The Citi Strata Elite vs. Atmos Rewards Summit choice comes down to where you book and which airline you fly. Both are premium travel cards, but they reward you in different places. Citi's page ties its 12 points per dollar hotel, car rental and attractions rate, its 6 points per dollar air rate and an Annual Hotel Benefit of up to $300 to cititravel.com, and it lists Priority Pass Select and Admirals Club passes for lounges. Atmos's page builds the Summit around Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, with a Global Companion Award, Alaska Lounge day passes and a free checked bag.
Everything below comes from each issuer's own card page. Our Citi Strata Elite review and Atmos Rewards Summit review go deeper on each card.
Fees and Welcome Offers
Citi's page lists a $595 annual fee, and $75 for authorized users. It also lists no fee for foreign purchases. The Summit's annual fee is $395 on Atmos's page, which lists no foreign transaction fees too. Atmos says Bank of America, N.A. issues and administers the card, and it points to the disclosures with the online application for rates, fees and other costs.
Atmos's page offers 100,000 bonus points and a 25,000-point Global Companion Award after spending $6,000 or more on purchases within the first 90 days after account opening. Citi advertises a new account bonus offer on its card page, so check the current amount and spending requirement there. Citi's page also says the offer isn't available if you currently have or previously had a Citi Strata Elite account.
How Each Card Earns
Citi lists 12 points per dollar on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on cititravel.com, and 6 points per dollar on air travel booked on cititravel.com. At restaurants, it lists 6 points per dollar on Citi Nights purchases, Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET, and 3 points per dollar any other time. All other purchases earn 1.5 points per dollar, in Citi ThankYou points.
The Summit earns Atmos Rewards points. Atmos lists 3 points per $1 on eligible dining, foreign transaction, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines purchases, and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases. It also lists 20% back on Wi-Fi, drinks and meals on Alaska and Hawaiian flights when you pay with the card, and 10% more points on all card purchases with a qualifying Bank of America account.
What Citi Lists Beyond Earning
Citi's page lists these benefits, and each one carries terms on the page:
- Annual Hotel Benefit: up to $300 off a hotel stay of 2 nights or more booked through cititravel.com, each calendar year.
- Splurge Credit: up to $200 in statement credits each calendar year on your choice of up to 2 of 1stDibs, American Airlines (exclusions apply), Best Buy, Future Personal Training and Live Nation (exclusions apply).
- Blacklane credit: up to $200 in statement credits each calendar year, up to $100 January through June and up to $100 July through December.
- Priority Pass Select: a complimentary membership, which Citi describes as access to 1,500+ airport lounges worldwide.
- Admirals Club passes: 4 passes each calendar year for access to nearly 50 Admirals Club lounges.
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck: a statement credit of up to $120 every four years toward the application fee.
What the Summit Lists Beyond Earning
Atmos's FAQ names the Global Companion Award as a key Summit benefit. It covers a companion's ticket when you book award travel for two people on the same itinerary, up to a set number of points, in any class of service across Alaska, Hawaiian, oneworld and global partners. You get a 25,000-point award on your anniversary, and a 100,000-point award after spending $60,000 or more on purchases in a card anniversary year. Terms apply.
Atmos lists two Alaska Lounge day passes each quarter, and its FAQ says eight a year. Each pass is valid for your entire travel day and includes entry for up to two accompanying children. The page also says you and up to six guests on the same reservation get a free checked bag when airfare is purchased with the card.
There's more on the page. It lists a $50 electronic voucher for a same-day Alaska cancellation or a delay of 2+ hours, a waived fee for same-day confirmed flight changes, and up to $120 every four years toward TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. For status, it lists 1 status point per $2 spent on purchases and 10,000 status points each year on your account anniversary. Our Atmos Rewards guide explains how status points work.
Transfers and Redemptions
These are two different currencies, so it's worth reading what each page says they connect to. Citi's page says points transfer to American Airlines, JetBlue, Virgin Atlantic, Cathay, Eva Air, Choice Hotels, The Leading Hotels of the World and others. It also lists Citi Travel, gift cards, cash back and shopping with points at participating merchants like Amazon, PayPal and CVS.
Atmos's page mentions transfers to participating hotel partner loyalty programs, including Marriott Bonvoy and Shangri-La Circle, and sharing points with a chosen network of up to 10 Atmos Rewards members. It also lists no award booking fees on airline partners, and terms apply. For how ThankYou points sit among the bank currencies, see our transferable points comparison.
Which Card Fits You
Start with where your trips run. If you book hotels, rental cars and flights on cititravel.com and eat out on Friday and Saturday nights, Citi's top earn rates and its hotel benefit apply there. If you fly Alaska or Hawaiian, the Summit's companion award, lounge passes and checked bag are the perks Atmos's page features. Citi's page names American Airlines in its Splurge Credit, its Admirals Club passes and its transfer list, so it's worth a look if that's your airline.
Atmos's FAQ says the eight lounge passes and the Global Companion Award alone can offset the $395 annual fee. That's Atmos's claim, so test it against the trips you'd really take. Then check the current offer and terms on each issuer's page before you apply.
