Citi Strata Premier Review
Tl;dr: If you book at least one $500+ hotel stay per year and spend a lot on gas this might be the card for you. Otherwise…
The former Citi Premier card has rebranded as the Citi Strata Premier, offering a few marginal improvements—namely higher earning on travel booked through Citi and more travel protections—but otherwise offering little more than a cosmetic change on an already solid, if unspectacular card. The main strength of this card is it’s high earning rate on major spending categories like restaurants, groceries, gas, airfare, and hotels. However, the card suffers from inferior protections, less valuable points than its competitors, and an annual fee that is hard to earn back through credits. For the right person, though, it could be a net-zero fee card and a points-earning powerhouse.
Quick ratings
🟢 (good card)
💸 (earner)
🦥 (lazy)
🛡️ (travel protections)
Bonus
Historic data might not be reliable due to the card’s recent refresh, but the standard offer has been 60,000 points, usually with an 80,000-point offer at some point during the year. The launch offer was 70,000 points, and although most cards offer their greatest bonuses at launch (or at a major refresh like this), the offer has already gone up to 75,000, so 80,000 is not out of reach. I wouldn’t recommend applying for this card if the bonus is under 70,000 points. .
Laziness Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Earning an excellent 3x on almost every major category you could care about–dining, groceries, gas, flights, and hotels–it’s easy to get great value from the Strata Premier. Simply pair it with the Citi Double Cash (to maximize Citi ThankYou points with no additional annual fee) or the Capital One Venture X to get better value on non-bonus purchases.
The only drawback is the need to book an expensive hotel to cancel out the annual fee.
Net fee
Annual fee:
$95
Credits and offsets:
$100 back on a single $500+ hotel booking through Citi’s travel portal.
Typical net annual fee:
$95
Unless you regularly book long and/or luxury hotel stays, it might be hard to take advantage of the Strata Premier’s $100 hotel credit, leaving you on the hook for the full $95 most years.
Earning
3x: Restaurants
3x: Grocery stores
3x: Gas and EV charging
3x: Air travel and hotels (including via travel agencies)
10x: Hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com
1x: All other purchases
Perks
None
Protections
Trip Delay Protection
Trip Cancellation Insurance
Trip Interruption Insurance
Lost or Damaged Luggage Insurance
Notably lacking: car rental insurance, extended warranty, purchase protection.
Hacks
I’m not aware of any good hacks with the Premier.
Points/Rewards
⭐⭐⭐
The points are more than serviceable, but don’t quite measure up to stronger offerings from Bilt, Chase, and American Express.
Conclusion
For the right person (one who can get full value from the $100 hotel credit), the Strata Premier is very solid card with excellent earning power. Its great earning rates mean that it is a decent performer even for those who end up paying the full annual fee. However, the middling points and travel/purchase protections means that most people would be better off with a different card and viewing the Strata Premier as more of a bonus card.