The Citi Strata Premier® Card is great in many respects, but in a head-to-head battle, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) is the winner. With the Sapphire Preferred Card, you'll have an easier time redeeming points for good value and will enjoy more travel protections and perks. However, the Strata Premier edges out the Sapphire Preferred Card when it comes to earning points on purchases.
CNBC Select walks you through the benefits of both travel credit cards so you can choose the one that best aligns with your spending habits.
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
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.
Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Citi Strata Premier
Welcome bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is offering new cardholders the chance to earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Chase Ultimate Rewards® can be redeemed for one cent each as cash back.
Citi Strata Premier® Card
- New Citi Strata Premier® Card members can earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first three months of account opening.
- ThankYou® Points are redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
With both cards, you can also transfer points to hotel and airline loyalty programs. This option allows you to book expensive hotels or flights with your points, which can greatly increase the value you receive for your rewards.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred
Annual fee
Both of these travel credit cards have a $95 annual fee.
Winner: Tie.
Earning points
If you want to earn loads of points, both of these cards can help you meet that goal.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining
- 3X points on select streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (not including Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel purchases
- 1X points on all other purchases
Citi Strata Premier® Card
- 10X points on hotels, car rentals and attractions when booked through CitiTravel.com
- 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 and EV charging stations
- 1X points on all other purchases
The Strata Premier offers a higher rate of return on hotels than the Sapphire Preferred, and that advantage extends to airfare when you aren't booking through the card issuer's travel portal. The Strata Premier also earns more on common expenses such as supermarkets (not just online groceries) and at gas stations and EV charging stations. The only spending categories where it loses out to the Sapphire Preferred are streaming services, Lyft rides and certain Peloton purchases (relatively small or rare expenses for most people) and travel purchases that aren't airfare or hotels.
Winner: Citi Strata Premier
Redeeming points
Earning rewards is only half of the equation with a travel card, your redemption options matter just as much. Both of these cards offer a range of redemptions that provide one cent per point in value, including cash back and gift cards.
But if you want to get the most value out of either card, then you'll want to look at the transfer partners.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
With the Sapphire Preferred, you can transfer Chase points to these airline and hotel programs at a 1:1 ratio:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- British Airways Executive Club
- Emirates Skywards
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- Iberia Plus
- IHG One Rewards
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Marriott Bonvoy
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Rapid Rewards
- United Airlines MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- World of Hyatt
Citi Strata Premier® Card
The Citi Strata Premier® Card allows you to transfer your Citi ThankYou® Points to the following travel programs at a 1:1 ratio unless otherwise noted:
- Aeromexico Rewards
- Accor Live Limitless (2:1)
- Avianca Lifemiles
- Cathay Pacific Cathay
- Choice Privileges (1:2)
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club (5:1)
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Wyndham Rewards
How they compare
Sapphire Preferred cardholders have access to several exceptionally valuable and useful loyalty programs. World of Hyatt is a lucrative program that allows you to book less expensive hotels starting at 3,500 points and luxury locations for 25,000 to 45,000 points. You can also transfer points to book flights with all three major airline alliances (Oneworld, Star Alliance, SkyTeam) and several non-alliance airlines such as JetBlue, Southwest and Emirates.
Citi's transfer partners also unlock the ability to book rewards with all three of the biggest airline alliances and you get access to non-alliance airlines such as Etihad, Emirates and JetBlue. However, Citi ThankYou® Points aren't as versatile when it comes to booking hotels. On top of that, ThankYou® Points are only worth one cent each if you prefer to keep things simple by using points to pay for CitiTravel.com bookings.
At the end of the day, the best card for redeeming points will depend on where you want to go and how to prefer to use travel rewards. That said, the Chase Sapphire Preferred provides cardholders more avenues for earning a value higher than one cent per point on their redemptions.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred
Additional perks
Consumers with either card you'll benefit from no foreign transaction fees and both cards are widely accepted.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders enjoy strong travel and shopping protections, including:
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
- Primary rental car collision coverage
- Baggage delay insurance
- Trip delay reimbursement
- Travel and emergency assistance services
- Purchase protection
- Extended warranty protection
The Sapphire Preferred also comes with a 10% points bonus every card anniversary, this bonus is based on the previous year's purchases. If you spent $10,000, you would earn 1,000 bonus points. It also has an annual $50 statement credit for hotels you book through Chase Chase TravelSM.
Chase also has a handful of partnerships that provide additional value for cardholders who use these services. This includes: Complimentary DoorDash DashPass for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027
Citi Strata Premier® Card
The Citi Strata Premier® Card has fewer benefits, but cardholders do receive $100 off a single hotel stay that costs $500 or more when booked through CitiTravel.com. You can use this perk once per calendar year.
The card also has several insurance benefits, including coverage for the following:
- Trip delay
- Trip cancellation and interruption
- Lost or damaged luggage
- Rental cars (MasterRental®)
Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred.
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.
