The Citi Strata℠ Card (see rates and fees) is a well-liked starter card with no annual fee and a superb entry level into the Citi ThankYou Rewards ecosystem.
Paying the annual payment on the Citi Strata Premier® Card (see rates and fees) might 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 transfer partners.
Take into account the next causes as to why it’s best to 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, automobile leases and lodges booked by means of Citi Travel
- 3 factors per greenback spent on electrical car charging stations, fuel stations, choose transit and supermarkets
- 3 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 completely different bonus classes. They embrace the next:
- 10 factors per greenback spent on sights, automobile leases and lodges booked by means of Citi Journey
- 3 factors per greenback spent on air journey, EV charging stations, fuel purchases, lodges (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 lodges 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 yr.
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Your ThankYou factors are extra useful
By upgrading the Citi Strata, you’ll be able to earn extra ThankYou factors and unlock higher worth to your hard-earned factors.
Each playing cards can switch ThankYou factors to Citi’s 22 transfer partners, together with high-value choices like American Airlines AAdvantage, Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. The Strata Premier has a slight benefit; it might probably switch factors to most companions at a ratio of 1:1.
The Citi Strata can only transfer at a ratio of 1:0.7 for many companions. Whatever the associate 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 (based mostly on TPG’s September 2025 valuations). I constantly get between 4 and 9 cents per level when transferring factors to a associate airline for a business-class redemption.
Associated: Strata, Premier or Elite: How to choose a Citi Strata credit card
Extra useful advantages
Even with the $95 annual payment, the Strata Premier affords further advantages that assist justify its price yearly. Two important advantages you’ll be able to maximize are:
- $100 annual resort credit score: A $100 credit score as soon as per yr for single-stay resort bookings of $500 or extra (excluding taxes and charges) made by means of Citi Journey
- World Elite Mastercard benefits: 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 lodges and resorts portfolio for on-property perks like complimentary breakfast and room upgrades (upon availability)
Because the Strata Premier is a extra premium card than the Citi Strata, you additionally get entry to Citi’s curated assortment of lodges and can obtain elitelike advantages when reserving by means of Citi Journey.
As a Strata Premier cardholder, you may obtain the next journey protections:
- Automotive rental protection
- Misplaced or broken baggage safety
- Journey cancellation and interruption insurance coverage
- Journey delay protection
That is extra complete protection than you may obtain from the no-annual-fee Strata card.
Associated: Citi’s Hotel Collection 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, consider applying for the Strata Premier as an alternative 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. Based mostly 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 offer. This card’s welcome bonus can also be not accessible should you’ve obtained a brand new account bonus for a Citi Premier or Citi Strata Premier account prior to now 48 months.
You additionally will not be capable of earn it should you’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’ll be able to 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 by means of an improve.
By preserving the Strata card as an alternative of upgrading it, you need to use the Strata and Strata Premier collectively to maximise points-earning throughout extra classes.
For instance, you’ll be able to 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.
Normally, the very best advantages you may obtain are the power to switch factors to the vast majority 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 attainable, which can imply an improve is on the horizon.
To study extra, learn our full evaluation of the Citi Strata and Strata Premier.
Apply right here: Strata Premier