128. The New Citi Strata Elite: Game Changer or Missed Opportunity?

Point Me To First Class

Devon Gimbel MD

Finances, Education, How To, Travel, Credit, Expenses, Card, Cards, Society & Culture, Professionals, Tips, Personal, Places & Travel, Business, Points, Rewards

5 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 11 August 2025

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

If a $595 annual fee premium credit card hits the market, should it automatically earn a place in your wallet?

In this episode, I take a detailed look at Citi’s newest addition to the transferable points landscape: the Citi Strata Elite Card. From its standard 80,000-point welcome bonus to the elevated 100,000-point offer available through certain channels, we’ll walk through exactly what you get when you open this card. You’ll hear how its bonus categories actually work, why the time-restricted “Citi Nights” dining perk is so unusual, and what makes its non-category 1.5x earning stand out—or not—compared to other cards.

We’ll also dig into the real value of the credits, including the split Blacklane credit, the merchant-specific Splurge credit, and the 2-night minimum hotel portal credit—plus where this card shines with American Airlines lounge passes and where it falls flat next to Citi’s own mid-tier options and the retired Prestige card. Before you sign up for the welcome bonus, I’ll share the points expiration rules that can cost you big if you cancel after a year, and what I think this launch reveals about the next wave of premium rewards cards.

Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/citi-strata-elite-card-review/

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Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Point Me to First Class, the only show for employed professionals, entrepreneurs, and business owners who are looking to optimize their higher than average expenses to travel the world.
0:10.7	I'm your host, Devin Gimble, and I believe that your expenses are your greatest untapped asset, if you know how to leverage them.
0:17.8	Ready to dive into the world of credit card points and miles so you can travel
0:20.9	more, travel better, and travel often. Let's get started. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the
0:32.0	Point Me to First Class podcast. 2025 is shaping up to be the year of new rewards credit cards hitting the market.
0:38.8	With the most recent addition to the points earning landscape being the city strata
0:43.0	elite card that was just introduced by city bank.
0:45.9	Now, the city strata elite card takes its place as city's premium personal rewards credit
0:50.7	card.
0:51.1	And in today's episode, we're going to be examining this card from all
0:54.5	angles beyond just the welcome bonus and bonus categories to an evaluation of the card within
1:00.3	the city lineup, as well as the broader transferable points earning credit card landscape,
1:05.4	analyzing where this card falls in terms of the value it offers, what role this card
1:10.1	could play in your rewards card portfolio, especially after the value it offers, what role this card could play in your rewards
1:11.5	card portfolio, especially after the first year of card ownership, and examine what future
1:16.7	trends in points earning I think this card is setting the stage for, and not necessarily in a good
1:22.0	way. But before we get to an analysis of how the city strata elite card stacks up against
1:26.9	other rewards cards and how it fits
1:29.5	into city's credit card lineup let's take a look at the basics of what this card offers starting
1:35.2	with the welcome bonus how the card rewards spending and the additional perks and benefits it offers
1:41.2	first the city strata elite offers a welcome bonus of 80,000 city thank you
1:45.8	points once you spend $4,000 on the card within the first three months of card ownership. However,
	...

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