Citi Strata Premier

The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card is great in many respects, but in a head-to-head battle, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the winner. With the Sapphire Preferred Card, you’ll have an easier time redeeming points for good value and will enjoy more travel protections and perks. However, the Strata Premier edges out the Sapphire Preferred Card when it comes to earning points on purchases. CNBC Select walks you through the benefits of both travel credit cards so you can choose the one that best aligns with your spending habits.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Learn More On Chase’s secure site Rewards Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, and $50 annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
Welcome bonus Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s over $900 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
Annual fee $95
Intro APR None
Regular APR 21.49% – 28.49% variable on purchases and balance transfers
Balance transfer fee Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
Foreign transaction fee None
Credit needed Excellent/Good
Terms apply. Read our Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review.
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card Learn More Rewards Earn 10 points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.; 3 points per $1 on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases, at Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas and EV Charging Stations; 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Welcome bonus Earn 70,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $700 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com
Annual fee $95
Intro APR None
Regular APR 21.24% – 29.24% variable
Balance transfer fee 5% of each balance transfer, $5 minimum
Foreign transaction fee None
Credit needed Good/Excellent See rates and fees. Terms apply.
Welcome bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is offering new cardholders the chance to earn 75,000 points after spending $4,000 within the first three months from account opening.
Chase Ultimate® Rewards can be redeemed for one cent each as cash back, so this bonus is worth at least $750. With the Sapphire Preferred, you can boost that value to 1.25 cents per point when you use the points to book through Chase TravelSM, making the intro bonus worth at least over $900 in travel. Citi Strata Premier℠ Card New Citi Strata Premier ℠ Card members can earn 70,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, the same spending requirement and timeframe as the Sapphire Preferred.
Card members can earn 70,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, the same spending requirement and timeframe as the Sapphire Preferred. You can redeem ThankYou® points for one cent per point through Citi’s travel portal or in other ways such as for gift cards or cash back. With both cards, you can also transfer points to hotel and airline loyalty programs. This option allows you to book expensive hotels or flights with your points, which can greatly increase the value you receive for your rewards. Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred
Annual fee
Both of these travel credit cards have a $95 annual fee. Winner: Tie.
Earning points
If you want to earn loads of points, both of these cards can help you meet that goal. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel SM
5X points on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025
5X total points on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases of $150+ (earn a maximum of 25,000 total points through March 31, 2025)
3X points on dining
3X points on select streaming services
3X points on online grocery purchases (not including Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
2X points on all other travel purchases
1X points on all other purchases Citi Strata Premier℠ Card 10X points on hotels, car rentals and attractions when booked through CitiTravel.com
3X points on air travel
3X points on hotels (not booked through CitiTravel.com)
3X points at restaurants
3X points at supermarkets
3X points at gas stations and EV charging stations
1X points on all other purchases The Strata Premier offers a higher rate of return on hotels than the Sapphire Preferred, and that advantage extends to airfare when you aren’t booking through the card issuer’s travel portal. The Strata Premier also earns more on common expenses such as supermarkets (not just online groceries) and at gas stations and EV charging stations. The only spending categories where it loses out to the Sapphire Preferred are streaming services, Lyft rides and certain Peloton purchases (relatively small or rare expenses for most people) and travel purchases that aren’t airfare or hotels. Winner: Citi Strata Premier
Redeeming points
Earning rewards is only half of the equation with a travel card, your redemption options matter just as much. Both of these cards offer a range of redemptions that provide one cent per point in value, including cash back and gift cards. The Sapphire Preferred also gives cardholders a 25% boost in value (1.25 cents per point) when they use points to pay for travel booked through Chase TravelSM. But if you want to get the most value out of either card, then you’ll want to look at the transfer partners. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card With the Sapphire Preferred, you can transfer Chase points to these airline and hotel programs at a 1:1 ratio: Aer Lingus AerClub
Air Canada Aeroplan
British Airways Executive Club
Emirates Skywards
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
Iberia Plus
IHG One Rewards
JetBlue TrueBlue
Marriott Bonvoy
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Southwest Rapid Rewards
United Airlines MileagePlus
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
World of Hyatt Citi Strata Premier℠ Card The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card allows you to transfer your Citi ThankYou points to the following travel programs at a 1:1 ratio unless otherwise noted: Aeromexico Rewards
Accor Live Limitless (2:1)
Avianca Lifemiles
Cathay Pacific Cathay
Choice Privileges (1:2)
Emirates Skywards
Etihad Guest
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
JetBlue TrueBlue
Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club (5:1)
Qantas Frequent Flyer
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Wyndham Rewards How they compare Sapphire Preferred cardholders have access to several exceptionally valuable and useful loyalty programs. World of Hyatt is a lucrative program that allows you to book less expensive hotels starting at 3,500 points and luxury locations for 25,000 to 45,000 points. You can also transfer points to book flights with all three major airline alliances (Oneworld, Star Alliance, SkyTeam) and several non-alliance airlines such as JetBlue, Southwest and Emirates. Citi’s transfer partners also unlock the ability to book rewards with all three of the biggest airline alliances and you get access to non-alliance airlines such as Etihad, Emirates and JetBlue. However, Citi ThankYou points aren’t as versatile when it comes to booking hotels. On top of that, ThankYou points are only worth one cent each if you prefer to keep things simple by using points to pay for CitiTravel.com bookings. At the end of the day, the best card for redeeming points will depend on where you want to go and how to prefer to use travel rewards. That said, the Chase Sapphire Preferred provides cardholders more avenues for earning a value higher than one cent per point on their redemptions. Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred
Additional perks
Consumers with either card you’ll benefit from no foreign transaction fees and both cards are widely accepted. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders enjoy strong travel and shopping protections, including: Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
Primary rental car collision coverage
Baggage delay insurance
Trip delay reimbursement
Travel and emergency assistance services
Purchase protection
Extended warranty protection The Sapphire Preferred also comes with a 10% points bonus every card anniversary, this bonus is based on the previous year’s purchases. If you spent $10,000, you would earn 1,000 bonus points. It also has an annual $50 statement credit for hotels you book through Chase Chase TravelSM. Chase also has a handful of partnerships that provide additional value for cardholders who use these services. This includes: Free DoorDash DashPass for a minimum of one year when you activate by Dec. 31, 2024
Six free months of Instacart+ when you activate by July 31, 2024
Up to $15 in Instacart statement credits each quarter through July 2024 Citi Strata Premier℠ Card The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card has fewer benefits, but cardholders do receive $100 off a single hotel stay that costs $500 or more when booked through CitiTravel.com. You can use this perk once per calendar year. The card also has several insurance benefits, including coverage for the following: Trip delay
Trip cancellation and interruption
Lost or damaged luggage
Rental cars (MasterRental®) Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred.
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