Citi Strata Elite
Citi, Mastercard, $595 annual fee. Earns Citi ThankYou Points, valued at 1.60¢ a point.
Rates checked against the issuer 2026-09. Foreign transaction fee: none.
The short version
- Best at: nothing in particular — no category puts it in the top three of the catalogue.
- A year's rewards: about $721, or $126 after the fee.
- Weighing it up against: Strata Premier.
Is the annual fee worth it?
It earns about $721 a year on the illustrative household's spending, which is $126 once the fee is paid. The best card with no fee, American Express Blue Business Plus, nets $1,058 on the same spending — so this card is $932 a year behind. It pulls ahead of the free card once spending passes about $18,295 a month.
Price its credits, perks and sign-up bonus your way — tick what you would use and say what it is worth to you.
Priced on an illustrative household spending $2,205 a month on a card — the assumption, in full. Credits and perks are not priced: they are worth their face value only if you would have spent that money anyway.
What it earns, category by category
| Earns on | Rate | ConditionsWhat the issuer attaches to this rate: a spending cap, a category you have to switch on, or a booking you have to make through its travel portal. |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels, Car Rental, Entertainment | 12x | Only through the issuer's travel portal. Booked through Citi Travel |
| Flights | 6x | Only through the issuer's travel portal. Booked through Citi Travel |
| Restaurants & Bars, Food Delivery | 3x | 6x on Friday and Saturday 6pm–6am ET |
| Everything else | 1.5x |
Where a year's rewards come from
| Spending on | Earns a yearWhat this card earns on each kind of spending over a year, for the illustrative household on the method page. Before the annual fee. |
|---|---|
| Restaurants & Bars | $173 |
| Groceries | $144 |
| Everything Else | $144 |
| Gas Stations | $43 |
| Online Shopping | $43 |
| Utilities | $43 |
Priced on an illustrative household spending $2,205 a month on a card — the assumption, in full. Credits and perks are not priced: they are worth their face value only if you would have spent that money anyway.
What the issuer lists besides rewards
- Up to $300 in annual hotel credits on Citi Travel bookings
- Citigold clients receive a $145 annual fee credit each year
Similar cards
- Chase Sapphire Reserve — annual fee $795 a year
- Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business — annual fee $795 a year
- Capital One Venture X — annual fee $395 a year
- American Express Business Gold Card — annual fee $375 a year
- Every travel card, ranked
- When an annual fee pays for itself
- The best two- and three-card combinations
Point values: published industry valuations, read 2026-09. How every number here is worked out.