of 8/24/25, the cash back rate for the Citi Strata Premier (and Citi Prestige) decreased to 0.75 cents per point (originally 1 cent per point). Since the value in the portal remains the same at 1 cent per point, there’s now real upside to using the travel portal. For example, let’s say there’s a 60,000 point bonus offer, this will allow you to book $600 worth of travel. If you decide to instead cash out the points to book directly with the airline or hotel you gain access to your elite benefits but you’ll be doing so at a lower cash value rate. 60,000 ThankYou points will result in only $450 cash back. With cash back, you’ll still use your points for travel, but just in a different way and for less cash value.
My first-class suite on Emirates from Milan to JFK.
2. Great value with transfer partners
One of the best ways to make use of your signup bonus is to transfer your points to one of Citi’s many airline partners for great value. Some of our favorite redemptions are:
- American Airlines for domestic flights on AA and Alaska Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic for short nonstop Delta flights
- Virgin Atlantic for nonstop Delta flights to Europe in business class
- Cathay Pacific for oneworld flights (AA, Alaska, British Airways, etc.)
- JetBlue for flights domestically or to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean
- Emirates for first class
- Air France for business class to Europe
- Avianca for United and other Star Alliance flights
3. Hawaii for dirt cheap
People have been successful in transferring ThankYou points to Turkish Airlines to book very cheap flights to Hawaii using points (the flights are with United Airlines, but you use Turkish miles to book the flights). Fair warning, it can be difficult to make this happen. So, do not believe other sites when they say this is easy to do. It takes some research, but it is possible. I did this in 2020 to book 3 roundtrip tickets to Maui for 45,000 points total! Unfortunately, I had to cancel due to Covid.
4. Earn 3x points on lots of expenses
Apart from the signup bonus, the spending categories on this card rival those of some of the top travel rewards cards out there. From your everyday spending to your travel expenses and dining out, you’ll quickly rack up points on purchases with the Citi Strata Premier Card.
- 10x on hotel, car rental and attraction bookings through Citi directly
- 3x at restaurants
- 3x on gas and EV charging stations
- 3x at supermarkets
- 3x on airfare and hotels (when not booked through CitiTravel.com)
- 1x on everything else
5. Purchase protections
a) Extended Warranty: This card has been my go-to card when we buy our cell phones and computers. Weāve gotten 2 cell phones replaced because we were still under warranty. Citi extends the manufacturerās warranty by 24 months on items with a manufacturerās warranty of 5 years or less. This is the best extended warranty coverage of any issuer. Extra tip: I also bought our MacBook with this card at Costco. Citi’s extra 24 months kicked in after Costco’s extra warranty expired.
b) Damage and Theft Protection: Covers your new purchases for 90 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per calendar year.
6. Extra value: $100 hotel credit
Once per year you can apply a coupon for $100 off on an after-tax hotel booking of $500 or more. Unfortunately, you have to book through Citiās ThankYou portal, which has been historically overpriced and does not allow access to hotel member rates, AAA rates, or other discounted rates. In other words, this perk wonāt save you a full $100 in many situations.
7. Travel protections
Notable travel protections include:
- Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption
- Trip Delay Protections
- Lost or Damaged Luggage
- MasterRental Coverage (car rental insurance)
Citi Strata Premier Application Tips
a) 48 Month Rule (ThankYou Cards): For the Citi ThankYou cards, to get the same card again, it must be 48 months since you last received a new account bonus. Additionally, if you converted another Citi credit card account into a Citi Premier or Citi Strata Premier account, it must be 48 months since you received a new account bonus on the original Citi credit card.
Previously, downgrading and closing cards were known to impact your new bonus eligibility but that no longer appears to be the case.
b) Velocity Rules: Citi will approve 1 personal card per 8 days and 2 personal cards per 65 days.
c) Already have the Citi Strata Premier (formerly the Citi Premier)? Citi allows you to get this card again (even if the card is still open). To get this card, you must not have received a new cardmember bonus for Citi Rewards+ (no longer available), Citi ThankYou Preferred, Citi Premier/Citi Strata Premier, Citi Strata, Citi Strata Elite or the Citi Prestige (no longer available), in the past 48 months. Additionally, if you converted another Citi credit card account into a Citi Premier or Citi Strata Premier account, it must be 48 months since you received a new account bonus on the original Citi credit card. Translation: If you currently have one of those cards and would like to close it to get a new Citi Strata Premier card, be sure to open your new Strata Premier card before closing any of those other cards.
Want to apply?
Please consider using our link below:
Citi is an advertising partner of Travel Freely.
This is an excellent rewards credit card with a solid signup bonus and 3x spending categories. Read the application rule carefully regarding "48 months." Terms apply.
To check on your application status, call 800-763-9795 (personal card application status) 7am-midnight EST 7 days a week.
If denied, call reconsideration here: 800-695-5171 (personal), and consider using our article on Strategy for Denied or Pending Applications for help.
Want to do more research? Check out our Citi Strata Premier Complete Guide.
