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Citi Strata Elite Introduces 100K-Point Welcome Bonus Offer
The new Citi Strata Elite is sweetening the deal with a massive new welcome bonus.
About the Citi Strata Elite’s Offer:
Citi is pushing its new Citi Strata Elite card with a limited-time offer. Currently, new cardholders can earn 100,000 bonus points after spending at least $6,000 on the card within the first three months. Notably, this offer is even larger than the one the card launched with back in July. At that time, the card offered 80,000 bonus points after spending at least $4,000 in purchases in the first three months from account opening.
More on the Citi Strata Elite:
Beyond this big bonus offer, the Citi Strata Elite has plenty of unique rewards and benefits for cardholders.
Starting with rewards, the Strata Elite emphasizes the Citi Travel portal, offering 12x points on hotel, car rental, and attraction bookings through the platform as well as 6x on air travel booked using the service. Outside of that, the card not only earns 3x at Restaurants by default but also allows cardholders to earn bonus points during “Citi Nights.” Dining purchases made on Fridays and Saturdays between 6 p.m. ET and 6 a.m. ET will instead earn a total of 6x points. All other purchases on the Strata Elite earn 1.5x points per dollar spent.
Although the Citi Strata Elite does carry an annual fee of $595, it also boasts several credits and perks. For example, an Annual Hotel Benefit allows cardholders to save up to $300 per calendar year on hotel stays (stays must be for two or more nights and need to be booked via Citi Travel to qualify). Additionally, the card includes a $200 per year “Splurge Credit” valid on select purchases from 1stDibs, American Airlines, Best Buy, Future Personal Training, and Live Nation. As for other benefits, cardholders enjoy a complimentary Priority Pass Select as well as up to four American Airlines Admirals Club admissions per calendar year.
My Thoughts:
The Citi Strata Elite card was already an intriguing option when it debuted — and this new 100k offer only makes it more attractive. Although you’ll need to put 50% more spending on the card versus the previous offer in order to earn the bonus, there’s no question that the six-figure point bounty is more likely to catch people’s attention.
If I had to guess why Citi is pushing this higher offer now versus launching it with the card itself, I’d reckon that high-profile refreshes for the Chase Sapphire Reserve and American Express Platinum cards had something to do with it. Even though those updates have been largely well-received (to differing degrees), they also made their respective cards more expensive. So, now, Citi can rehighlight a card that is $200 to $300 cheaper than its other premium travel card competitors and get people in the door with a big welcome bonus. Makes sense to me!
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