The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card Now Offers a 100K Bonus. Is It Worth It?

The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card is a new premium travel card, and it deserves a close look right now: For a limited time, new cardholders will get 100,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 within 3 months of account opening.

That's worth at least $1,000 toward travel -- even more if you transfer your points to certain airline partners.

The card's $595 annual fee puts it in the same league as premium travel cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and American Express Platinum Card®. Is it worth the cost?

See how the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card stacks up and whether you should apply before this bonus disappears.

Highlights of the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card piles on the rewards when you book through Citi Travel:

• 12X points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on cititravel.com
• 6X points on air travel booked on cititravel.com

It also offers dining rewards with a twist:

• 6X points 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

Everywhere else, the card earns 1.5X points, which is an excellent catch-all rate; most travel cards earn 1x on non-bonus spending.

Other perks include:

• $300 hotel credit for stays of at least two nights booked through Citi Travel
• $200 in credits across up to two of these brands: American Airlines (exclusions apply), Best Buy, 1stDibs, Future Personal Training, and Live Nation
• $200 in Blacklane rides, split into $100 Jan.-June and $100 July-Dec.
• Priority Pass™ Select
• Four Admirals Club lounge passes per year

How it compares to Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Amex Platinum

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

If you want easy, broad credits, the recently updated Chase Sapphire Reserve® still sets a high bar. Here are some of the highlights:

• $795 annual fee
• $300 travel credit, automatically earned for a wide range of travel expenses
• $500 credit for stays at The Edit collection hotels ($250 semiannually, two-night minimum stay)
• $300 ($150 semiannually) credit for dining at Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables restaurants
• $300 ($150 semiannually) credit for StubHub purchases
• $250 on Apple TV+ and Apple Music subscriptions
• Complimentary DashPass membership (worth $120/year)
• Priority Pass™ Select

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® earns more points than the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card when you book direct instead of through the travel portal:

• 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠, including The Edit℠
• 4x points on flights and hotels booked direct
• 3x points on dining worldwide
• 1x points on all other purchases

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® makes up for its higher annual fee by offering much more value -- for the right kind of spender.

American Express Platinum Card®

The Platinum Card® is built around a long list of credits and luxury perks. Here are the standout features:

• $895 annual fee (see rates and fees)
• $600 ($300 semiannually) for prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings through Amex Travel (enrollment required; THC requires a two-night stay)
• $400 ($100 per quarter) credit for dining at Resy restaurants
• $300 digital entertainment credit
• $209 CLEAR® Plus credit
• $200 in Uber Cash each year ($15 monthly plus $20 each December)
• $200 airline fee credit
• Global Lounge Collection
• Terms apply; enrollment may be required

As for spending rewards, the Platinum Card® is decent for travel but falls short in other categories:

• 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year
• 5X points for prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®
• 1X points for other purchases

The American Express Platinum Card® is not the best daily spender, but it still offers more than $3,500 in annual value. So again, the annual fee is more than worth it if you use the perks.

Is the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card worth it?

The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card's statement credits are not the most impressive. If you use them all, you'll come out slightly ahead of the annual fee.

However, as an everyday spending card, it'll earn more points than most travel cards thanks to its 1.5X catch-all rate. So if you're the type of person who wants to earn travel rewards with every purchase, then the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card makes a lot of sense.

And the card really shines if you:

• Spend a lot on travel (especially hotels) and don't mind booking through Citi Travel
• Frequently dine out, especially on Friday and Saturday evenings

You won't get all the perks offered by some premium cards. But you may not want to track all those expiring benefits anyway -- or go out of your way to use them.

If you're on the fence, keep in mind that the value of the welcome bonus is more than enough to cover the annual fee for the first year. You could always give this card a test drive.

Want to claim the welcome bonus of 100,000 bonus points before it disappears? Click here to learn more about the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card and apply now.