File this under “unconfirmed reports”, but we’ve received a tip from a seemingly reliable source that Citi has pulled the plug on its long-rumored “Strata” cards and those cards have been indefinitely put on hold. Doctor of Credit recently reported that these cards were expected to launch soon, but we had previously been told to expect a launch date closer to Q2 next year. I want to emphasize that none of this information is official, but I think it is at least very likely that you’ll be disappointed if you are waiting with bated breath on new Citi cards.
We had previously heard some rumored details about the new Citi Strata cards, which included a very large bonus category likely coming on the “Elite” version of the card and an expected launch date in April or May of 2024, but we held off on publishing in part because I was always skeptical that any of this would come to fruition. It’s not that I doubted the source of the information, it’s that I doubted Citi’s commitment. I’d love to see Citi compete with the likes of the Chase Sapphire cards and the Amex Platinum card — I miss the old Citi Prestige card — I just never had much faith that they would actually do it. My impression has long been that Citi has been focusing on the lower end of the market in terms of offering solid cards that have no annual fee, modest welcome bonuses, and relatively limited rewards (a la Citi Custom Cash, Rewards+, and Double Cash) designed for a more “average customer” than those looking for ultra-premium options. It just didn’t seem to me like Citi had much desire to compete in the ultra-premium card space.
Then they launched a newly revamped AAdvantage Executive card a couple of months ago and it gave us some hope that maybe they actually intended to offer a set of premium benefits. The re-introduction of travel protections on that card seemed like a positive development and I felt more optimistic that maybe we would indeed see the Strata cards launched next year as we’d been told.
However, it sounds like things have taken a turn at Citi. They recently announced a major reorganization and it would seem reasonable that perhaps they decided that it just isn’t the right time to focus on a new product launch after all. We were told that the Strata cards have been put on hold — and if “on hold with Citi” isn’t a euphemism for “guzzled into an infinite vortex from which one is likely never to emerge”, I don’t know what is.
Keep in mind that although I think our source is likely reliable here, I would still categorize this as a rumor. It is certainly possible that our source is wrong and these long-rumored cards will launch after all. I wouldn’t bet the farm on a near-term launch, but know that we don’t know beyond a shadow of a doubt.
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Any updates from your source? I was underwhelmed by the WF Autograph Journey launch, but still hoping something worth applying for to come out this year…
Citibank has a Prestige problem.
The thought I could not keep out of my mind whenever I hear anything about the coming Citi Strata is that of the old “2015 Citi Prestige”. Yeah, that super travel credit card, and that’s the problem I feel Citi is going to have.
No matter what great new travel card they’re planning to launch, it’s going to be in the shadow of the old Prestige. In humble opinion, Citi should re-launch the Prestige like AMEX relaunched the Platinum after the CSR appeared on the scene.
The Citi Prestige is still offered in places like Singapore. So I’d imagine they could always relaunch it with a few changes.
What’s interesting is there’s a metric ton of value in this seemingly low yield program:
That’s all to say, I’d love a premium card. But nothing realistically is going to earn more than what they offer already. It would be some sort of “perk program” card, likely.
A couple of notes:
1) “Chase and Amex have lower multiplies on unbonused spend”. <–Not true for Amex. The Blue Business Plus also offers 2x on all purchases up to $50,000 per year (then 1x). If you’re considering this Citi strategy, you’re presumably spending less than $50K per year.
2) “Find me another program that gives you 5x for $0 AF” <– The Chase Ink Cash card offers 5x at office supply stores on up to $25,000 in purchases per year (and you can also have multiple of these). You can buy fee-free Visa or Mastercard gift cards to use for grocery or restaurants, Delta or Southwest airlines gift cards if those fit your airline needs, or a multitude of other merchant-specific gift cards at office supply stores. Whereas the Custom Cash strategy limits you to $500 per month per card (so if you have 3 Custom Cash cards as you suggest, that’s 5x on up to $18,000 in purchases per year — and that’s assuming that you spend exactly $500 per month in each of those categories).
I think a lot of people would be better off with a Chase Ink Cash, possibly a Chase Freedom Unlimited, and a Chase Sapphire Preferred card. Same $95 annual fee, far more 5x bandwidth and breadth, and 1.5x as a backup. Yes, that means 0.5x less on unbonused purchases, but since you’ll likely earn 5x on most purchases, that probably isn’t a major loss?
I’m not telling you that the Citi strategy is a bad one. It’s a decent enough strategy. I think it’s quite a stretch to call it a metric ton of value compared to the competition even before you consider Citi’s far inferior transfer partners. Once you also consider quality of transfer partners and methods of getting better than 1cpp in value when not using transfer partners, Citi becomes a pretty niche choice IMO.
Fair points (particularly on my hyperbole.)
Agreed the slightly higher cpp redemption on points is nice, that is an edge that CSP has.
Regarding the Chase and Amex card earn strategy, I don’t consider that generalizable because it doesn’t apply to anyone who doesn’t own a business. For W2 people like me, applying for a business card is technically fraud. (As of 2022, there were ~132M W2 employees in the US, ~61M people employed by a small business. Unclear how many people would be eligible for business cards.)
Citi, Chase, CapOne and Amex all have ways to redeem awards on SkyTeam, OneWorld and Star Alliance. Their are niches in each one (these days, I prefer Eva business redemptions which is only possible with Citi and CapOne), I’m curious why you generally perceive Chase to be superior regarding partners.
I will be fair on another dimension: Citi, from a customer service perspective, straight sucks. If you have to call them, kiss the hour goodbye. If you get a name change, your month is gone and you will probably be using faxes and pneumatic tubes before it’s over. But if you can do things online, it’s not a big deal.
“For W2 people like me, applying for a business card is technically fraud.”
Huh? What are you basing that statement on? There are millions of people who have a full time (W2) job and also have part-time small businesses. There is no requirement as to how big your business needs to be to get approved for a business card — selling stuff on eBay every now and then, mowing lawns, babysitting, working on writing a book you hope to sell one day — all sorts of things you might only do here and there can be considered a business. There is no requirement that the business under which you open a business credit card is your full time job. There’s no fraud involved in having a very small business that only provides some small fraction of your income. In fact, it doesn’t have to provide income at all – millions of small businesses lose money in any given year. I’ve had no problem getting approved for business cards for a business where I expected expenses to be greater than revenue and reported as much during the application process.
Really, anyone can be eligible for business cards in the United States. You are correct that not everyone will recognize the entrepreneurial opportunities that lie before them, but most people could go after business cards with minimal effort.
In terms of why I perceive Chase to be superior to Citi:
1) Chase has Hyatt. Citi doesn’t have a similarly valuable hotel transfer partner. Wyndham is the closest thing to equal, but Wyndham points can frequently be bought for a little bit less than 1cpp, which makes them a less valuable partner to me. I guess Leading Hotels of the World may work out to be Hyatt-ish, but with a much MUCH smaller footprint.
2) Chase has almost all of Citi’s valuable airline transfer partners. The exceptions are Turkish, EVA, and LifeMiles. I’m more than happy to deal with the headaches of dealing with Turkish, but most people aren’t. I know that some people love EVA, but I’ve just never found their redemption rates to be anything to write home about. My impression is that the major thing EVA miles have going for them is access to more EVA award space. If that fits your travel needs, that makes sense. LifeMiles is a hole for Chase. On the other hand, Chase has Aeroplan, which (IMO) is an exciting award program for those interested in complex award trips (which I am). And at 60K one-way in business class from NY and Boston to Germany and points west within Europe with no surcharges, it is a better deal than what LifeMiles offers on all but their odd pricing anomaly routes like JFK-LIS. And I think a lot of people would prefer having United and Southwest as domestic partners versus Citi only having JetBlue for a domestic program. I don’t find those to be strengths for Chase, but I think an average customer would.
Let me be clear: I don’t think Chase has the best transfer partners. I think Amex and Capital One both have better partners than Chase, but I think Citi lags behind.
Hey Nick,
I’ll be brief in saying its generally a very interesting discussion between you and Andrew. I’ll say in general I’m with him. Simply because I think with the ‘niche’ Citi has with Turkish, Choice (for 2:1 value) and Wyndham, that’s quite a value add not available with Chase or Amex.
I for example am desperate to get the Citi Premier (or one of the relevant rumored card(s)) to make a particular booking with Turkish. As well as a possible Choice reservation in Northern Europe with that value.
I say this as someone with 6 figure points with both Chase and Amex.
Just closed my Citi account that I run heavy revenue through. My AA relationship is also ending do do very poor customer service and market understanding.
Are these two companies sharing management??? Dumb business loses great core customers….
Chase, Amex and Delta…. A far better combination.
As an advantage executive card heavy user I would be very disappointed if this is true. But Citi has failed to keep up with Chase and many others on consumer facing products for years.
American Airlines is no longer the leader they once were and it seems Citi is of the same cloth.
It look like the Chase Sapphire, Amex Platinum and Delta are far better partners to work with….
At least you know what they say might happen…..
With Citi it’s far less likely that they will offer anything compelling to consumers ever….
While Delta is certainly a nicer airline to fly on, their loyalty program/point value from cards is pretty atrocious. Skymiles are more or less always 0.01 which makes almost all cashback cards far more useful.
Great artilcle!
Banks that are “in the game” have a premium travel card and a mid-level travel card. Citi realized its premium card (the Prestige) sorely needed a refresh. When most banks do a refresh on a card, they suspend applications, there’s a quiet period, and then the update is released. Citi’s scenario had the look and feel of just that. Why would it be any different?
Your “empire builder” comment makes no sense. A name change coupled with a card refresh . . . building an empire? How many iterations of the Chase Freedom have there been?
Your reference to “Indians” is intolerant. If a WASP was behind Citi’s strategy, would you still call it empire building? But, if you’re going to reference “Indians,” you might as well mention Vasu Raja, a key AA executive involved in establishing AA’s Loyalty Points scheme, which is widely applauded.
I will include you in my prayers.
Were we reading the same article?
Sir, this is a Wendy’s.
This has got to be the most bizarre comment
[…] 9/25/23: According to a source close to FM, these cards are being shelved and won’t launch anytime soon. Chances are this is due to […]
I would have liked to see your mug somehow implemented into this web story.
“Web story”
Good to know. Any intel into all of these recent reports on Citi restricting product changes? I saw numerous references on Flyertalk, reddit, etc that people are being told that they are no longer allowing conversions to the Custom Cash card (also some Double Cash reports). I am hoping this is temporary, but it seems like it is more than just a single misinformed agent saying this.
Not sure of the reports but I switched one o my premier card to custom cash 6 weeks ago without issue.
I just downgraded from Premier to DC last week.
Thanks for the heads up! Loved this article.