Citi Strata Premier Card offers enhanced travel insurance and additional benefits.
The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, which is a rebranded version of the popular Citi Premier® travel credit card, now includes additional travel protections, bonus spending categories, and a limited-time welcome offer.
To be eligible for the intro bonus of this card, you need to understand its benefits.
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card details
The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card earns transferable Citi ThankYou points and offers a welcome bonus worth 70,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months of account opening.
The bonus you receive is worth $700 in gift cards, cash back or travel (booked through thankyou.com). To increase the value of your points, you can transfer them to any Citi ThankYou travel partners, including Air France/KLM (Flying Blue), Avianca, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. By transferring your points, you unlock new opportunities.
You can use the monthly Flying Blue promo rewards to book two round-trip economy awards flights from the U.S. to Europe, which can cost over $500 per person. Alternatively, you can transfer 70,000 points to Avianca LifeMiles to book two round-trip economy awards flights from the U.S. to the Caribbean.
New Citi Strata Premier Card benefits
The new Citi Strata Premier card is mostly the same as the Premier card it replaces, with the exception of a new name and some travel protections.
The Strata Premier has made permanent the limited-time spending category bonus of 10X points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions when booked through CitiTravel.com, and you can now earn 3X points at EV charging stations.
The new travel coverages introduced with the Strata Premier are particularly noteworthy.
- Trip cancellation/interruption
- Lost or damaged luggage
- MasterRental coverage (car rental insurance)
What's staying the same with the Citi Strata Premier Card?
The annual fee for the Citi Strata Premier card will remain at $95, and you will still receive:
- 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 will still receive an annual hotel benefit of $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more when booking through CitiTravel.com. Additionally, this card has no foreign transaction fees and provides access to Citi Entertainment, as well as all the same Citi ThankYou transfer partners.
You can convert your cash-back rewards from a Citi cash-back card, such as the Citi Double Cash® Card or the Citi Custom Cash® Card, into fully transferrable points when paired with the Citi Strata.
How to qualify for the Citi Strata Premier Card
To be eligible for the Citi Strata Premier, you must have a good-to-excellent credit score. Additionally, there is a restriction on earning the intro bonus for this card. If you have received an intro bonus for the Strata Premier or Premier card within the last 48 months, you cannot earn the bonus again with a new Strata Premier Card.
The 48-month restriction on earning the Strata Premier's bonus applies from the date you received the intro bonus points, not from the date 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 to be able to earn the Strata Premier's bonus.
Alternatives to the Citi Strata Premier Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Strata Premier Card have the same annual fee and comparable benefits, including transferrable travel rewards and extensive travel and purchase protections. However, upon closer examination, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offers some advantages over the Citi card.
Chase's airline and hotel transfer partners, such as World of Hyatt, Southwest Rapid Rewards, and Air Canada Aeroplan, make its network one of the best in the travel rewards space. Additionally, the Sapphire Preferred offers more robust protections than the Strata Premier, including purchase protection, extended warranty protection, and travel insurance.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers a strong option for everyday purchases outside of standard bonus categories, earning at least 2X miles on every purchase. Additionally, it allows you to transfer miles to a strong list of partner travel programs or offset travel purchases with miles at a rate of one cent each.
Bottom line
The Citi Strata Premier Card has replaced the Citi Premier Card, with only a few changes to its benefits. The biggest improvement is the addition of travel insurance perks.
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