Citi is an advertising partner. Citi is no longer accepting applications for the Citi Custom Cash® Card product as of May 28, 2026.
The Citi Strata Premier® Card has almost everything you could want in a travel credit card. You'll get a hefty welcome bonus, access to travel protections and earn transferable rewards at generous rates. Plus, having this card instantly makes the rewards you earn with other Citi credit cards (like the Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees) or Citi Custom Cash® Card) more valuable.
CNBC Select details the rewards, benefits and fees of the Citi Strata Premier to help you decide if it's the right credit card for you.
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.
Welcome bonus
After you're approved for the Citi Strata Premier® Card, you can earn a bonus of 60,000 ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first three months of account opening. You can redeem those points for $600 in gift cards or travel.
There are also 20 Citi ThankYou® transfer partners. By taking advantage of these partnerships, you unlock access to luxury hotel stays and business-class award flights that can dramatically increase the value you receive from this bonus.
Benefits and perks
The Citi Strata Premier® Card provides a $100 Citi Travel hotel discount once per calendar year when you book a prepaid stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees). You also get access to Citi® Entertainment, a service for purchasing tickets and pre-sale tickets to concerts, sporting events and theater events.
The card also includes several important travel and shopping protections, such as:
- Trip delay
- Trip cancellation/interruption
- Lost/damaged luggage
- MasterRental® Coverage (secondary rental car insurance)
Find the best credit card for you by reviewing offers in our credit card marketplace or get personalized offers via CardMatch™.
How to earn and redeem rewards
Earning Citi ThankYou® Points
The Citi Strata Premier® Card earns rewards at the following rates:
- 10X points on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com
- 3X points on air travel and other hotel purchases
- 3X points at restaurants
- 3X points at supermarkets
- 3X points on gas and EV charging stations
- 1X points on all other purchases
Redeeming Citi ThankYou® Points
The value of Citi ThankYou® Points varies depending on how you redeem them, but a baseline value is one cent per point because you receive that rate for gift cards and travel redemptions through CitiTravel.com.
Citi Strata Premier Card holders can cash out ThankYou® Points for a statement credit, direct deposit or check at a rate of 0.75 cents per point. However, you can boost your cash-back redemption rate to one cent per point if you also have a Citi Double Cash® Card or Citi Custom Cash® Card.
Usually, the best way to get the most value out of your points is to transfer them to one of Citi's many hotel or airline loyalty partner programs. And with the Strata Premier Card, you'll have access to the best transfer rates.
Citi ThankYou® Points travel partners
| Citi Strata Elite℠ Card and Citi Strata Premier® Card transfer ratios | Citi Strata℠ Card, Citi Double Cash® Card and Citi Custom Cash® Card transfer ratios | |
|---|---|---|
| Accor Live Limitless | 1:0.5 | 1:0.35 |
| Aeromexico Rewards | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Cathay Pacific Cathay | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Emirates Skywards | 1:0.8 | 1:0.56 |
| Etihad Guest | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Eva Air Infinity MileageLands | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Flying Blue (KLM and Air France) | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| I Prefer Hotel Rewards | 1:2 | 1:1.4 |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Leaders Club | 1:0.2 | 1:0.14 |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
| Choice Privileges | 1:1.5 | 1:1.05 |
| Wyndham Rewards | 1:1 | 1:0.7 |
Citi has many valuable international airline partners and is the only major transferable travel rewards program that partners with American Airlines. So if you want to boost your AAdvantage miles balance, ThankYou® Points are an excellent option.
When you're ready to book hotels, you'll have transfer options for that as well. ThankYou® Points transfer to Choice Privileges at a 1:2 ratio, and Choice charges 8,000 to 35,000 points per night for most hotels (some luxury hotels can cost 55,000+ per night). So it wouldn't be unrealistic to book a five-night stay with the Citi Strata Premier Card's welcome bonus.
Rates and fees
The Citi Strata Premier® Card has an annual fee of $95 and no foreign transaction fees. It does not have an introductory APR period on balance transfers or purchases.
Card comparison
Citi Strata Premier® 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
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) and Citi Strata Premier® Card both have $95 annual fees and earn points you can transfer to a long list of loyalty programs.
The Strata Premier earns more rewards on gas and EV charging, on airfare and hotel bookings and at supermarkets. The Sapphire Preferred earns more on select streaming services and travel purchases that aren't flights or hotel bookings. Streaming services are usually a small part of any budget and flights and hotels are typically the most expensive travel costs, so the Citi Strata Premier is likely to be more rewarding for most people.
However, if you want better benefits, the Sapphire Preferred offers more protections. It has all of the insurance perks provided by the Strata Premier plus travel accident insurance and baggage delay insurance. Plus, its car rental collision coverage is primary, which can easily save you $15 or more a day. You'll get a 10% points bonus every card anniversary (based on your spending for the previous year).
Learn more: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Citi Strata Premier® Card vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has a reasonable annual fee and earns flexible travel rewards, which makes it a great travel card for beginners or heavy travelers.
- Valuable welcome offer worth at least $750 in travel
- You can transfer miles to over 15 Capital One partners, including Emirates Skywards, Choice Privileges and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- No foreign transaction fees
- Lacks ongoing travel benefits such as statement credits or lounge access
- Limited bonus spending category that only applies to certain Capital One Travel bookings
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app
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
None
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a good option if you want a simpler rewards structure. It has the same $95 annual fee as the Citi Strata Premier® Card and earns at least 2X miles on every purchase.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Card earns less than the Strata Premier on bonus category spending. However, it only earns 33% less for most bonus-category transactions and doubles the rewards on all purchases outside the Strata Premier's bonus categories. The Capital One Venture also comes with a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit of up to $120 once every four years.
Learn more: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Compare savings accounts
Is the Citi Strata Premier Card right for you?
The Citi Strata Premier® Card has a solid welcome bonus and is incredibly rewarding for all sorts of purchases, including groceries, gas, travel and dining. It also unlocks access to the best transfer ratios for all of the ThankYou® travel partners, which gives you more options for redeeming your points for high value. However, there are comparable travel credit cards with more comprehensive insurance benefits if that's a priority for you.
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Information about the Citi Custom Cash® Card has been collected independently by CNBC Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.
