AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card is a nifty $95 annual fee wallet companion that you shouldn't overlook if you care about collecting travel rewards. Earning rates aside, the Citi Strata Premier comes with an annual hotel benefit worth $100. Utilizing this one perk alone more than offsets the card's $95 annual fee.
Here's everything you need to know about the Citi Strata Premier annual hotel benefit — how to use it and what you should spend it on — so that way you don't let it expire unused.
- 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
Page Contents
What Is the Citi Strata Premier Hotel Benefit?
The Citi Strata Premier offers cardholders an annual savings of $100 on a single hotel reservation made through Citi Travel once per calendar year. That catch: This discount will only apply to a reservation of $500 or more — excluding taxes and fees.
You do not need to enroll in this credit; book an eligible reservation and the savings should automatically apply at checkout.
If you're able to use the $100 credit, you'll come out ahead on the Citi Strata Premier‘s $95 annual fee. So, this isn't a benefit you'll want to forget about.
Before you take advantage of this hotel benefit, there are a few things you should know:
- Receive $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) once per calendar year (January 1 through December 31).
- Booking must be made through Citi Travel via CitiTravel.com or by calling 1-833-737-1288.
- Payment must be completed using your Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, ThankYou® Points, or a combination of the two.
- You won't earn ThankYou® Points on the portion of a purchase offset by the $100 benefit.
- Reservations must be made by the primary card member, but the stay can be in the name of authorized users.
- Packaged bookings (e.g., air + hotel or hotel + car rental) do not qualify.
- If a booking with the $100 benefit is canceled, the benefit is returned for use within the same calendar year — unless the booking was non-refundable.
Related: Citi Strata Premier℠ Card Full Review
Downsides of the Citi Strata Premier Annual Hotel Benefit
We've covered the pros of the Citi Strata Premier‘s annual hotel benefit (easy savings), but what about the cons? Here are a few of the downsides that you may encounter when trying to cash it in:
- The annual hotel benefit only applies to reservations of $500 or more — taxes and fees excluded. Spending that much on one reservation may make it more challenging to use, depending on your travel style.
- Citi Travel is a third-party booking platform. On these bookings, you likely won't earn hotel points, elite night credits, or receive elite status benefits — although it's worth trying to add your loyalty number by contacting the hotel or asking at check-in.
- You may find better deals elsewhere that negate the value of the credit. Generally speaking, you'll get the best rates if you book directly with the hotel — and the savings might be good enough to avoid using the credit at all. Thus, it's worth comparing costs before you book.
Related: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs Citi Strata Premier℠ Card: Which Is Better?
Compare the cost of booking direct before making a reservation
The last point deserves special emphasis, so here's an example of how important it is to compare Citi Travel's rates directly with what's on offer from the hotel itself: Last fall, I went to Fira, Greece, and wanted to stay at the boutique Hill Suites hotel for four nights — and tried to use the annual hotel benefit.
If I were to book this same stay now (but for October 2025), I'd pay about $590 if I booked through Citi Travel — which factors in the $100 discount.
However, if I booked directly with Hill Suites, I'd pay just over 512 euros (~$533). That's $57 in savings by booking directly with the non-loyalty-program-affiliated property. And if you don't factor in the discount at all, the savings are even more pronounced at $157.
There's a case to be made that the Citi ThankYou® Points I'd earn on this booking — 5,908 (worth ~$125, based on recent AwardWallet user redemptions) — are more valuable than the money I otherwise saved. However, the cash I kept in my pocket helped fund other elements of my trip. So, booking direct was the more practical option at the time.
Related: How To Use Points and Miles at Hotels With No Rewards Program
How To Maximize Your $100 Hotel Benefit
The main way to maximize the Citi Strata Premier‘s annual hotel benefit is by making a reservation as close to $500 as possible. Your savings (percentage-wise) will be the greatest this way.
Depending on what country you're looking for hotels in, it might be harder to find such a reservation, so you might consider applying the discount towards a stay in a country where the hotel value-added tax (VAT) isn't so pronounced.
It's a niche destination, but Gibraltar is a great example. On a three-night stay at the Holiday Inn Express Gibraltar, you'd pay just over $425 out-of-pocket for the entire reservation after your $100 savings plus just $4.35 in “extra charges.”
On the flip side, take a three-night reservation in Paris. In the example below taxes, fees, and extra charges at check-in make up over 30% of your entire out-of-pocket cost. That means you'll pay more than $500 for this stay even after the $100 credit.
How To Use Your Citi Strata Premier Hotel Credit
Applying the Citi Strata Premier‘s annual hotel benefit is surprisingly easy. The first step is to log in to the Citi Travel portal and select the Citi Strata Premier (as the card you'll book with) from the available options — if you have multiple Citi cards.
Once you click “Search for travel,” you'll land on the booking engine page. Enter your parameters and tap the blue search button to display the results.
Unfortunately, Citi doesn't label properties as eligible or ineligible for the $100 benefit, so you'll have to click through to the payment screen or multiply the nightly rate by the number of nights you intend to stay to see if your reservation qualifies.
If the total is $500 or more — taxes and fees excluded — you'll see the discount in the “Price Details” section before you confirm the guest information. The discount will not appear if the total is below $500 or taxes and fees push you over the $500 threshold.
You can also uncheck the check box at the top of the screen if you'd rather save your $100 benefit for a future reservation.
From there, continue to enter your guest information, confirm your Citi Strata Premier‘s details (you must pay with this card, but you can offset the cost with points), and then complete your reservation.
And because the Citi Strata Premier earns 10X points per $1 on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com, you'll earn 10X points on the amount charged to your card.
Related: Who Is Eligible for the Welcome Bonus on the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card?
Final Thoughts
One of the staple benefits of the Citi Strata Premier is an annual $100 hotel benefit that applies to a single reservation over $500 — excluding taxes and fees.
If the price is right, you can minimize what you pay in taxes and fees, and the cost of booking through Citi Travel isn't too different from booking directly, it's a valuable perk you should use every year. But if it's cheaper to book a stay directly, the value proposition of the credit falls flat.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.