The Citi Strata℠ Card (see charges and costs) is a well-liked starter card with no annual payment and entry level into the Citi ThankYou Rewards ecosystem.
Paying the annual payment on the Citi Strata Premier® Card (see charges and costs) could be value it if you wish to elevate your journey. The cardboard affords greater incomes charges in key bonus classes and higher entry to Citi’s airline switch companions.
Take into account the next causes as to why you must improve from the Citi Strata to the Strata Premier.
Earn extra ThankYou Rewards factors
As a no-annual-fee card, the Citi Strata earns:
5 factors per greenback spent on sights, automotive leases and accommodations booked via Citi Travel3 factors per greenback spent on electrical automobile charging stations, gasoline stations, choose transit and supermarkets3 factors per greenback spent on an eligible self-selected class (which you’ll change quarterly)2 factors per greenback spent at eating places
Nevertheless, the Strata Premier affords greater incomes charges and barely totally different bonus classes. They embody the next:
10 factors per greenback spent on sights, automotive leases and accommodations booked via Citi Travel3 factors per greenback spent on air journey, EV charging stations, gasoline purchases, accommodations (booked outdoors of Citi Journey), eating places and supermarkets
The Strata Premier is a extra travel-centric card. It earns extra on choose Citi Journey purchases, plus airfares and accommodations booked outdoors of Citi Journey. Frequent vacationers could discover the Citi Strata much more rewarding.
Upgrading additionally bumps up bonus-earning on eating places to three factors per greenback spent from 2 factors per greenback spent, which may add up over the 12 months.
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Associated: Do you have to guide accommodations via Citi Journey?
Your ThankYou factors are extra useful
By upgrading the Citi Strata, you possibly can earn extra ThankYou factors and unlock higher worth in your hard-earned factors.
Each playing cards can switch ThankYou factors to Citi’s 22 switch companions, together with high-value choices like American Airways AAdvantage, Qatar Airways Privilege Membership and Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership. The Strata Premier has a slight benefit; it will possibly switch factors to most companions at a ratio of 1:1.
The Citi Strata can solely switch at a ratio of 1:0.7 for many companions. Whatever the companion you are contemplating, the Strata card will all the time have a worse switch ratio than the Strata Premier.
This makes a giant distinction when contemplating transferring tens of hundreds of factors to safe a sought-after business-class ticket.
When leveraging switch companions with the Strata Premier, you may get greater than 1.9 cents per level (primarily based on TPG’s September 2025 valuations). I constantly get between 4 and 9 cents per level when transferring factors to a companion airline for a business-class redemption.
Associated: Strata, Premier or Elite: How to decide on a Citi Strata bank card
Extra useful advantages
Even with the $95 annual payment, the Strata Premier affords further advantages that assist justify its price yearly. Two vital advantages you possibly can maximize are:
$100 annual resort credit score: A $100 credit score as soon as per 12 months for single-stay resort bookings of $500 or extra (excluding taxes and costs) made via Citi TravelWorld Elite Mastercard advantages: The Citi Strata Premier affords a number of travel-related perks, together with a $5 month-to-month Lyft credit score after taking three rides in a calendar month (provide ends Jan. 31, 2026), a three-month trial of Instacart+ with a brand new subscription and $10 off your second eligible Instacart buy every month (provide ends Jan. 31, 2027) and entry to the Mastercard luxurious accommodations and resorts portfolio for on-property perks like complimentary breakfast and room upgrades (upon availability)
For the reason that Strata Premier is a extra premium card than the Citi Strata, you additionally get entry to Citi’s curated assortment of accommodations and can obtain elitelike advantages when reserving via Citi Journey.
As a Strata Premier cardholder, you may obtain the next journey protections:
Automobile rental coverageLost or broken baggage protectionTrip cancellation and interruption insuranceTrip delay protection
That is extra complete protection than you may obtain from the no-annual-fee Strata card.
Associated: Citi’s Lodge Assortment and The Reserve: Get free breakfast and premium perks
Take into account making use of relatively than upgrading
If you happen to really need to maximize your points-earning, contemplate making use of for the Strata Premier as a substitute of upgrading from the Citi Strata card.
For starters, new Strata Premier cardholders earn 60,000 bonus factors after spending $4,000 within the first three months of account opening. Primarily based on TPG’s valuations, the welcome provide is value $1,140.
If you happen to improve a Citi Strata card, you’ll not earn a welcome provide. This card’s welcome bonus can also be not out there if you happen to’ve obtained a brand new account bonus for a Citi Premier or Citi Strata Premier account up to now 48 months.
You additionally will not have the ability to earn it if you happen to’ve transformed one other Citi bank card account on which you earned a brand new account bonus within the final 48 months right into a Premier or Strata Premier card.
So long as you possibly can qualify for the Strata Premier’s welcome bonus, it is value contemplating whether or not making use of for the cardboard is a greater technique than getting it via an improve.
By retaining the Strata card as a substitute of upgrading it, you need to use the Strata and Strata Premier collectively to maximise points-earning throughout extra classes.
For instance, you possibly can put choose transit and eligible self-selected class purchases on the Citi Strata and all different journey and restaurant purchases on the Strata Premier card.
Backside line
The advantages and incomes potential of the Strata Premier will most probably outweigh the price of the annual payment and current higher long-term worth than the Citi Strata card.
Typically, the most effective advantages you may obtain are the power to switch factors to nearly all of companions at a 1:1 ratio and travel-focused bonus classes.
Consider what’s in your pockets to make sure that you are all the time getting the utmost worth potential, which can imply an improve is on the horizon.
To be taught extra, learn our full assessment of the Citi Strata and Strata Premier.
Apply right here: Strata Premier
