After being deluged with Chase Sapphire Reserve and Reserve for Business speculation over the last few weeks, there’s a new topic catching steam in the blogosphere: the prospective launch of the long-awaited Citi Strata Elite card.
A source from Citi shared some details with us earlier this week, which Greg wrote about, and we’ve seen additional data shared with Doctor of Credit by someone else who claims to be a Citi employee. Dave over at MilesTalk took the novel approach of walking into a Citi branch and asking questions, and learned some more useful information…including that the card will be launching in-branch on Sunday.
None of the info below was officially provided by Citi (outside of what MilesTalk learned), but there’s enough specific detail here (that agrees with our source) to make me think that the broad outlines are accurate.
Citi Strata Elite Details
Launch Date and Welcome Offer
We were told earlier that the Strata Elite would be launching this weekend, and that was confirmed to MilesTalk by a New York Citi branch. In fact, it’s supposed to go live in-branch this Sunday. We don’t yet know whether or not that means it will be available online as well.
- The initial welcome offer will be 80,000 ThankYou points after $4k spend, unless you’re a CitiGold client, which will kick it up to 100,000 points after the same $4,000.
In a world of triple digits, an 80K offer doesn’t really capture the imagination, although folks looking for Citi points will be appreciate, given how long the Citi Strata Premier has been at 60K. Getting an extra 20,000 points and saving $145 on the annual fee will undoubtedly have folks looking at the requirements for CitiGold. It requires $200K in assets on hand with Citi (inclusive of securities)…a big ask for most folks.
Annual Fee
- $595, or $450 for CitiGold clients
Rumored Earning Details
The Citi employee posting on DOC gave the full bonus category info as follows:
- 12x on hotels, car rentals and attractions when booked on Citi travel
- 6X on air travel when booked on Citi travel
- 6X on restaurants on every Friday and Saturday between 6 pm to 6 am ET
- 3x points at restaurants outside of Fri/Sat nights
- 1.5X on all other purchases
It sounds like those who currently have the Citi Prestige card will be forcibly converted to Strata Elite, knocking the 5x on dining that they can currently earn 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to 3x anytime and 6x on Friday and Saturday nights.
Also, the 5x that the Prestige currently earns on travel agencies and flights goes down to 1x (unless you book through Citi). Earning 12x on hotels is great, but if that means no elite benefits or points because you have to book through the portal, it certainly loses some shine, especially since the Prestige earns 3x on hotels when booking directly.
This earning structure is a big disappointment to me, as it tries to funnel all travel booking through Citi’s portal, which is something I’d never want to do willingly. We were hoping that it would more or less mimic the current 5x/3x structure on the Prestige, but it sounds like a significant downgrade.
Rumored Credits
It’s an ultra-premium card, so of course, it has to have coupons credits. Lots of credits. Here’s what’s supposedly on the menu:
- $200 Blacklane Credit (bi-annual) – $100 in the first half of the year and up to $100 in the second half of the year
- $200 Splurge Credit (annual) – Earn up to $200 in statement credits at up to 2 of the following brands: 1stDibs, American Airlines, Best Buy*, Future Personal Training and Live Nation
- $300 Hotel Benefit (annual) – $300 off a hotel stay of two nights or more booked through cititravel.com
Just like Chase and Amex, Citi has a hotel credit and, like Chase, it has to be used on a stay of two nights are more. Unlike Chase (and Amex), it sounds like it can be used on any hotel that can be booked through Citi Travel, as opposed to just properties that are part of the respective luxury hotel programs. That will make it easier to use without spending a ton of extra cash. Unfortunately, you still have to book through Citi Travel, and I find that many properties that I’ve seen are more expensive than what you find on Expedia or Booking.com.
The “Splurge” credit is a bit of an oddball, as you can use it for event tickets (through Live Nation), flights, electronics, personal training, or home furnishings (1stDibs). I probably wouldn’t have a hard time using that up between Best Buy and Live Nation, but what a random assortment of stores. At least it appears to be one lump sum that can be used throughout the year instead of another bi-annual split.
Speaking of bi-annual, you also get chauffeur credits! I almost forgot that Blacklane still exists. It’s effectively a black car service that you can either book by the hour or by origin and destination. It’s available around the world, so it could be reasonable to use for airport pickup or local transportation. In the US, rates seem to start at ~ $100 for an hour. Going from Seattle-Tacoma Airport to downtown Seattle, which is usually between $40-$70 using a normal rideshare, prices out at $125 when booked through Blacklane. So, that $100 credit may not get you far.
Additional Benefits
- Complimentary Priority Pass Select Membership – we don’t know whether or not restaurants are included
- Four American Airlines Admirals Club passes each year
- Up to $120 Global Entry® or TSA PreCheck® Application Fee Credit
This is pretty standard fare, although the Admiral’s Club passes will undoubtedly come in handy for some folks…especially if you’re not limited to using them when flying AA, like what Amex does with Delta SkyClub access on the Platinum cards.
I am curious to see what the Priority Pass will look like. It sounds like this will be a Mastercard, and the first of the new “Legend Elite” cards. Given that, we may see this being one of the rare Priority Pass subscriptions that includes restaurant access, as opposed to just lounges. For some folks, that won’t matter a lick. For others, like me, that would be a huge improvement, as my local airport has several worthwhile Priority Pass Restaurants, with more substantial meals than can be had in the lounges.
Quick Thoughts
Welp. If this is it, it’s very on-brand for Citi…a little more “meh” than “yeah.” I’ve been planning on picking up this card when it goes live, but looking at what’s on offer, I’m not so sure. Between Amex and Chase, I have a bad case of coupon fatigue and, at first glance, what’s on offer here doesn’t jump out at me as being worth the mental efforts of having more credits in my life…especially at $595/year. I’ll still be interested to see the final benefits (and their terms) spelled out in detail. For now, I can’t see running to my local Citi branch on Sunday to sign up.
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There are probably a few locations where the AA 4 visits lounge access may be useful as a gap filler to PP lounges, like LAX.
Wouldn’t be something I would rush to get. The SUB is weak. But may be something to look at later as a possible VX replacement as C1 nerfed lounge access. Also, I am curious what Bilt does as they are the new kid on the block.
What branches are even open on sundays???
So are they going to open Citi branches this Sunday for special launch events? That should be awesome /s
So there’s at least one person like “Oooh this IS the credit card that I always wanted!”, right?
…right?
Tim, what are your favorite Priority Pass restaurants at SEA? I really like the food at Bambuza Vietnam Kitchen & Bar 🙂
Agree. But it is a long way to go if you are not flying Alaska.
So not worth it! Spend $600 for $800 worth of points and maybe $500 worth of coupons
booking hotels thru bank portals is just not a thing in my world. A card that fights me, to make me do such a thing, is not welcome in my wallet. Yes, I want ThankYou points (xfer to EVA) so I’ll be watching for a very generous Welcome offer, but this isn’t a go-to card. Back to Strata Premier.
If they improve their insurance, the priority pass remains for restaurants, and AA becomes a transfer partner, then I think it’s a keeper for me (especially since I’m Citi Gold with a reduced annual fee). If not, then it might be time to say good bye to the Citi Prestige 🙁
$200 bi annual and $300 biannual, which are $1000 relatively easy credits. If one already is CitiGold, for $450 it seems a no brainer to me.
It’s $500 total per year…
I believe those are annual according to Tim.
Any info on when those with the Prestige card will be forcibly converted?
This is shaping up to be a good card for those who find the credits on the Chase Sapphire Reserve overly stimulating.
Also might go for this or Marriot brilliant for c1vx killing guest
@Tim citi travel is now cheaper than Expedia for this year I used it 5 times when cheaper, and found 3 times not available and 2 time expensive but on 1 it was only $20 difference so miles wipe out that the other one $100 though
If I’m converted to this junk from Prestige, I’ll probably downgrade to Premier, but coupons seem to be usable, so I’ll test it first.
Start with the Venture X and add the Savor. Play around with the multipliers. Add miscellaneous benefits/coupons for breakage. Raise the annual fee. That’s what this looks like.