On Credit Cards – Of Course This Is the New Citi Strata Elite Mastercard

Citi Strata Elite Mastercard

Since the Citi Prestige via new application disappeared what seems like forever ago, points and travel enthusiasts have awaited the bank’s updated version of a premium, high annual fee credit card.  In the meantime, many have joked about Citi’s deliberate, hamfisted handling of the purported new product.  So with a healthy dose of surreality, I’m considering the new Citi Strata Elite Mastercard today.  My first gut feeling?  Of course the new premium Citi card looks like this.  But despite its wackiness, the Citi Strata Elite can make sense for many.

Citi Strata Elite Mastercard Highlights

You can check out DDG’s article for full details on the Citi Strata Elite Mastercard, but here are the highlights:

• Signup Bonus:  80k bonus ThankYou Points by spending $4k within the first three months; 100k TYP by applying via a branch-provided application
• Earning:
  • 12x bookings via Citi Travel; air travel bookings via Citi Travel earn 6x
  • “Citi Nights” – 6x restaurants on Fridays and Saturdays, 6 pm ET to 6 am ET
  • 3x Restaurants all other times
  • 1.5x everywhere else
• $300 Annual Hotel Benefit per calendar year; requires a minimum two night stay and booking via cititravel.com
• $200 Annual Splurge Credit per calendar year on a maximum of 2 of the following brands:  1stDibs, American Airlines (exclusions apply), Best Buy, Future Personal Training and Live Nation (exclusions apply)
• 4 Admirals Club Passes each calendar year
• Priority Pass Select Membership
• $120 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit
• $200 Annual Blacklane Credit per calendar year in two $100 biannual increments
• $595 annual fee, and $145 off that fee for Citi Gold members.  Additional User cards are $75 each.

My Initial Take

Signup Bonus

I find both signup bonus options underwhelming when compared to those of premium cards from Chase and Amex.  But, in a vacuum, I feel the Strata Elite welcome offer amount is fairly on-point (get it?) for Citi.  I’ll be interested to see how successful individuals are with bank-provided applications, especially those without Citi branches in their respective regions.  Regardless, the SUB more than covers this premium card’s modest annual fee for the first cardmember year.  More on that later.

Earning

Similar to other banks’ premium cards, Citi is tying it’s more eye-popping earning rates to bookings via its own travel portal.  I’ve found competitive rates via there, but it’s been years since I’ve used it with any regularity.  Like many angles in our hobby, the people who put in the time here will do better.

In my view, the standout feature of this card is 6x restaurant earning via Citi Nights, and it’s on-brand Citi.  In a weird-but-fun-but-let’s-see-how-Citi-screws-this-up move, the Strata Elite Mastercard earns 6x on restaurant purchases on Friday and Saturday nights from 6 pm ET to 6 am ET.  (Yes, that does include Sunday morning until 6 am ET.)  For those who spend plenty on dining and can deal with these wacky parameters, this is an outstanding earning opportunity.  Granted, some who hold the still-hanging-around Prestige can earn a solid 5x dining at all times.  But the bank’s bringing something clearly interesting with the Elite’s Citi Nights.

Similar to the Strata Premier, the Elite otherwise earns 3x on dining.  That’s it for Strata Elite bonus earning categories, but it’s cool to see Citi outdoes Amex and Chase with a 1.5x earning floor for all other purchases (of course, how each individual values their respective bank points plays a role, too).

Benefits As Credits

I actually find the Elite’s $300 Annual Hotel Credit superior to the new Chase Sapphire Reserve’s $500 Edit benefit.  These benefits each require booking via their bank travel portal and require a two-night minimum stay, but they differ in many other ways.  The Elite’s $300 credit is good throughout the year, while Chase doles out $250 biannually.  It takes more “work” to get superior value out of the Chase benefit – two separate stays annually.  As I wrote about previously, I view Chase’s credit more as a one-time $250 annual perk for many individuals.  And as I also mentioned in that article, Chase may reverse the credit if a Sapphire Reserve cardholder closes the account within 90 days of receiving it, essentially making it a nine-month benefit for a single-year cardholder.

Conversely, I can fully use Citi’s $300 credit in one stay.  Even better, Citi’s credit isn’t limited to certain high-priced properties.  It appears Elite cardholders can use this credit at any hotel on Citi’s portal, including many cheap and mid-tier properties, without going out of pocket beyond the $300 credit.

Speaking of optimizing by not spending beyond a benefit amount, individuals can fully leverage the Splurge credit without blowing more cash money.  The partners aren’t exactly sexy, but I see two – AA and Best Buy – which many individuals will have no problem maximizing.

Admirals Club Pass Benefit Minutiae

As a Citi AA Executive authorized user, the four Admirals Club passes aren’t valuable in my situation.  But many will find them plenty useful, and they have more utility than I first realized.  First, the bad news:  these passes aren’t completely transferrable.  During Elite card application, the applicant is required to provide their AAdvantage number for these digital Admirals Club passes.  The terms state that the following:

The primary cardmember must redeem one Pass to enter an Admirals Club lounge and may redeem available passes for each accompanying adult 18 years of age or older….The primary cardmember must be present with each accompanying adult for them to enter any Admirals Club lounge location. 

So while the primary Elite cardholder must enter with one pass, they can use the remaining three on others.  Or the cardholder can take two separate trips, visiting clubs with a companion each time.  It gets better, according to the terms:

Once redeemed, a Pass is valid for a 24-hour period and can be used in multiple locations during that time. Up to 3 children under 18 years of age who are traveling with an adult who redeemed a Pass may also enter the lounge. 

Gearheads who want to maximize each of these passes can access Admirals Clubs for up to 24 hours following their first entry.  Plus, each adult using a pass can bring in up to three kids who don’t need their own passes.

All passes expire at the end of each calendar year.  Plus, let’s remember these are Admirals Clubs – not exactly luxurious.  Still, many will find worthy uses.

The Superfluous Extras

The Citi Strata Elite Mastercard is the latest product to come with Priority Pass Select membership, the non-restaurant version which so many other premium cards offer.  And the card has more Global Entry and TSA PreCheck credit.  The Elite is the first time I’ve ever heard of Blacklane, but I can pick up luxury rides if I want to via existing Uber credits.  Perhaps some will find varying levels of use from these benefits.

Annual Fee

I’m not surprised to see the annual fee come in substantially under most other premium cards from the credit card heavyweights.  Again, the signup bonus alone more than subsidizes the first-year annual fee, and individuals can easily stack on more value with a few of the other card benefits.  Longer term, I’ll be interested to see if those benefits convince cardholders to stick around in year two and beyond.

Conclusion

I don’t think Citi will significantly add new customers with the Strata Elite.  But Citi cardholders already in the ThankYou points ecosystem can readily do bigger things with this new card product.  And any aggressive hobbyist should consider at least one year due to the SUB, Citi Nights earning, and certain other card benefits.  Plus, let’s remember this card, the Premier, and Prestige now unlock point transfers to AAdvantage (more on that soon).  The Citi Strata Elite is another wacky entry from Citi, but for some, it’s a good-weird.

Are you planning to pick up the Citi Strata Elite Mastercard?  Why or why not?