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There are good times to apply for a premium credit card, such as when there's an attractive welcome offer or a chance to double-dip some of the card's statement credits. And then there are great times to apply for a premium credit card, when you can do both.
We think the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees) offers plenty of value to keep for the long haul, but for those who aren't yet convinced, it's comforting to know you can get an excellent welcome offer and two years worth of certain benefits before it's time to pay your second annual fee.
- Earn 75,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com and 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com
- Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time
- Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
- Up to $300 Annual Hotel Benefit: Each calendar year, enjoy up to $300 off a hotel stay of two nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- 12X – Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time.
- 1.5X – Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
Page Contents
How to Maximize Value in Your First 12 Months as a Cardholder
Premium credit cards come with big price tags, and the Citi Strata Elite with its $595 annual fee is no exception. But if you plan ahead, the first year can be especially lucrative.
Double-Dip on These Citi Strata Elite Statement Credits
An annual statement credit is one you can use during a calendar year, such as between January 1 and December 31. If you apply for the Citi Strata Elite with enough time to use those benefits before the calendar flips, you can take advantage of the credits expiring at the end of 2026 and the ones that reset on January 1, 2027, while only paying the annual fee once.
To show you how this works, consider that the Citi Strata Elite offers up to $300 back each calendar year on a hotel stay of two nights or more booked through Citi Travel. That gives you up to $300 in credits to use by December 31 before the benefit resets on January 1.
That’s up to $600 in value toward eligible hotel stays booked through Citi Travel. And double-dipping this benefit alone exceeds the card’s $595 annual fee.
But the hotel savings benefit isn’t the only credit you can double-dip. Here are the other annual and semi-annual statement credits and perks you can do the same with:
- Up to $200 Annual Splurge Credit℠: Earn up to $200 in statement credits every year on your choice of up to two of the following brands: 1stDibs, American Airlines, Best Buy®, Future Personal Training, and Live Nation.
- Up to $200 Annual Blacklane Credit: Receive up to $200 in statement credits annually when you book with Blacklane. Earn up to $100 from January through June and up to $100 from July through December.
- Four Admirals Club® Passes: Receive four Admirals Club passes every calendar year, granting access to nearly 50 lounges worldwide.
Earn a great welcome offer
The second reason is the more obvious one: a chance to get an valuable welcome offer. If you apply today, you can earn a solid 75,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
While this isn't quite the best offer we've seen, you can still do some fantastic things with Citi ThankYou® Points, including transferring them to American Airlines. On average, AwardWallet users redeem Citi Points for 2.3¢ apiece, so this bonus can be incredibly valuable if you're able to maximize it through transfers to the program's 21 airline and hotel partners.
This is a slam-dunk chance to extract far more value out of your Citi Strata Elite in year one.
Related: How to Get and Maximize the Citi Strata Elite‘s 75,000-Point Welcome Offer
How much value you can unlock by applying for the Citi Strata Elite now
For those keeping score, the right application timing means you can get up to $600 back at Citi Travel on eligible stays, up to $400 in Splurge Credits, up to $300 in Blacklane credits (since it’s a semi-annual credit), and four Admirals Club passes you can use in 2026 before getting a new batch on January 1.
Double-dipping these statement credits alone adds up to as much as $1,300 in tangible value in year one. And that doesn’t even account for the value you’ll unlock while redeeming the card’s welcome bonus.
Related: Citi Strata Elite Full Review
Bottom Line
The Citi Strata Elite is offering an attractive new offer of 75,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
Plus, with the right application timing, you can double-dip on the trio of statement credits and the Admirals Club® Passes, while paying the $595 just once — an easy way to squeeze more value out of year one before deciding whether the card is worth keeping long term.
- Earn 75,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com and 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com
- Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time
- Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
- Up to $300 Annual Hotel Benefit: Each calendar year, enjoy up to $300 off a hotel stay of two nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- 12X – Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time.
- 1.5X – Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees)
