this Citigroup Elite Card (See rates and fees) is Citi’s latest premium travel reward card.
It launched in late July and has an annual fee of $595, making it the middle of a premium card competitor.
With strong welcome bonuses, valuable income potential, and a set of stating credit and lounge privileges, the card can provide reliable value. However, after having the first year, you need to run the numbers to determine if it is worth having a long-term location in your wallet.
So let’s do the math work to determine if you should apply (and retain) the Citigroup Elite.
Welcome offer
Every new cardholder can Strata elite If they are approved and meet the minimum expenditure requirements.
New applicants can earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months of opening. (If you apply in person at a Citi branch, you may be able to get a welcome offer of 100,000 bonus points higher.)
These 80,000 points are valued at $1,520 per ton of PPG in August 2025, more than double the $595 annual fee.
Related: Are you eligible for the 80,000 welcome bonus from the Citigroup elite?
However, if you want to earn Citi thank you for your reward points at a lower cost, Citi Layer Premier® Card (See rates and fees) is a better option. At $95 a year, it offers 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in its first three months of opening, accounting for 75% of the class elite bonus, and a small price point.
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Related: Best Credit Card Welcome Bonus of the Month
Income rate
this Strata elite Best for those who are happy to book a portal trip and dine on weekend nights.
You will earn 12 points per dollar in hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through Cititravel.com (22.8% valuation per TPG in August 2025); via Cititravel.com, you earn 6 points per dollar (11.4%) per dollar.
However, booking through the portal has its disadvantages, including:
This card has a unique dining bonus category.
On Friday and Saturday evenings (between 6 a.m. and 6 a.m. East), you will earn 6 points per dollar at the restaurant (including delivery). Outside those times, you will get half the interest rate (3 points per dollar). This represents 11.4% and 5.7% returns for these purchases, respectively.
This bonus category is best for those who go out (or order) for dinner on weekend nights. However, the fixed Eastern Time window can be awkward when traveling internationally, especially in Asia and Europe.
By comparison, Prime Minister of the Stratigraphic Offers a simpler structure and earn 3 points per dollar:
- Electric car charging and gas station purchase
- flight
- Hotel Accommodation
- Restaurant purchase
- Purchase in supermarket
Declare credits
Citi has followed American Express and Chase leadership in its top card “coupons”. Therefore, it is not surprising that Strata elite Suffered the same fate.
That being said, the card’s annual fee is lower than the premium card and shorter points list for the other two issuers. Additionally, credit lines are divided into annual or biennial increments rather than once a month, making them easier to track.
If you maximize their stated credit, the $595 annual fee for the stratigraphic elite can be significantly reduced:
Maximize the $300 hotel credit of Strata Elite to reduce your efficiency to $295 immediately. Add half of the value of $200 in splurge credit, $100 in Blacklane credit and $30 in annual global inbound credit, and your effective fee is only $65.
While not everyone will withdraw all this value, even some credit usage can make the card’s actual cost far below its $595 list price.
Lounge entry
this Strata elite Includes free priority pass option membership, allowing you and two guests to access more than 1,700 lounges worldwide. It also offers four American Airlines Admiral Club Passes each year, each with a validity period of 24 hours, meaning a pass can cover multiple lounge accesses on a single itinerary.
While Admiral Club dates usually sell for $79 per visit, I personally think they are close to $35 per visit. If you do two domestic and international trips a year, those benefits alone can easily earn $140 worth.
For American Airlines pilots who want unlimited Admiral Club visits citi® /aadvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (See rates and fees) is a better choice. But for occasional travelers, these passes add meaningful value to the annual fee for the formation elite.
Related: Three Reasons Why This Is the Best Card for Admiral Club Lounge Visit
Redemption Options
This is a field Strata elite shine.
This is one of only three Citi cards – the others are Prime Minister of the Stratigraphic and the CitiPrestige® card, which provides access to all five hotels and 15 airline transfer partners, including American Airlines Aadvantage, at the most favorable transfer rate. Other Citi cards do not offer transfers to Aadvantage, and most other partners have lower transfer rates.
Information about Citi’s reputation has been independently collected by Goint Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. This card is not suitable for new applicants.
Pay on Strata Elite for $1,000 per month for non-carbon fixed expenses, and you get 18,000 points per year. When redeemed through Citi Travel, they are worth about $342, or $180, when transferred to partners. This is enough for one-way economical-class flights to Europe when transferred to France – KLM Flying Blue or Virgin Flying Club (plus taxes and fees). You can use fewer points when leveraging transfer bonuses.
If you want to access the entire transfer partner suite at the best price (but want to pay a lower annual fee), then the stratigraphy Prime Minister is also my advice.
Shopping and travel protection
As the first Mastercard World Legend Card, Strata elite Includes reliable shopping and travel protections such as extended warranty, purchase protection and travel delay reimbursement. These benefits increase inner peace, but are not industry-leading.
If full protection is prioritized, premium cards from AMEX and Chase offer wider coverage and higher reimbursement restrictions. Still, the protection of the stratigraphic elite is a useful safety net that helps justify the card’s advanced positioning.
Bottom line
Thanks to its welcome bonus and declared credits, Strata elite Offers excellent first year value. However, its long-term appeal depends on its privileges matching your spending and travel habits.
If you book flights and hotels regularly through Citi Travel, dine on weekend nights (or in) and can make the most of the hotel’s credibility with at least some black and splurge credit, this card is worth a day and a year.
otherwise, Citigroup Prime Minister Offering a lower $95 annual fee, a strong revenue structure, and access to the same valuable transfer partner makes it a more practical long-term option for many.
Ultimately, the Strata Elite is not a card for “settings and corpses”. Run the numbers to your own traveling methods and make sure you are satisfied with the $595 price tag before applying.
To learn more, read our full review of the Citigroup Elite.
Apply here: Citigroup Elite Card
