Why I applied for the Citi Strata Elite℠ card
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EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE:
Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
It’s no secret that the end of the year can be an expensive time….so we’re always planning out our end of the year (and beginning of the new year!) strategy. And this week, we finally settled on one of the newest premium cards in the travel credit card space!
The Citi Strata Elite℠ was at the top of our list for a while, especially after Citi added American Airlines as a transfer partner, so this was the perfect opportunity to apply for this card for my player 2 and finally add a premium card to his wallet. 👏🏻
➡️Find links to apply for ELEVATED PREMIUM CARD OFFERS here.
*Thank you SO much for your support and for using my links to apply! ♥️
Citi Strata Elite℠ Card
If you haven’t considered a Citi card lately, then now is the time. 😉
The Citi Strata Elite℠ is newer to the travel credit card space, and it launched this year with a $595 annual fee and a decent line up of perks to help offset that cost.
🔥 It currently has a limited time offer to earn 100,000 points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, which makes this a great time to jump into Citi ThankYou points! This elevated offer was a BIG factor in our decision to open this card.
Notable perks the card offers:
🏨 Up to a $300 annual hotel credit on a stay of 2+ nights when booked through Citi Travel.
🛫 Complimentary Priority Pass™ Select membership.
🇺🇸 4 American Airlines Admirals Club®Lounge Access Passes annually.
💲Up to $120 TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit.
❌ No foreign transaction fees.
💰 Up to a $200 annual Splurge Credit℠.
And so much more!
Earning rates for this card:
Along with some amazing perks and generous welcome offer, there are plenty of ways to quickly rack up more points on your everyday spending. And this card earns a minimum of 1.5x the points on all purchases that don’t fall into one of their specified categories, which is a huge plus for this card!
🍽️I especially love the 3x on all dining. That is a category a lot of us can easily take advantage of!
The triple dip
The triple dip is the primary reason we chose to apply for this card at the end of the calendar year. So what does it mean to “triple dip?”
👉🏻For example, one of the benefits this card comes with is a $200 Splurge Credit℠ that renews each calendar year. This means that we can still take advantage of this $200 credit before the year ends, we will get the credit again in January 2026 when it resets, and we can potentially use the credit one more time in January of 2027…..all from just paying the annual fee one time. 🤯
By applying at just the right time, we are going to be getting maximum value out of this card, and we can decide in January of 2027 if we are going to keep, cancel, or downgrade the card.
Here’s where you can use the $200 credit👇🏼
This card also offers a $300 annual hotel credit on a stay of 2+ nights when booked through Citi Travel. Meaning that you could book a $300 stay by the end of December, another stay sometime in 2026, and one more in January of 2027! The stay would not need to be completed by December of this year, it would just need to be booked by the end of the year.
🔥The triple dip can be done with multiple different premium travel cards as well, so this is just one example of many!
How to use Citi ThankYou points
ThankYou points are a type of flexible reward, meaning that you have a lot of options for how to redeem these points! Whether you love booking in the travel portal, or you are opening this card to rack up a bunch of points to transfer to American Airlines, there’s something for everyone.
All the ways you can redeem ThankYou points 👇🏼
Transfer partner overview
My top choice for using these points is to transfer them out to airline and hotel transfer partners. And that’s where I get the best value for my points too! There are 18 different airline or hotel transfer partners that you can transfer your ThankYou points to, making these points super flexible and valuable.
✈️Airlines:
Aeromexico
American Airlines
Avianca Lifemiles
Cathay Pacific
Emirates Skywards
Etihad Guest
EVA Air
Flying Blue
JetBlue TrueBlue
Qantas Frequent Flyer.
Qatar Privilege Club
Singapore Airlines
Thai Royal Orchid Plus
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
🏨Hotels:
ALL - Accor Live Limitless
Choice Privileges
Wyndham Rewards
Bottom line:
Citi may not be our most talked about bank, but with this new premium card option on the market, they are now offering some valuable perks and even more valuable redemption options for their flexible rewards! And now that we can transfer to American Airlines, the Citi Strata Elite℠ was well worth a 5/24 slot and a spot in my wallet. 💳👏🏻
Side note: I cannot say thank you enough for using my links to apply! I earn a commission for those applications at no cost to you, and it helps keep all the free resources and support coming! 🩷
EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
