Citi sells three cards under the Strata name, and the Citi Strata and the Citi Strata Elite sit at opposite ends of the lineup. The Strata has no annual fee and earns 3x at supermarkets, on gas and EV charging, on select transit and on one category you pick. The Strata Elite costs $595 and saves its big multipliers for travel booked on cititravel.com and for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights. In between is the $95 Strata Premier, which earns 3x across the everyday categories and 10x on cititravel.com hotels.
So the real question isn't Strata or Elite. It's where your money actually goes, and whether you'll use the Elite's credits and lounge access. Here's what each card earns according to Citi's own pages, what the Elite's $595 buys, and which reader each card fits.
The Three Strata Cards at a Glance
- Citi Strata: $0 annual fee. 20,000 bonus points after $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. 5x on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on cititravel.com; 3x at supermarkets; 3x on select transit and at gas and EV charging stations; 3x on one self-select category; 2x at restaurants; 1x on everything else.
- Citi Strata Premier: $95 annual fee. 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in the first 3 months. 10x on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on cititravel.com; 3x on air travel and other hotel purchases; 3x at restaurants, supermarkets, and gas and EV charging stations; 1x on everything else.
- Citi Strata Elite: $595 annual fee. 75,000 bonus points after $6,000 in the first 3 months. 12x on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on cititravel.com; 6x on air travel booked on cititravel.com; 6x at restaurants on Citi Nights (Friday and Saturday, 6 PM to 6 AM ET); 3x at restaurants at any other time; 1.5x on everything else.
All three earn ThankYou Points, and each card's page lists transfers to American Airlines, JetBlue, Virgin Atlantic, Cathay, EVA Air, Choice Hotels, The Leading Hotels of the World and others. If American Airlines miles are why you want a Citi card, the no-fee Strata can transfer to AAdvantage too, but Citi's transfer terms say redemption rates may vary by card, so check the rate for yours first.
Citi Strata: The No-Fee Everyday Earner
The Strata is the card for someone whose spending is mostly groceries, fuel and commuting. Supermarkets, gas and EV charging, and select transit all earn 3x, and you choose one more 3x category from Citi's list: fitness clubs, select streaming services, live entertainment, cosmetic stores, barber shops and hair salons, or pet supply stores. New accounts start on select streaming services, and you can switch once each calendar quarter at citi.com/selfselect.
Restaurants earn 2x here, which is the Strata's soft spot next to the Premier's 3x. It also comes with an intro APR offer: 0% for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable 18.74% to 28.74%. Watch the foreign purchase fee, though. Citi lists it at 3% on the Strata, while the Premier and the Elite both list none, so this isn't the card to pack for a trip abroad.
Say your household spends $600 a month at supermarkets and $200 on gas. On the Strata, that's 1,800 points a month from groceries and 600 from gas, with no annual fee to earn back.
Citi Strata Premier: The $95 Middle Card
The Premier is the card most readers will end up comparing the Strata against, not the Elite. It keeps 3x at supermarkets and on gas and EV charging, lifts restaurants to 3x, and adds 3x on air travel and other hotel purchases. Hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on cititravel.com earn 10x.
The Premier also has a $100 annual hotel benefit. Once per calendar year, you get $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when you book through cititravel.com or by phone at 1-833-737-1288. It's applied at the time of booking, so there's nothing to chase on a statement.
Say you spend $500 a month at restaurants. The Premier earns 1,500 points a month on that, the same as the Elite earns at its regular 3x restaurant rate, while the Strata earns 1,000 at 2x. That one line is why the Premier often beats the no-fee card for diners.
Citi Strata Elite: What $595 Buys
The Elite isn't a bigger version of the Strata. Its bonus categories are different, and that matters more than the multipliers. On the Elite, supermarkets and gas fall under its 1.5x rate on all other purchases. If groceries and fuel are your biggest spending lines, the Elite earns less on them than the no-fee Strata does.
Where the Elite Earns
The Elite pays off when you book travel through Citi. Hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on cititravel.com earn 12x, and air travel booked there earns 6x. Restaurants earn 6x on Citi Nights purchases, which Citi defines as Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET, and 3x at any other time.
Say you book $1,000 of hotel stays on cititravel.com in a year. The Elite earns 12,000 points on it, the Premier 10,000 and the Strata 5,000. Book that same $1,000 directly with the hotel, and the Premier's 3x on other hotel purchases beats the Elite's 1.5x.
The Credits and Lounge Access
Citi says the package adds up to nearly $1,500 in value. Here's what's in it:
Up to $300 annual hotel benefit. Once per calendar year, $300 off a single hotel stay of two nights or more (excluding taxes and fees) booked through cititravel.com, applied when you book.
Up to $200 Splurge Credit. Statement credits each calendar year on your choice of up to two brands: 1stDibs, American Airlines (exclusions apply), Best Buy, Future Personal Training and Live Nation (exclusions apply).
Up to $200 Blacklane credit. Up to $100 on Blacklane chauffeur bookings from January through June and up to $100 from July through December.
Lounge access. A Priority Pass Select membership covering 1,500+ airport lounges, which Citi values at $469, plus four Admirals Club Citi Strata Elite Passes each calendar year for nearly 50 Admirals Club lounges.
Up to $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit every four years.
Two more details belong in the math. The authorized user fee is $75 a year. And qualifying Citigold clients get a $145 annual banking relationship credit while they hold the card.
Say you'd book one two-night hotel stay through cititravel.com and use both Blacklane halves anyway. That's $300 plus $200 back against the $595 fee before you count the Splurge Credit, lounge visits or a single point. If you wouldn't use Blacklane or book through Citi's portal, most of that value never reaches you.
How the Strata Elite Compares With the Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum
Citi Strata Elite vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve. The Reserve costs $795. It earns 8x on purchases through Chase Travel, 4x on flights booked direct, 4x on hotels booked direct, 3x on dining worldwide and 1x on other purchases. It also has a $300 annual travel credit and access to Chase Sapphire Lounges by The Club and 1,300+ Priority Pass lounges, with up to two guests. The Reserve's direct-booking rates matter if you'd rather book airlines and hotels yourself than use a portal, since the Elite's 12x and 6x travel rates apply only to bookings on cititravel.com.
Citi Strata Elite vs. Amex Platinum. Platinum is $895 and comes with the Global Lounge Collection: over 1,550 airport lounges, including Centurion Lounges, 10 Delta Sky Club visits when flying on an eligible Delta flight and Priority Pass membership (enrollment required). Its credits include a $600 Hotel Credit (up to $300 back semi-annually on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel), a $400 Resy Credit (up to $100 a quarter, enrollment required) and a $300 Digital Entertainment Credit (up to $25 a month, enrollment required). It earns 5x on flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 per calendar year), 5x on prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel and 1x on other purchases. Next to it, the Elite costs less and earns 1.5x rather than 1x on everyday spending, while the Platinum carries the longer credit list.
Bonus Eligibility Before You Apply
Each Strata card has its own rule on the welcome bonus. You can't get the Strata bonus if you have or had a Citi Strata or Citi Strata Student account. The Premier bonus is off the table if you have or had a Strata Premier or the older Citi Premier. The Elite bonus is off the table if you have or had a Strata Elite. On all three, Citi adds that you may not be eligible based on your history of opening, closing and using credit cards.
Which Strata Fits You
Get the Citi Strata if your spending is mostly groceries, gas and transit, you want a no-fee card, or you'd use the 0% intro APR for 15 months. Skip it for travel abroad because of the 3% foreign purchase fee.
Get the Citi Strata Premier if you eat out often, book some travel and want the best everyday earning in the family for $95. For most households, this is the Strata to beat.
Get the Citi Strata Elite only if you'll book hotels and flights through cititravel.com, dine out on Friday and Saturday nights, and actually use the hotel benefit, the Blacklane credit and lounge access. If your money goes to supermarkets and gas, the Elite earns 1.5x where the cheaper cards earn 3x.
Updated 2026-09-28: Citi stopped accepting applications for the Custom Cash on May 28, 2026, per its Custom Cash page; existing cardmembers keep the card.
Updated September 30, 2026: rewrote this review from Citi's current Strata, Strata Premier and Strata Elite card pages. Earlier versions gave the wrong annual fee for the Strata and the wrong earning rates for the Strata and the Strata Elite.
Sources
- Citi, Strata card page: no annual fee, 20,000-point offer, earning rates, self-select categories, intro APR, 3% foreign purchase fee, transfer partners (read 2026-09-30)
- Citi, Strata Premier card page: $95 annual fee, 60,000-point offer, earning rates, $100 annual hotel benefit, transfer partners (read 2026-09-30)
- Citi, Strata Elite card page: $595 annual fee, 75,000-point offer, earning rates, hotel, Splurge and Blacklane credits, Priority Pass and Admirals Club passes, transfer partners (read 2026-09-30)
- Chase, Sapphire Reserve card page: $795 annual fee, earning rates, $300 travel credit, lounge access (read 2026-09-30)
- American Express, Platinum Card page: $895 annual fee, Global Lounge Collection, credits, earning rates (read 2026-09-30)
- Citi ThankYou Points Transfer Terms and Conditions: AAdvantage eligibility by card, 'redemption rates may vary' by card account (read 2026-09-30)
