Citi Strata Elite vs Citi Strata Premier — which is worth it to you?
The Citi Strata Elite ($595/yr) and the Citi Strata Premier ($95/yr) side by side: credits, earning rates against a flat 2% cash-back baseline, and protections — with your spending deciding which card actually wins each category.
The Citi Strata Elite charges $595 a year against the Citi Strata Premier's $95, so it starts $500 behind. Both earn Citi ThankYou Points, and a point from one is worth the same as a point from the other. What separates them is rates and credits.
Both cards pay a bonus on dining (3x vs 3x). The Citi Strata Premier also has a bonus on flights (3x), hotels (3x), groceries (3x) and gas & ev charging (3x), with nothing to match it on the Citi Strata Elite.
The Citi Strata Elite comes with 5 statement credits, the biggest being $300 Annual Hotel Benefit, $200 Annual Splurge Credit and $200 Annual Blacklane Credit, plus 2 more. The Citi Strata Premier has 1 statement credit: $100 Annual Hotel Credit. All of these are face values, and a credit only really pays out if it covers something you were buying anyway.
Both cards carry extended warranty, lost luggage, no foreign transaction fees, purchase protection, rental car collision coverage, trip cancellation and trip delay. The Citi Strata Elite also has lounge access, with no equivalent on the Citi Strata Premier.
Citi Strata Elite
Citi · $595 annual fee ($75 annual fee per authorized user; each authorized user also gets their own complimentary Priority Pass Select membership.) · earns Citi ThankYou Points
Earning rates
- 12x Hotels, car rentals & attractions via Citi Travel
- 6x Air travel via Citi Travel
- 6x Restaurants during Citi Nights (Fri 6PM–Sat 6AM & Sat 6PM–Sun 6AM ET)
- 3x Restaurants (outside Citi Nights)
- 1.5x All other purchases
Statement credits (5)
- $300 Annual Hotel Benefit — Up to $300 off a prepaid hotel stay of 2+ nights booked through Citi Travel, once per calendar year.
- $200 Annual Splurge Credit — Up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year on your choice of up to 2 activated brands: 1stDibs, American Airlines (exclusions apply), Best Buy, Future Personal Training, or Live Nation/Ticketmaster (exclusions apply).
- $200 Annual Blacklane Credit — Up to $100 back on Blacklane chauffeur bookings January–June, and up to $100 more July–December, for up to $200/year total.
- The Reserve by Citi Travel Credit — $100 property experience credit (varies by property) on each stay booked at a Reserve-rate hotel through Citi Travel, plus daily breakfast for two, free Wi-Fi, and early check-in/late check-out/room upgrades subject to availability.
- Global Entry / TSA PreCheck Credit — $120 application-fee credit once every 4 years (~$30/yr).
Full Citi Strata Elite breakdown — 9 more benefits on the full page.
Citi Strata Premier
Citi · $95 annual fee · earns Citi ThankYou Points
Earning rates
- 10x Hotels, car rentals & attractions via Citi Travel
- 3x Air travel
- 3x Hotels booked outside the portal
- 3x Restaurants
- 3x Supermarkets
- 3x Gas & EV charging stations
- 1x Everything else
Statement credits (1)
- $100 Annual Hotel Credit — $100 off one hotel stay of $500+ (excluding taxes and fees) booked through Citi Travel, once per calendar year.
Full Citi Strata Premier breakdown — 7 more benefits on the full page.
Card data verified against issuer sources: Citi Strata Elite on 2026-08-27, Citi Strata Premier on 2026-08-20.
All cards · Compare cards · Find your card