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Choosing a credit card that fits your needs can be overwhelming, especially if you're not overly familiar with the different card issuers, the benefits of each card, and how best to redeem your points. Both the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card and the American Express® Green Card offer serious perks for consumers, including elevated rewards for dining and travel. Let's compare the features of these cards, how they stack up against one another, and which one is the best for your situation.
Page Contents
- Citi Strata Premier vs. Amex Green Card Welcome Offer
- Citi Strata Premier vs. Amex Green Card Annual Fee
- When To Use Citi Strata Premier vs. Amex Green Card
- Other Citi Strata Premier Benefits vs. Amex Green Card
- Citi Strata Premier vs. Amex Green Card Travel Portal
- Citi Strata Premier vs. Amex Green Card — Comparing Redemption Values
- Which Card Is Better: Citi Strata Premier or Amex Green Card?
Citi Strata Premier vs. Amex Green Card Welcome Offer
- 10X points per $1 on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X points per $1 spent on airfare, and other hotel purchases
- 3X points per $1 spent at gas and EV charging stations
- 3X points per $1 spent on dining at restaurants, including cafes, bars and lounges
- 3X points per $1 spent at supermarkets
- 1X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
- 3x Membership Rewards® on travel
- 3x Membership Rewards® at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 3x Membership Rewards® on transit including trains, buses, ferries, subways, and more
- 1x Membership Rewards® on other purchases
Card issuers attempt to lure in new customers in a variety of ways, including balance transfer offers and welcome offers. What you'll receive will depend on which card you acquire, but it often involves a lump-sum bonus of points deposited to your account after meeting a minimum spending requirement. Here is the current welcome offer for each of these cards:
- Citi Strata Premier: Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
- Amex Green Card: Earn 40,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Winner: Citi Strata Premier
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
- 3x Membership Rewards® on travel
- 3x Membership Rewards® at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 3x Membership Rewards® on transit including trains, buses, ferries, subways, and more
- 1x Membership Rewards® on other purchases
Citi Strata Premier vs. Amex Green Card Annual Fee
Both of these cards charge an annual fee, but they aren't expensive if you compare them to cards charging $500+ each year. As it stands, the Citi Strata Premier will charge you $95 per year. The Amex Green Card, meanwhile, will run you $150 per year . Although you'll receive more perks with a higher fee, if you're not able to take advantage of them then you're simply paying more money for no reason. In this case, a lower annual fee is always better.
Winner: Citi Strata Premier
Related: How to Earn Citi ThankYou Points
- 3X points per $1 on airfare and hotels and at gas stations, restaurants, and supermarkets
- Annual Hotel Benefit: Save $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when you book through CitiTravel.com
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 10X points per $1 on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X points per $1 spent on airfare, and other hotel purchases
- 3X points per $1 spent at gas and EV charging stations
- 3X points per $1 spent on dining at restaurants, including cafes, bars and lounges
- 3X points per $1 spent at supermarkets
- 1X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
When To Use Citi Strata Premier vs. Amex Green Card
The Citi Strata Premier and the Amex Green Card pretty closely mirror each other when it comes to earnings. Here's how the Citi Premier Card earns points:
- 10X points per $1 on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X points per $1 spent on airfare, and other hotel purchases
- 3X points per $1 spent at gas and EV charging stations
- 3X points per $1 spent on dining at restaurants, including cafes, bars and lounges
- 3X points per $1 spent at supermarkets
- 1X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
And here's the Amex Green card:
- 3x Membership Rewards® on travel
- 3x Membership Rewards® at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 3x Membership Rewards® on transit including trains, buses, ferries, subways, and more
- 1x Membership Rewards® on other purchases
As you can see, you're rewarded pretty heavily for meals and travel no matter which card you're using. However, the Amex Green Card also gives you 3x on broader travel purchases, such as rental cars and vacation rentals, while the Citi Strata Premier doesn't.
The Citi Strata Premier, meanwhile, will give you 3x on groceries and gas, which makes this a better option if most of your spending is in these categories, rather than travel and transit.
Winner: It depends. Both cards have excellent bonus categories, but the one that better suits your needs (travel vs. everyday purchases) is going to be the winner for you.
Other Citi Strata Premier Benefits vs. Amex Green Card
Annual, monthly, or other credits
The Amex Green Card comes with an annual $199 credit towards CLEAR Plus each year. CLEAR Plus allows you to skip the standard security line at the airport, whether you have TSA PreCheck or not. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
The Citi Strata Premier has more limited credits. You'll receive $100 off a $500 hotel stay booked through Citi's travel portal once per year. This is far less valuable, especially since hotel stays booked through a third party aren't eligible for elite status benefits or credits.
Winner: Amex Green Card
Related: How to Get CLEAR for Free
Citi Strata Premier vs. Amex Green Card transfer partners
Both American Express Membership Rewards and Citi ThankYou Points can be transferred to hotel and airline partners. Amex has a total of 21 partners, while Citi has 21. However, each of these programs has partnerships with at least one member of all three big airline alliances. This means you'll be able to fly just about anywhere in the world with points from either of these cards.
The points you'll prefer will depend on your travel habits, but there are a few things to note. First, Citi ThankYou Points earned with your Citi Strata Premier are worth twice as much when transferring over to Choice Privileges. This means that one Citi point becomes two Choice points. Amex is also a transfer partner to Choice, but it only transfers at a 1:1 ratio.
Choice Privileges may not be the favorite for reward redemptions, but it does well in that it doesn't charge extra for suites or for bringing extra people with you—even at all-inclusive resorts.
Recent AwardWallet user redemptions also show that travelers redeem their Citi points at an average rate of 2.19¢ each versus 1.96¢ each for Amex points.
Winner: Tie. The points that you'll earn with either card are highly valuable. Although Amex has more transfer partners, Citi's valuable relationship with Choice and slightly higher average redemption value make up for the loss.
Related: What Are the Best Flexible Rewards Points for Free Travel?
Travel insurance protections and other benefits
The Amex Green Card offers a few different types of insurance benefits for both travel and purchases that you make with the card:
- Secondary rental car coverage: By using your card to pay and declining coverage at the counter, you'll receive secondary insurance coverage for any cars that you rent in eligible countries.
- Baggage insurance plan: Receive up to $1,250 for carry-on and up to $500 for checked luggage that's lost, damaged, or stolen during your trip. This is in excess of what's provided by the carrier.
- Trip delay insurance: If your trip is delayed by more than 12 hours, you can receive up to $300 per trip for reasonable expenses incurred by the delay. There is a maximum of two claims in a 12-month period.
- Purchase protection: Provides protection for 90 days from purchase for items that are stolen or damaged. There's a limit of $1,000 per claim and up to $50,000 annually.
- Extended warranty protection: You can extend a warranty for an additional year for warranties of five years or less on purchases made in the United States.
The Citi Strata Premier, meanwhile, provides its own set of protections:
- Trip cancellation and interruption coverage: When you pay for round-trip travel on a common carrier with your card or points from your card, you are covered for up to $5,000 per trip and up to $10,000 per account in a 12-month period. Coverage applies to trips up to 365 days in length.
- Trip delay protection: Pay for your entire trip with your card or points earned from it to be covered on trips up to 365 days long. Coverage applies to delays of six or more hours and provides reimbursement of up to $500 per trip, up to two claims in a 12-month period.
- Lost or damaged luggage protection: Pay for the entire trip with your card or your points to enjoy coverage for your carry-on and checked luggage of up to $3,000, with a maximum of two claims per 12-month period. Coverage is in excess of what the common carrier provides.
- MasterRental car rental coverage: Pay for the entire rental with your Citi Strata Premier (or the points from your account) and decline the rental company's protection to enjoy coverage up to the actual cash value of the vehicle. This policy covers collision, theft, and vandalism, including towing and loss-of-use charges. Coverage is secondary within your country of residence and primary elsewhere.
- Purchase protection: With purchase protection, you can buy an eligible item using your Citi Strata Premier℠ Card and receive up to $10,000 per incident if the item is damaged or stolen within 90 days of the purchase or delivery date. The maximum limit per calendar year is $50,000.
- Extended warranty: The extended warranty coverage extends the manufacturer's warranty on eligible items for 24 months. This benefit applies to items with a manufacturer's warranty of five years or less, and coverage is limited to $10,000 per item.
Aside from this, both cards include no foreign transaction fees (see the of the Amex Green Card).
Winner: Citi Strata Premier
Combining rewards
There's no doubt that Citi wins this battle since it allows you to transfer up to 100,000 ThankYou Points per year into someone else's account. This means that if you need a top-up for a redemption, you can easily swap points back and forth between yourself, your Player 2, or anyone else with a Citi ThankYou-earning account. Do note points expire 90 days after they're shared.
American Express doesn't have this feature, though it will allow you to transfer Membership Rewards points into the loyalty program account of any authorized users on your card (if this person has been an authorized user for at least 90 days). That being said, some programs, such as Hilton Honors, allow you to pool points with up to 10 members for free. You can use this as a workaround by transferring your points into these types of programs and combining them on the other end.
Winner: Citi Strata Premier
Related: Which Rewards Programs Allow You to Combine Points and Miles for Free?
Citi Strata Premier vs. Amex Green Card Travel Portal
It's possible to book a variety of travel through Citi's travel portal, including flights, hotels, rental cars, and even attractions. When redeeming your points through the portal, you'll receive a value of one cent per point. This is less than the average redemption value with transfer partners, but it's still better than you'll receive with most Amex travel portal bookings.
If choosing to pay with your Citi Strata Premier, you'll receive 10x ThankYou Points on hotel, rental cars, and attraction bookings purchased through CitiTravel.com. Air travel remains at 3x per $1 spent—including flights purchased directly with airlines.
The Amex travel portal doesn't include attractions, but it does offer flights, hotels, rental cars, and cruises. While you'll be able to redeem your Amex points at 1¢ each for flights, the same isn't true for other booking types. In these instances, you'll receive just 0.7 cents in value per point, which is astonishingly low.
Winner: Citi Strata Premier
Citi Strata Premier vs. Amex Green Card — Comparing Redemption Values
The value of a Citi point versus an Amex point is pretty similar. You'll get varying levels of value based on how you redeem them and whether you choose to transfer them elsewhere or redeem them within the banks' own ecosystems. Here's a breakdown of the different values you can receive:
| Redemption | Value per Citi point | Value per Amex point |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | 1¢ | 0.6¢ |
| Gift cards | 1¢ | 0.5–1¢ |
| Travel portal | 1¢ | 0.5–1¢ |
| Transfer to partners (AwardWallet user averages) | 2.19¢ | 1.96¢ |
Across the board, Citi points are more easily redeemed at a higher value. However, when it comes to redemptions for first- and business-class flights (both domestic and international), Amex points are worth more. Despite this, the average value of a Citi point remains slightly higher (in AwardWallet user redemptions) and thus the winner.
Winner: Citi Strata Premier since it has more favorable rates for nearly all redemption options.
Which Card Is Better: Citi Strata Premier or Amex Green Card?
The card that you pick is going to depend very heavily on how you spend your money. While the Amex Green Card has a higher annual fee, it also offers credits that completely offset this if you use them each year. However, they're heavily travel-focused, so if you're not intending to use the card for travel (or only make it away from home once per year), it's probably not the right fit for you.
The Citi Strata Premier costs less annually and includes some bonuses for travel, including the ability to earn 10x points on certain bookings through its portal. Its bonus categories feature both groceries and gas stations, which tend to be big spending areas for nearly every household. However, if you're often away from home and spend money on public transportation regularly, this card will fall short.
For a deeper dive, check out our review of the Amex Green Card and review of the Citi Strata Premier.
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