Unlocking Hidden Perks: Why Upgrading from Citi Strata to Citi Strata Premier Might Be the Smartest Move You’re Not Considering
Ever wondered if there’s a slick way to upgrade your travel game without drowning in fees? Well, the Citi Strata℠ Card has long been the trusty sidekick for beginners dipping their toes in the Citi ThankYou Rewards pool—no annual fee, decent point-earning here and there. But what if I told you there’s a smarter play? Enter the Citi Strata Premier® Card, the grown-up cousin with a $95 annual fee that, surprisingly, might just be worth every penny. Think juicier point multipliers, access to Citi’s top airline transfer partners, and perks that make those travel dreams a tad more tangible. If you’re serious about squeezing the most out of your spending and jet-setting ambitions, this upgrade isn’t just an option—it’s practically a no-brainer. Ready to dive into why moving up to the Strata Premier could change the way you travel? Let’s break it down. LEARN MORE
The Citi Strata℠ Card (see rates and fees) is a popular starter card with no annual fee and a good entry point into the Citi ThankYou Rewards ecosystem.
Paying the annual fee on the Citi Strata Premier® Card (see rates and fees) can be worth it if you want to elevate your travel. The card offers higher earning rates in key bonus categories and better access to Citi’s airline transfer partners.
Consider the following reasons as to why you should upgrade from the Citi Strata to the Strata Premier.
Earn more ThankYou Rewards points
As a no-annual-fee card, the Citi Strata earns:
- 5 points per dollar spent on attractions, car rentals and hotels booked through Citi Travel
- 3 points per dollar spent on electric vehicle charging stations, gas stations, select transit and supermarkets
- 3 points per dollar spent on an eligible self-selected category (which you can change quarterly)
- 2 points per dollar spent at restaurants
However, the Strata Premier offers higher earning rates and slightly different bonus categories. They include the following:
- 10 points per dollar spent on attractions, car rentals and hotels booked through Citi Travel
- 3 points per dollar spent on air travel, EV charging stations, gas purchases, hotels (booked outside of Citi Travel), restaurants and supermarkets
The Strata Premier is a more travel-centric card. It earns more on select Citi Travel purchases, plus airfares and hotels booked outside of Citi Travel. Frequent travelers may find the Citi Strata even more rewarding.
Upgrading also bumps up bonus-earning on restaurants to 3 points per dollar spent from 2 points per dollar spent, which can add up over the year.
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Related: Should you book hotels through Citi Travel?
Your ThankYou points are more valuable
By upgrading the Citi Strata, you can earn more ThankYou points and unlock better value for your hard-earned points.
Both cards can transfer ThankYou points to Citi’s 22 transfer partners, including high-value options like American Airlines AAdvantage, Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. The Strata Premier has a slight advantage; it can transfer points to most partners at a ratio of 1:1.
The Citi Strata can only transfer at a ratio of 1:0.7 for most partners. Regardless of the partner you’re considering, the Strata card will always have a worse transfer ratio than the Strata Premier.
This makes a big difference when considering transferring tens of thousands of points to secure a sought-after business-class ticket.
When leveraging transfer partners with the Strata Premier, you can get more than 1.9 cents per point (based on TPG’s September 2025 valuations). I consistently get between 4 and 9 cents per point when transferring points to a partner airline for a business-class redemption.
Related: Strata, Premier or Elite: How to choose a Citi Strata credit card
More valuable benefits
Even with the $95 annual fee, the Strata Premier offers additional benefits that help justify its cost every year. Two significant benefits you can maximize are:
- $100 annual hotel credit: A $100 credit once per year for single-stay hotel bookings of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) made through Citi Travel
- World Elite Mastercard benefits: The Citi Strata Premier offers several travel-related perks, including a $5 monthly Lyft credit after taking three rides in a calendar month (offer ends Jan. 31, 2026), a three-month trial of Instacart+ with a new subscription and $10 off your second eligible Instacart purchase each month (offer ends Jan. 31, 2027) and access to the Mastercard luxury hotels and resorts portfolio for on-property perks like complimentary breakfast and room upgrades (upon availability)
Since the Strata Premier is a more premium card than the Citi Strata, you also get access to Citi’s curated collection of hotels and will receive elitelike benefits when booking through Citi Travel.
As a Strata Premier cardholder, you’ll receive the following travel protections:
- Car rental coverage
- Lost or damaged luggage protection
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
- Trip delay coverage
This is more comprehensive coverage than you’ll receive from the no-annual-fee Strata card.
Related: Citi’s Hotel Collection and The Reserve: Get free breakfast and premium perks
Consider applying rather than upgrading
If you truly want to maximize your points-earning, consider applying for the Strata Premier instead of upgrading from the Citi Strata card.
For starters, new Strata Premier cardholders earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months of account opening. Based on TPG’s valuations, the welcome offer is worth $1,140.
If you upgrade a Citi Strata card, you will not earn a welcome offer. This card’s welcome bonus is also not available if you’ve received a new account bonus for a Citi Premier or Citi Strata Premier account in the past 48 months.
You also won’t be able to earn it if you’ve converted another Citi credit card account on which you earned a new account bonus in the last 48 months into a Premier or Strata Premier card.
As long as you can qualify for the Strata Premier’s welcome bonus, it’s worth considering whether applying for the card is a better strategy than getting it through an upgrade.
By keeping the Strata card instead of upgrading it, you can use the Strata and Strata Premier together to maximize points-earning across more categories.
For example, you can put select transit and eligible self-selected category purchases on the Citi Strata and all other travel and restaurant purchases on the Strata Premier card.
Bottom line
The benefits and earning potential of the Strata Premier will most likely outweigh the cost of the annual fee and present better long-term value than the Citi Strata card.
In general, the best benefits you’ll receive are the ability to transfer points to the majority of partners at a 1:1 ratio and travel-focused bonus categories.
Evaluate what’s in your wallet to ensure that you’re always getting the maximum value possible, which may mean an upgrade is on the horizon.
To learn more, read our full review of the Citi Strata and Strata Premier.
Apply here: Strata Premier
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