I don’t usually write too much about credit cards, at least until Once in a while, I might write about them if I come across one or two that I think it is worth keeping. While I don’t mind paying annual fees for a good card with decent benefits, the premium cards with high annual fees need to make sense for my needs.
For the longest time, my premium card had been the Amex Hilton Aspire card. In fact, I liked it so much I blogged about it here. That is, until Amex made changes to the benefits and devalued the card (for me). One of the benefits I enjoyed most was the Priority Pass membership benefit. I flew (or at least I used to) a lot and it had been a valuable perk for me. With negative changes on the resort credits, the removal of priority pass membership, and an increase in annual fee, the card no longer made sense.
I have been keeping an eye out for something that fits my needs. The card received some “meh” feedback, but I think the latest Citi Strata Elite works for me.
Citi Strata Elite Card
I won’t go into benefits of the Citi Strata card, since my fellow bloggers have done extensive analysis of the pros and the cons of the card.
It may not be the card for others, but there are just a few good reasons this card works for me –
- Finally, there is a card that can transfer 1-1 to American Airline! American (and Oneworld alliance) and Delta have been my programs of choice. AAdvantage was my very first frequent flier program, so I also have a soft spot for it. The program had worked well for domestic booking, even though I know interntaional award availability had been getting more challenging to find. This is in terms of award space availability as well as the devaluation (miles needed to redeem for a trip).
- The sign up bonus is a nice add on – you can redeem those thank you points or transfer them to AA. I just love the flexibility.
- The credits to offset some of the annual fee (travel credits, splurge credits, blacklane credits, more below)
- A Priority Pass membership (for yourself + 2 guests) is back!
- 4 AA lounge passes per year – this can be handy, though it’s not the most valuable benefit for me.
When do statement credits post?
I got the card in the first week it came out. The first statement ($0) posted when I got the card. The annual fee hadn’t posted but I anticipate it to show up on the second statement.
A few updates on the benefits:
4 AA lounge passes:
I received my 4 digital lounge passes in AAdvantage account before I even received the actual credit card in the mail. It was deposited to my account and then an email letting me know. They showed up in the Rewards section of the AAdvantage app, and these passes expire at the end of the calendar year. Once redeemed, the pass is valid for 24 hours.
Priority Pass Membership (self + 2 guests):
One of my favorite airline benefits. The welcome kit indicated that that you don’t need to register for an Priority Pass account. You can just show your Citi Strata Elite card. I may be odd but I‘d prefer registering for my Priority Pass (and having an app that tracks my lounge history), and so I did. 🙂 If you had another priority pass account tied to another credit card, you’d have to create a new account. Once you’re done, you can download the Priority Pass app and voila.
$300 Annual Hotel Credit:
This is straightforward. This credit showed up instantly when you book your hotel on the Citi Travel portal. “Each calendar year, enjoy up to $300 off a hotel stay of 2 nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.” If you have another citi thank you/ premier card and this Strata Elite card, the website will prompt you to choose the card you want to use. When you meet the benefit eligibility, the $300 hotel credit would show up in the subtotal immediately. For example, if you total hotel stay is $1,000, the total displayed in the portal would be $700. There are no need to jump hurdles to redeem this credit.
The rates are on par with other booking portal I’ve seen (higher than the hotel rate) but it’s not wildly unreasonable. This hadn’t come up as a case for me yet, in case you booked a hotel and need to cancel. It is my understanding that if you book a refundable booking, your annual hotel credit will get credited once the cancellation is processed. If it’s not a non-refundable booking, it won’t be. Just something to keep in mind.
Card Sign up Bonus:
I don’t have data point on this just yet and will update once confirmed. Typically, sign up bonus would post on the statement where the spent is met.
$200 Splurge Credit:
You need to choose two merchants you want to the $200 splurge credit to be applied to. You need to do this before you make a purchase with them. For me, I have upcoming flights and tech tools I need to get, so I picked American Airline and Best Buy. I ended up spending my credit at Best Buy. The official description says the splurge will post at the end of the statement, but your mileage may vary. My purchases was posted to my account on the 15th and tracker moved on the 18th. The actual credit posted to the account on the 19th, so it took all of 4 days to get my splurge credit back. I don’t know if the available merchants will change per year. It’s an annual calendar benefit but it was convenient enough to to use this benefit.
$100 Blacklane Credit:
I haven’t used this Blacklane credit, nor have I ever tried Blacklane. I will update when I do, and I’d love to get some readers’ experiences if you’ve tried it. From what I’ve seen in rates so far, Blacklane is a lot more expensive than Uber/Lyft/taxi. For a local transfer that is normally priced about $35-$45, it’s pricing out at rates closer to $100-$115 (and that is booking in advance). That said, premium car transfer service and I understand gratuities are already included. I’m not sure this is benefit that I really care for as much, but I think this is something I might try out if I’m able to plan it out in advance.
Hopefully, these updates help those of you who are eagerly waiting for your card or for your specific credits to post.
