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Citi has replaced the Citi Rewards+ with the brand new Citi Strata℠ Card – the baby brother to the most underrated card on the market, the Citi Strata℠ Premier Card. Let’s take a look at this new card offering, which isn’t quite available yet, and if it could be the right fit to add to your wallet later this year. Currently, if you have a Citi Rewards+ you can do a product change on July 21st, and new cardmembers will be able to apply at a future date ( yet to be announced ). The biggest downside is that the points you earn won’t transfer to partners, similar to the retired Rewards+, and you’d need to concurrently hold a Strata Premier or retired Citi Prestige in order to transfer to partners.
- Best of 2025
Non-Affiliate
Information about this card has been collected independently by Monkey Miles. Card issuer is not responsible for the information or accuracy.
The baby bro of the most underrated card on the market, the Citi Strata Premier ℠ Card.
You’ll earn 3x points at Supermarkets, Transit, and a self select category + 2x on dining and 1x everywhere without an annual fee.
Welcome Offer
30k Thank You points after $1k spend in the first 3 months of account opening
Annual Fee
Points Earned
Basic Citi Thank You points
( non-transferrable unless paired with a premium card )
This is the no fee version, ie baby brother, of the Citi Strata Premier. It’s an additional way to earn points without an annual fee; however, in order to transfer them you need to pair it with either a Citi Strata Premier, or the now retired Citi Prestige.
Speaking of transfer partners, it has a great list of air and hotel partners that fills in some gaps if you already have Amex or Chase cards in your wallet.
It has access to smaller programs like EVA and Turkish which opens up great business class opportunities to Europe and Asia. It also has a 1:2 transfer ratio to Choice which is great for using points at Preferred Hotels.
The only downside to the card is it doesn’t have many US parter programs like Amex, Bilt, or Chase.
- 5x points on Hotels, Car Rentals and Attractions booked on cititravel.com
- 3x points at Supermarkets
- 3x points on Select Transit and at Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 3x points on an eligible Self-Select Category of your choice. Eligible categories include Fitness Clubs, Select Streaming Services, Live Entertainment, Cosmetic Stores/Barber Shops/Hair Salons or Pet Supply Stores.
- 2x points at Restaurants
- 1x points on All Other Purchases
- This has a 48 months rule in effect
- Bonus ThankYou® Points are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi Premier® or Citi Strata Premier℠ account in the past 48 months
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists what the highest offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
Card Details
- $0 annual fee
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5x points on Hotels, Car Rentals and Attractions booked on cititravel.com
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3x points at Supermarkets
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3x points on Select Transit and at Gas and EV Charging Stations
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3x points on an eligible Self-Select Category of your choice. Eligible categories include Fitness Clubs, Select Streaming Services, Live Entertainment, Cosmetic Stores/Barber Shops/Hair Salons or Pet Supply Stores.
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2x points at Restaurants
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1x points on All Other Purchases
Comparing to the old Rewards+
Personally, I think the new Strata has a better earn structure since you can earn unlimited 3x at supermarkets and gas which could make it make sense for you if you hold the Citi Prestige and not the Strata Premier ( since the Strata Premier earns 3x on supermarkets and gas).
- Earn 2X ThankYou® Points at Supermarkets and Gas Stations for the first $6,000 per year and then 1X Points thereafter. Plus, earn 1X ThankYou® Points on All Other Purchases
- Round up to the nearest 10.
- Spend $1 on parking…it was rounded up to 10 points.
- Receive 10% back, up to 100k points
Citi Thank You transfer partners
Overall
My initial impression is this is an upgrade despite losing some of the roundup and 10% redeemed points features. My gut is that Citi is going to debut a Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X competitor ( a revamped Citi Prestige ) at some point in the future, and this card could be a great one to pair with it. I suspect that there will be differentiation in the category bonuses, and for no additional annual fee, it could create a good 1-2 punch. If you already have the Strata Premier… I don’t really see a whole lot of reason to add this to your wallet once it becomes available.
As an FYI… here is the earning structure on the current Citi Prestige so you can see how the Strata would fill in the gaps
- Earn 5x points on restaurant purchases, including takeout and delivery
- Earn 5x points on airfare and travel agency purchases
- Earn 3x points on hotel purchases
- Earn 3x points on cruise purchases
- Earn 1x points on all other purchases
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Points Boost
- each account anniversary you’ll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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