July 30, 2025
Citi Strata Elite℠ Card and American Airlines Transfer Partnership
Pam
There is a new kid in town. (Well, a new kid in the “Citi.”) The Citi Strata Elite℠Card is alive now for applications with a 75,000 Citi ThankYou® points welcome offer. Even better news is that Citi ThankYou® points now transfer to American Airlines! This means that the new Citi Strata Elite℠ Card transfers to AA, and the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card does too! Here’s everything you need to know about this new card and whether it’s worth a look.
Here are the details on the new Citi Strata Elite℠ Card:
Annual Fee and Minimum Spend
The annual fee is a steep one: $595. But if you use the card’s benefits, you can easily offset that annual fee. The minimum spend is $6,000 in the first three months.
Card Benefits
- $300 annual hotel benefit when booking a two-night stay at cititravel.com.
- Up to $200 annual Splurge Credit℠: Earn up to $200 credit on up to two of the following brands: 1stDibs, American Airlines (exclusions apply), Best Buy®, Future Personal Training, and Live Nation (exclusions apply)
- Up to $200 annual Blacklane® credit: This is a a premium global chauffeur service. Earn up to $100 on Blacklane® purchases January through June and up to $100 July through December.
- Priority Pass™ Select membership (for cardholder and up to 2 guests)
- American Airlines Admirals Club® lounge access passes: Every calendar year, receive four Admirals Club® Citi Strata Elite℠ Passes
- Up to $120 Global Entry® or TSA PreCheck® application fee credit every four years
Jess easily took advantage of the $200 Splurge Credit℠ when she bought her husband an Apple Watch from Best Buy®. The $200 statement credit appeared within days.
$200 statement credit for Best Buy® purchases? Yes, please!
Note that before making a purchase, you need to select two of the retailers in your Citi account.
Jess selected American Airlines & Best Buy.
Many of the credits are calendar year credits. For example, you could take advantage of the $200 Splurge Credit℠ in 2026, and again in early 2027 before your second annual fee hit. At that point you could decide whether to keep, downgrade, or cancel the card. Those two $200 credits would go a long way to offset the $595 annual fee. That’s even before factoring in the other calendar year credits or the 100,000-point welcome offer!
Getting more AA miles from transferring Citi ThankYou Points makes this a winner.
Spend Categories
- 12 points per dollar spent on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on cititravel.com
- 6 points per dollar spent on air travel booked on cititravel.com
- 6 points per dollar spent at restaurants on Citi Nights℠ purchases, Friday and Saturday from 6 PM through 6 AM ET
- 3 points per dollar spent at restaurants any other time
- 1.5 points per dollar spent on all other purchases
Application Rules
Bonus ThankYou® Points are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi Strata Elite℠ account in the past 48 months or if you converted another Citi credit card account on which you earned a new account bonus in the last 48 months into a Citi Strata Elite℠.
Bottom Line
The ability to double dip the calendar year credits + the 75,000-point welcome offer means we’ll be applying for this one! In fact, Alex, Jess, and Jess’s husband went to 5/24 for this card. You know it’s good if we’re going to 5/24 for it! And I always love an opportunity to earn more American Airlines miles! It’s exciting to finally have a points program that allows transfers to American Airlines again.
Related Posts
All About the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card
Japan Airlines Business Class Review
American Airlines Business-Class Flight Review
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Can you hold both the Citi Strata cards?
Yes, you can!
I got this card and think it has a great return for the first year. I called a branch and asked if they had a 100,000 bonus offer. He gladly emailed me a link. So for $595 annual fee I will not only get the 100,000 SUB but I can double dip the $300 travel credit and $200 splurge credit (now thru 12/31/25 and then again starting 1/1/26). I also plan to use the Blacklane $200 credit when I need a ride from the airport to a hotel on an international trip instead of public transportation.
Awesome! Let us know how the Blacklane credit works!
Would you cancel the card after the first year or you see yourself utilizing the benefits ?
Personally, I will be cancelling as I don’t think I will use much of the benefits.
Regarding the hotel credit of $300 if you book a 2 night stay in 2025 but the check in/out is in 2026 wondering if that would that still count as the 2025 credit?
You can with the other cards that have this type of offer so I assume that you can. However, I would call Citi to make sure.
I just got the CITI® / AADVANTAGE® PLATINUM SELECT® WORLD ELITE MASTERCARD® about a month and a half ago. Can I get this card and get the SUB?
For Citi credit cards, you generally need to wait at least 8 days between applications and can’t apply for more than two cards in 65 days, known as the Citi 8/65 rule. You should be good.