Citi Strata Premier℠ Card

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Card Details and Application Link
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card
75,000 points after $4,000 spend in 3 months
$95 Annual Fee

Click here to learn how to apply
This is NOT an affiliate offer. We always present the best offer even when it means less revenue for Frequent Miler
FM Mini Review: Very strong earnings for spend. Excellent bonus categories. Points transferable to select airlines. Recommend pairing this card with Citi Double Cash and Citi Rewards+. Click here for our complete card review
Earning rate: 3X grocery ✦ 3X dining ✦ 3X gas stations & EV charging ✦ 3X flights, hotels, travel agencies ✦ 10X hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through Citi Travel℠
Base: 1X (1.45%)
Travel: 3X (4.35%)
Dine: 3X (4.35%)
Gas: 3X (4.35%)
Grocery: 3X (4.35%)
Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.
Noteworthy perks: Transfer points to airline partners ✦ $100 Annual Hotel Savings Benefit ($100 off a $500+ hotel stay, excluding taxes and fees, when booked through Citi Travel) ✦ Travel protections

The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card offers a slew of great 3x category bonuses (e.g. earn 3x at grocery stores, gas stations, and more) and it offers the ability to transfer to airline partners and hotel programs 1 to 1 (and in the case of Choice Privileges, 1 to 2!). This guide includes everything you need to know about the Strata Premier card, its benefits, and how it fits into the Citi Thank You Rewards ecosystem.

Application Tips

  • 48 Month Rule: With most Citi cards, you can only receive a welcome offer every 48 months. This applies to the same exact card, not families of cards and is counted from the date that you receive the welcome offer, not from when you're approved.
  • Velocity Limits: Citi allows a maximum of one personal card per 8 days and a maximum of two personal cards per 65 days. Business cards are limited to one per 90 days.
  • Card Limits: Citi doesn't have a strict limit on the amount of cards that you can have, but it does place limits on the total amount of credit that they will issue you across all cards. Unfortunately, unlike most banks, Citi does not allow you to move credit from one existing card to the another card.
  • Application Status: Call (866) 606-2787 or go here to check your application status. For Costco cards, call (877) 343-4118.
  • Reconsideration: If denied, call (800) 695-5171 for personal cards or (866) 541-7657 for business cards.

Should you apply?

The Strata Premier card usually has a good welcome bonus that can offer excellent value through transfer partners. It also has excellent bonus categories for ongoing spend in the most common categories.

If you are eligible (see next section), the welcome bonus on this card certainly makes it worthwhile for at least the first year.

Are you eligible?

The bonus for this card is not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi Premier® or Citi Strata Premier℠ account in the past 48 months.

Perks

Guide to Benefits

Travel Benefits

  • Transfer Points to Partners: Points can be transferred 1 to 1 to a number of airline and hotel loyalty programs (and 1 to 2 to Choice Privileges).
  • $100 Annual Hotel Savings Benefit: Once per year you can apply a coupon for $100 off on an after-tax hotel booking of $500 or more.
  • No foreign transaction fees: The Premier card is the only currently available card that earns ThankYou points and which doesn't charge foreign transaction fees.

Travel Protections

  • Trip Delay Protection
    • Round-trip travel only
    • Must pay full cost of transportation with card
    • Max $500 per Covered Trip; and two (2) claims per Eligible Account per twelve (12) consecutive month period.
  • Common Carrier Trip Cancellation and Interruption Protection
    • Round-trip travel only
    • Must pay full cost of transportation with card
    • Max $5,000 per Covered Trip and $10,000 per Eligible Account per twelve (12) consecutive month period
  • Lost or Damaged Luggage Protection
    • Must pay in full with card and/or with points associated with card.
    • Max $3K per covered trip (Max $2K for New York residents)
  • MasterRental Coverage (car rental insurance)
    • Coverage is secondary within the Eligible Renter’s country of residence and primary outside of that country.
    • Must pay rental in full with card (with minor loophole: "If the Eligible Renter rents the Rental Vehicle at a reduced cost because of his or her participation in a coupon program, such as a rental company promotion/discount or an airline mileage points program, the entire transaction must be reserved and charged to your Covered Card and at least one (1) full day of rental must be billed to your Covered Card.")

Purchase Protections

  • Extended Warranty: Citi extends the manufacturer's warranty by 24 months on items with a manufacturer's warranty of 5 years or less. This is the best extended warranty coverage of any issuer.
  • Damage and Theft Protection: Covers your new purchases for 90 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per calendar year.

Earn Points

Intro Bonus

This card earns valuable Thank You points. Here’s the current welcome offer:

Card Offer

Bonus Spend

The Citi Strata Premier Card offers a terrific selection of uncapped 3x bonus categories:

Card Name w Details No Review (no offer)
$95 Annual Fee
Earning rate: 3X grocery ✦ 3X dining ✦ 3X gas stations & EV charging ✦ 3X flights, hotels, travel agencies ✦ 10X hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through Citi Travel℠
Base: 1X (1.45%)
Travel: 3X (4.35%)
Dine: 3X (4.35%)
Gas: 3X (4.35%)
Grocery: 3X (4.35%)
Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.
Noteworthy perks: Transfer points to airline partners ✦ $100 Annual Hotel Savings Benefit ($100 off a $500+ hotel stay, excluding taxes and fees, when booked through Citi Travel) ✦ Travel protections

Redeem Points

Transfer points to airline and hotel programs

The best use of ThankYou points is to strategically transfer points to airline and hotel partners in order to book high value awards. Your best bet is usually to wait until you find a hotel or flight award that you want before transferring points. If you have at least one premium card such as the Strata Premier or an old Prestige card, most points transfer at a ratio of 1:1. However, Citi regularly runs promotions during which they offer a transfer bonus to a specific program. For example, we've frequently seen 25% bonuses for transfers to Avianca LifeMiles and to Air France / KLM Flying Blue. You cannot transfer points at the full 1 to 1 ratio from Citi's fee-free cards, such as the Citi Custom Cash or Double Cash card, to airline & hotel partners. That said you can pool points with your Strata Premier or Prestige card and then transfer the points at full value. Points can then be transferred to the loyalty accounts of the primary cardholder or any authorized user on the account.

Cash Back

Cardholders can redeem points for 1 cent each either as statement credits or as cash back.

Redeem points to pay for travel (please don’t)

While it's possible to redeem points for travel through Citi's ThankYou Rewards travel portal, we don't recommend it. You'll only get 1 cent per point in value, be limited to the prices found in the travel portal and won't earn rewards from that spend. Unless you're taking advantage of the Citi Strata Premier card's annual $100 hotel benefit, you're better off booking travel through other sites or direct from the travel provider. That way you can earn points on that booking while at the same time booking with whatever source offers the best price. If you want to then use your points to cover that travel purchase, simply redeem points for cash back.
If you are interested in taking advantage of the Strata Premier card's $100 hotel benefit, you do have to book through Citi's travel portal, but you do not have to redeem points. It is better to pay for this travel with your card (so as to earn points) and then you can optionally redeem points for cash back to cover those charges.

Other ways to redeem points (not recommended)

It's possible to redeem points for gift cards, merchandise, or experiences through the ThankYou Rewards portal, usually at 1 cent per point value. Just as with paid travel, we don't recommend using points in this way. Instead, pay for what you want elsewhere and optionally redeem points for cash back in order to cover those charges. One exception is that Citi occasionally offers gift card sale where you might be able to get better than 1 cent per point value.
You can also use points to pay some merchants directly (Amazon.com for example). Don't do this. These options offer very poor value. Further, they may compromise the security of your account (i.e. if someone hacks into your Amazon account, they might spend your ThankYou points - causing you a headache in getting your points reinstated). The only time that it's worth using points this way is when Amazon runs a promotion to save when using points. You can sometimes use 1 point to save $20 off of $50 (for example) and in those cases it makes sense to use only 1 point and to pay the rest with your credit card.

Transfer Points


The best use of ThankYou points is to strategically transfer points to airline and hotel partners in order to book high value awards. Your best bet is usually to wait until you find a great hotel or flight award before transferring points. If you have at least one premium card such as the Strata Premier Card or Prestige Card, most points transfer at a ratio of 1:1, but Citi regularly runs promotions where they offer a transfer bonus to a specific program.  For example, we’ve frequently seen 25% bonuses for transfers to Avianca LifeMiles and to Air France / KLM Flying Blue.

Transfer tips

  • Wait to transfer points: Don’t transfer points until high value awards are available and you are ready to book them. Transfers are one-way only. Citi ThankYou points are valuable for their flexibility. Once you transfer, you are locked into a single program that may or may not have awards available.
  • Watch for transfer bonuses: Citi sometimes offers improved transfer ratios through limited time transfer bonuses.
  • Move points from one account to another (even to friends’ accounts): You can freely move up to 100,000 points per year to any other Citi ThankYou Rewards account.  The catch is that once points are moved, they expire within 90 days. Make sure you have immediate plans for those points before moving them. Exception: The Custom Cash card does not allow moving points.
  • Always have at least one transferable account: With a few exceptions, ThankYou Rewards are transferable only from Citi Strata Premier, AT&T Access More, and Citi Prestige accounts.  If you or a friend has such an account, you can move points to that account from any other account before transferring to an airline or hotel program, but you are limited to moving 100,000 points per year this way. Another option is to pool points among your own accounts.  For example, if you have the Citi Rewards+ card and the Strata Premier card, you can pool points between them in order to make all of the points transferable.

Current transfer bonuses

If there are any current transfer bonuses from Citi ThankYou Rewards, details will appear here:

Transfer Bonus DetailsEnd Date

Transfer points to airlines

For flight awards, our post “Citi ThankYou points sweet spots for high value redemptions” details the best value uses of Citi ThankYou points.

Best overall airline transfer partners

Rewards ProgramBest UsesCiti Transfer Ratio
(and transfer time)
Aer Lingus AviosFuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Aer Lingus rather than British Airways, Qatar, or Iberia. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar.  See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 via Qatar (~1 day)
Air France KLM Flying BlueMonthly Air France Promo Awards often represent very good value. Air France miles can be used to book Sky Team awards, including Delta awards. Air France often offers very good business class award pricing between the US and Europe & Israel.1 to 1 (Instant)
Avianca LifeMilesAvianca LifeMiles can be great for Star Alliance awards. They offer reasonable award prices and no fuel surcharges on awards. They also offer shorthaul awards within the US (for flying United, for example) for as few as 7,500 miles one-way. Best of all, their mixed-cabin pricing can lead to fantastic first-class award prices. See this post for details.1 to 1 (Instant)
British Airways AviosWhile flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Excellent value can often be had in redeeming BA points for short distance flights outside the US. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 via Qatar (~1 day)
Cathay Pacific Asia MilesCathay Pacific has a decent distance based award chart, but they don't allow stopovers longer than 24 hours. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles can be a good option for booking American Airlines flights with a distance based award chart, especially if other OneWorld Alliance miles aren't available. For long distance flights, it is possible to reduce the cost of a premium cabin award by adding on a lower cabin segment. See this post for details.1 to 1 (Instant)
Iberia AviosOn their own flights, Iberia offers low award prices and a very reasonable 25 Euro cancellation fee. Partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well, but these are usually nonrefundable. Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Iberia rather than British Airways, Aer Lingus, or Qatar. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.1 to 1 via Qatar (~1 day)
Qatar Privilege Club AviosQatar has reasonable award prices for flying Qatar itself. Points are now transferable 1 to 1 to British Airways (and from there to Aer Lingus or Iberia). It is now also possible to book JetBlue flights with Qatar Avios.1 to 1 (~1 day)

Useful airline transfer partners

Rewards ProgramBest UsesCiti Transfer Ratio
(and transfer time)
Emirates SkywardsThe best use of Emirates miles has been to fly Emirates itself. Unfortunately fuel surcharges can be extremely steep. One workaround is to book select routes such as JFK to Milan or Newark to Athens. See: How to find and book Emirates first class awards. 1 to 1 (Instant)
Etihad GuestEtihad offers a distance based award chart for flying Etihad and another for its partners. Points may offer good value for expensive but short-distance flights.1 to 1 (~1 hour)
EVA Air Infinity MileageLandsIf you want to fly one of the best business class products in the sky, the best way to snag EVA flights is with their own miles since they release more award space to their own members. One-way business class flights from the US to Taipei cost 75K to 80K miles. Fuel surcharges are very low on these routes.
1 to 1 (2 to 4 days)
Finnair Plus+Finnair points are now "Avios" and points can be moved to/from other Avios programs. Finnair uses zone based award charts rather than distance based. As a result, Finnair sometimes has better (and sometimes worse) pricing than other Avios programs.1 to 1 via Qatar (~1 day)
JetBlueJetBlue points offer the most value when cheap ticket prices are available and when award taxes are high relative to the overall cost of the ticket (more details can be found here). The JetBlue Plus Card and the JetBlue Business Card offer a 10% rebate on awards, so you can get more value by holding one of these cards.1 to 1 (Instant)
Qantas Frequent FlyerBest use is probably for flights on El Al with no fuel surcharges. Also useful for short AA flights. Qantas offers distance based award charts similar to Cathay Pacific. Both are OneWorld Alliance members. I recommend comparing award prices across both programs before transferring to either. Qantas offers round the world business class awards for only 280,000 points (but with many restrictions)1 to 1 (~1 day)
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyerUse to book Singapore Airlines First Class awards (generally reserved for their own members), Alaska Airlines economy awards, or for Star Alliance awards (including United Airlines).1 to 1 (~1 day)
Turkish Airlines Miles & SmilesMiles & Smiles offers a number of awesome sweet-spot awards including 7.5K one-way anywhere within the US, even to Hawaii. Many awards cannot be booked online but can be booked via phone or email. See: Turkish Miles & Smiles Complete Guide and Turkish business class sweet spots from the US.1 to 1 (12 - 24 hours)
Virgin Atlantic Flying ClubVirgin Atlantic offers a few excellent sweet spot awards. See: Best uses for Virgin Atlantic points (Sweet Spot Spotlight).1 to 1 (Instant)

Other airline transfer partners

Rewards ProgramBest UsesCiti Transfer Ratio
(and transfer time)
AeroMexico ClubPremierAeroMexico is a SkyTeam partner. Club Premier points can be used to book flights on AeroMexico, SkyTeam alliance members (such as Delta or Korean Air), or on select partner airlines. Unfortunately many have reported that awards are extremely difficult to book through AeroMexico so we do not recommend transferring points to this program. If you want to fly AeroMexico, look to transfer points to another SkyTeam partner (such as Air France) and then book AeroMexico with that program.1 to 1 (~6 days)
Jet Airways Inter MilesJetAirways JetPrivilege miles are useful only for a few very specific cases such as certain flights to Hawaii for as low as 15K (30K business) one-way, or to the Caribbean or Central America for as low as 10K (20K business) one-way. Details can be found here.1 to 1 (Instant)
Malaysia EnrichGiven Malaysia's award chart devaluation in June 2017, We're not aware of any good uses for these miles.1 to 1 (1 to 2 days)
Thai Airways International Royal Orchid PlusI'm not aware of any good uses for these miles1 to 1 (3 to 7 days)

Transfer points to hotel programs

One fantastic option is to transfer points 1 to 2 to Choice Privileges in order to get great value when booking Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Ascend Hotel Collection hotels, Cambria Hotels, and Nordic Choice Hotels.  Another great option is to transfer 1 to 1 to Wyndham to book Vacasa Vacation rentals for 15,000 points per bedroom per night.  See: Wyndham Vacasa – Great Value is Real!

Manage Points

Combine Points Across Cards

If you are the primary account holder with multiple cards, you can combine ThankYou Rewards accounts. When your points are combined, they can then automatically be redeemed at the same value as your best card. For example, if one of your cards is the Strata Premier card, you will be able to transfer points to airline partners even if the points were earned on another card. Similarly, if you combine other cards with the Rewards+ card, you’ll get 10% points back when you redeem on up to 100,000 redeemed points per year (in other words, you'll get up to 10,000 points back per year if you redeem 100,000 points) even if the points originated from a different card. If you have both the Strata Premier and the Rewards+ card combined together and you transfer 100K points to a partner program, you'll get 10,000 points back.
There are some disadvantages to combining points:
  • You lose the ability to pick and choose which points are used when you redeem awards.
  • You lose visibility into how many points remain with each card.
The above disadvantages become important because, when you want cancel a card, all points earned from that account are lost after 60 days.  I recommend downgrading to a no-fee ThankYou card rather than cancelling outright. That way you can be sure that your points are safe.

Share Points Across Cardholders

Citi generously allows people to transfer ThankYou points to anyone else, for free. There are a couple of “catches” to be aware of:
  1. Shared points expire after 90 days. Make sure you have a specific near-term use in mind before transferring points.
  2. 100K limit: Each member may share up to 100,000 points per calendar year.  Each member may receive up to 100,000 points per calendar year.
  3. Exception: The Custom Cash card does not have the capability to share points (but you can combine points with other cards that you have). Yes, it's extremely weird that all other Citi ThankYou Rewards cards allow sharing points, but not Custom Cash. We have no idea why this is.
Why this is valuable:
  • If you don't have the Strata Premier, AT&T Access More, or Prestige card (the cards in Citi's lineup that allow full value transfers to partners), you can move your points to a friend who has one of those cards and then they can then transfer the points to an airline or hotel program in order to book high value awards.
  • If a friend has airline elite status with one of Citi’s transfer partners with which you want to book an award, you may be better off transferring points to your friend who can then transfer the points to the airline partner and book the award for you (to get free award changes, for example).

How to Keep Points Alive

There are several situations in which you may have Citi ThankYou Rewards points that will expire:
  • Points earned by a credit card account expire 60 days after cancelling that account.
  • Points transferred to your account expire after 90 days.
  • Points earned from some older and no longer available credit cards expire in a set amount of time after points were earned (e.g. 3 or 5 years after December 31 of the year in which the points were earned).
  • Points earned from some credit cards expire if your credit card account has no purchase activity in 18 months.
  • Points earned from Citibank banking products expire 3 years after December 31 of the year in which the points were earned.

Credit card points: how to keep points alive

With most credit card points (except with some older credit cards which are no longer available), points remain alive until you cancel the card from which they were earned.  Once you cancel the card, points expire after 60 days.
Combining accounts does not solve the problem.  When you combine multiple ThankYou accounts, it’s natural to assume that as long as you keep any ThankYou Rewards credit card open, your points will be safe. That’s simply not the case. Citi keeps track of where each ThankYou point came from. If you cancel a card, the points earned on that card expire after 60 days. Period. They are not known to reinstate points.
The best way to preserve your ThankYou points is to keep your credit card account alive. If you don’t want an annual fee, then call to downgrade to a no-fee ThankYou card. There is a side benefit to this approach too: Your no fee card may be eligible for occasional lucrative retention offers.

Bank product points: how to keep points alive

Points earned from banking products (such as checking accounts) expire 3 years after December 31 of the year in which the points were earned.  Fortunately, when redeeming points combined across multiple accounts, Citi automatically uses first whichever points have the most recent expiration date.  So, in general, your banking product points (which eventually expire) will be used first if you have combined accounts.

Card Lifecycle

How to meet minimum spend requirements

Once you are approved for a Citi card, you generally have three months to meet the required spend in order to get the welcome bonus. If your usual spend isn’t enough, consider using the Plastiq bill pay service to use your card to pay bills that can’t usually be paid by credit card (rent, mortgage, contractors, etc.). Note that Mastercards like the Strata Premier card can be used to pay a greater range of payees than Visa or Amex cards. Click here to find many more options for increasing credit card spend.

Keep, cancel, or product change?

Is this card worth keeping in the long run? The main reason to keep this card around long term is as a way to transfer points to airline and programs. If you want to transfer Thank You points to partners, you’ll need the Strata Premier. If you don’t need that capability for a while, consider downgrading to a no-fee ThankYou card.

Related Cards

Here are all of the Citi cards that earn ThankYou points:

Card Offer and Details
75,000 points after $4,000 spend in 3 months
$95 Annual Fee
FM Mini Review: Very strong earnings for spend. Excellent bonus categories. Points transferable to select airlines. Recommend pairing this card with Citi Double Cash and Citi Rewards+. Click here for our complete card review
Earning rate: 3X grocery ✦ 3X dining ✦ 3X gas stations & EV charging ✦ 3X flights, hotels, travel agencies ✦ 10X hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through Citi Travel℠
Base: 1X (1.45%)
Travel: 3X (4.35%)
Dine: 3X (4.35%)
Gas: 3X (4.35%)
Grocery: 3X (4.35%)
Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.
Noteworthy perks: Transfer points to airline partners ✦ $100 Annual Hotel Savings Benefit ($100 off a $500+ hotel stay, excluding taxes and fees, when booked through Citi Travel) ✦ Travel protections
$200 cash back after spending $1.5K in first six months. Note: $200 is awarded as 20,000 ThankYou® Points.
No Annual Fee
Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.
FM Mini Review: 2X rewards for all spend with no annual fee makes this card a winner. Earn 2X everywhere and redeem for the equivalent of 2% cash back or 2X ThankYou points. Pair with the Premier or Prestige card to make points transferrable to airlines. Click here for our complete card review
Earning rate: 2% cash back everywhere (1% cash back for each purchase + 1% when paying your credit card bill for that purchase). ✦ For a limited time: Earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi TravelSM Portal through 12/31/24.
Base: 2X (2.9%)
Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card imposes foreign transaction fees.
Noteworthy perks: 1X when you make a purchase + 1X when you pay for those purchases
20K points after $1.5K spend in 3 months
No Annual Fee
Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.
FM Mini Review: The fact that you can get 10% Points Back when you redeem, up to the first 100,000 points redeemed per year, makes this a great choice to pool with ThankYou Premier, Prestige, and/or Double Cash Click here for our complete card review
Earning rate: 5x on travel booked through Citi Travel℠ Portal through December 31, 2025 (excludes air travel) ✦ 2X at supermarkets and gas stations on up to $6,000 per year ✦ Round up to nearest 10 TY points on all purchases
Base: 1X (1.45%)
Gas: 2X (2.9%)
Grocery: 2X (2.9%)
Card Info: Mastercard World issued by Citi. This card imposes foreign transaction fees.
Noteworthy perks: Round up to the nearest 10 points on all purchases with no cap. ✦ Get 10% Points Back when you redeem, up to the first 100,000 points redeemed per year.
20K points after $1500 spend in the first 6 months
No Annual Fee
Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.
Recent better offer: Expired 9/13/22 - 20,000 points after $750 spend in first 3 months
FM Mini Review: This is a great card to have and hold for a single category where you spend no more than $500 per month as it represents an excellent return without rotating categories to track.
Earning rate: 5x on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1x thereafter. Eligible categories: Restaurants, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Select Travel, Select Transit, Select Streaming Services, Drugstores, Home Improvement Stores, Fitness Clubs and Live Entertainment. ✦ 1x on all other purchases
Base: 1X (1.45%)
Travel: 5X (7.25%)
Dine: 5X (7.25%)
Gas: 5X (7.25%)
Grocery: 5X (7.25%)
Other: 5X (7.25%)
Card Info: Mastercard issued by Citi. This card imposes foreign transaction fees.
$200 statement credit ⓘ Non-Affiliate
$200 statement credit after $1K Spend in 3 Months
No Annual Fee
FM Mini Review: This has a good gas station bonus for a no annual fee card, but there's not much else to make it a compelling card
Earning rate: ✦ 3 points per $1 at gas stations ✦ 2 points per $1 at grocery stores ✦ 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
Base: 1X (1.45%)
Gas: 3X (4.35%)
Grocery: 2X (2.9%)
Card Info: Mastercard issued by Citi. This card imposes foreign transaction fees.
Noteworthy perks: $20 statement credit every billing cycle you spend $1,000+ or $10 statement credit when you spend $500 - $999.99 (for AT&T Wireless customers omly)
None
This card is no longer available
No Annual Fee
This card is available in-branch only and is not available online. The bonus may vary by region and can be as high as 40K.
Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.
Earning rate: 3x travel ✦ office supply ✦ professional services
Base: 1X (1.45%)
Other: 3X (4.35%)
Card Info: Mastercard World issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.
Noteworthy perks: Anniversary bonus on base earnings each membership year. (1% in year 1, 2% in year 2 and 3% in year 3 and beyond.)
None
This card is no longer available
No Annual Fee
FM Mini Review: Downgrade from Prestige or Premier to this card in order to keep points alive
Earning rate: 2X dining and entertainment
Base: 1X (1.45%)
Dine: 2X (2.9%)
Other: 2X (2.9%)
Card Info: Mastercard World issued by Citi. This card imposes foreign transaction fees.
None
This card is no longer available
No Annual Fee
Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.
FM Mini Review: 10% points rebate (up to 10K rebate per year) make this a great choice to pool with ThankYou Premier, Prestige, and/or Double Cash
Earning rate: 2X at supermarkets and gas stations on up to $6,000 per year ✦ Round up to nearest 10 TY points on all purchases
Base: 1X (1.45%)
Gas: 2X (2.9%)
Grocery: 2X (2.9%)
Card Info: Mastercard World issued by Citi. This card imposes foreign transaction fees.
Noteworthy perks: Round up to the nearest 10 points on all purchases with no cap. ✦ get 10% of your points back on the first 100K redeemed each year
None
This card is no longer available
No Annual Fee
FM Mini Review: This card may be worth it for a welcome bonus, but it would be worth considering a product change to the Double Cash down the road..Unforunately, it seems it is no longer possible to product change to the AT&T Access More card.
Earning rate: ✦ 2 points per $1 on products and services that are purchased directly from AT&T ✦ 2 points per $1 on all purchases at online retail and travel sites ✦ 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
Base: 1X (1.45%)
Travel: 2X (2.9%)
Shop: 2X (2.9%)
Brand: 2X (2.9%)
Card Info: Mastercard World issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.
None
This card is no longer available
$95 Annual Fee
This card is no longer available to new applicants.
Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.
FM Mini Review: Excellent choice for those who shop often online (thanks to 3X earnings)
Earning rate: ✦ 3 points per $1 on products and services that are purchased directly from AT&T ✦ 3 points per $1 on all purchases at online retail and travel sites ✦ 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
Base: 1X (1.45%)
Travel: 3X (4.35%)
Shop: 3X (4.35%)
Brand: 3X (4.35%)
Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.
Big spend bonus: 10,000 anniversary bonus points after $10,000 in annual spending
None
This card is no longer available
$495 Annual Fee
Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.
FM Mini Review: The Prestige card's best in class 5X rewards for dining, airfare, and travel agencies is hard to beat. Sadly, this travel card doesn't provide any travel protections.
Earning rate: 5X airfare, dining, and travel agencies ✦ 3X hotels and cruise line ✦ 1X everywhere else
Base: 1X (1.45%)
Travel: 5X (7.25%)
Dine: 5X (7.25%)
Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees.
Noteworthy perks: $250 travel rebate per calendar year ✦ Free lounge access: Citi Properietary Lounges; and Priority Pass Select with free guests ✦ $100 Global Entry application fee credit ✦ 4th night free hotel benefit
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[…] Frequent Miler […]

Joe

The $100 rebate on $500 once per calendar or membership year?

bulls_fan

I see the SUB is currently 60k, but that it was 80k a month or so ago. Does anyone know if it might go back up anytime soon?

And, does the FM team have a referral code so I can reward them for all they do for me/us?

I’m planning to transfer points earned on the double cash for a trip in a few months.

Thanks all

Greg The Frequent Miler

We don’t know if/when the offer will increase but it does seem to increase temporarily once or twice per year. It very well could be worth waiting to see.

The link at the top of this post is an affiliate link: that means that we earn a commission if you click through to apply and get approved. That’s better for our business tan a referral link. Thanks for supporting us!

Frank

Can anyone confirm whether or not they killed the extended warranty on the Citi Premier card? I have searched the Citi website and can’t find an extended warranty mentioned on any of the promo material for that card, nor any other Citi card for that matter. Thanks.

Alex Z.

Just for the DP:
Applied online and got an instant denial.
After several days they sent me an encrypted email that said:
“Your credit report shows a high amount of unused credit compared to your available credit lines.
Your credit report shows too many bank or national revolving accounts.”
Too me it sounds like: “Your credit is too good”, wtf really ?
Didn’t open CCs for over a year, leased a new car in August they hit my report 2-3 times, that’s about it. CS is over 800. And yes, I have many CCs, about 15.
Also the interesting thing is that they mentioned my CS in 4-digits number, not 3 like we all got used to.

Last edited 2 years ago by Alex Z.
CJ R

This happened to me and my wife in August and September. We each got a Venture card 3 months previously but nothing in the previous year.

LTL

I saw a post on Award Wallet saying this was “ending soon.” Do you have any info on when this is ending? Or is that just a clickbaity type of headline trying to spur signups?

Andrea

Strange thing happened when I applied. I was denied because I had too many “inquiries” when they looked at my credit via Experian. I had just put in an application with Chase about 10 minutes prior. No other inquires for over 2 years. This was a hard stop for Citi, and they would not reconsider even given my 20 year relationship with them. Seems harsh.

Greg The Frequent Miler

That’s crazy. I bet that “too many inquiries” wasn’t the real reason, but that’s what they gave you

T D

First – thanks for all the information you post here, what a great job you have. We have been able to take several European vacations with the kids that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to without the information, tips, and knowledge you post.

The annual fee on my Citi Premier card falls due this month and for me there are no card benefits worth the fee. As I see it there are two options. One, transfer my points to an airline partner. Not terrible as the miles will eventually be used, but locks me into that specific airline.

Two, downgrade to a Citi card with no annual fee and keep those points alive. The problem is I don’t see any Citi card option that has no annual fee, where the transferred points don’t expire, and where I can still transfer those points to a partner airline down the road. Am I missing something?

Nick Reyes

Yup – downgrade to a Rewards+. I think you can also still downgrade to a Thank You Preferred. Then, if you want to transfer to airlines in the future, simply upgrade to the Premier again (or open a Premier again if eligible for the welcome bonus again).

T D

Thanks Nick.

Jesus

Its been over 24 months that I have received a Welcome bonus on the Citi Prestige card but since then I have been able to product change an AA Platinum to a Prestige and was approved for an additional Prestige. Today I was approved for a Premier 24 months after receiving the bonus. Should I expect to receive the bonus?

Greg The Frequent Miler

Yes, I think so

Randy

How is the 24 month rule applied? Is it that you cannot have opened or closed within 24 months of being approved or within 24 months of completing the requirement or of the bonus posting. (Can I apply for a Premier and if approved cancel my Prestige or do I have to wait for the bonus to post to cancel?)

Greg The Frequent Miler

To get bonus on any ThankYou card, you must wait 24 months after receiving a new cardmember bonus or closing any ThankYou card account. So, the 24 months are from the time of receiving the bonus or from cancelling. I think you’d be OK to cancel the Prestige after approval but I’d recommend waiting until the bonus posts to be safe.

[…] 24 month restrictions against getting a bonus for the same or a similar card.  For example, the Citi Premier bonus has this […]

Captain Greg

To be clear, product changing (say, from a premier to a rewards+) does not count against the 24 month ThankYou card signup bonus rule, right?

Greg The Frequent Miler

If only it was that simple. When you product change within the ThankYou lineup, most of the time you keep your same card number. If that’s the case then what you wrote is true. However, if you get a new card number, it counts as cancelling the old card and resets the clock. Citi can tell you via phone or chat whether the product change will result in a new card number before you make the change

Captain Greg

Interesting. I wonder if this is consistent – like if one person changes from a premier to a prestige without the number changing, then it is true for everyone – or if it’s random (two different people could switch from a premier to a prestige, but one keeps the same number while the other gets a different one). Do you know?

Greg The Frequent Miler

I don’t think it’s random, but it’s definitely not consistent. I’ve done the same changes at different times with different results

[…] Citi Premier card carries several interesting 3x […]

[…] Citi Premier: Earn 3X ThankYou points per dollar at gas stations. […]

[…] 24 month restrictions against getting a bonus for the same or a similar card.  For example, the Citi Premier bonus has this […]