MW Citi's new Strata Elite credit card has a $595 annual fee. Here's how its perks stack up against the competition.

By Genna Contino

Rising annual fees and excessive statement credits have led to some fatigue in the premium credit-card market - but consumer demand persists

As the premium credit-card market swells with the introduction of Citi's Strata Elite card, experts say rising annual fees and an overload of unused statement credits are leading to growing premium-cardholder fatigue.

But while paying more than $500 for a credit card might seem excessive to many people, the fees on the most popular premium cards haven't risen enough to deter consumers seeking exclusive travel benefits from applying.

Citi's (C) Strata Elite boasts a flurry of travel and lifestyle rewards worth nearly $1,500 and gives cardholders the option to transfer points to American Airlines' $(AAL.UK)$ AAdvantage Bonus Miles, according to the company. It also comes with a $595 annual fee - putting it up there with the American Express $(AXP.AU)$ Platinum and Chase $(JPM)$ Sapphire Reserve cards, which have $695 and $795 fees, respectively.

Despite the high barrier to entry, demand for premium credit cards persists.

"If this trend was really having an impact on issuers' bottom lines, we likely would've seen a pullback. Instead, we've seen these cards go from $450, to $550, to $695 and now $795 with the Sapphire Reserve," said Nick Ewen, senior editorial director at the Points Guy, a travel website. "To me, this demonstrates that the cardholders complaining are either doing so and then keeping the card anyway, or are being replaced by new cardholders who are excited about the benefits."

What does Citi's new Strata Elite card offer?

The Strata Elite card offers 12 points per every dollar spent on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through the Citi Travel platform, as well as six times the points on airfare booked through Citi Travel and restaurant purchases during select days and times.

The card also offers statement credits worth several hundred dollars each calendar year for a hotel stay of two nights or more booked through Citi Travel, a chauffeur service and purchases made at up to two brands from a list that includes Live Nation $(LYV)$, Best Buy $(BBY.UK)$ and American Airlines.

A statement credit is money added to your account balance for making specific purchases. When they're offered in small monthly increments, a card can earn the derisive nickname of "coupon book."

Citi seems aware that consumers have grown weary of the laundry list of statement credits that come with rewards cards. Pam Habner, Citi's head of U.S. branded cards and lending, said the company was intentional with the perks they included in the Strata Elite card, choosing "benefits that we know our customers will want to use - because we asked them what they value."

"You shouldn't need a math degree and a spreadsheet to track your credit-card benefits," Habner said in a news release.

ThankYou Points - Citi's name for its loyalty points - earned on the Strata Elite, Strata Premier and Prestige cards can now be transferred to the American Airlines AAdvantage program at a 1-to-1 transfer ratio, meaning 1,000 ThankYou Points equals 1,000 AAdvantage Bonus Miles.

See more: I asked AI, Google Flights and a travel agent to find me the cheapest flight. Here's who won.

A 1-to-1 transfer ratio is something Points Guy credit-card writer Danyal Ahmed said he hoped to see in the new Strata Elite card.

"Any ability to transfer to the program with a better rate than Marriott Bonvoy would be beneficial to cardholders," he wrote in a January article. The Marriott $(MAR.AU)$ Bonvoy transfer rate to AAdvantage is 3 to 1.

The Strata Elite card also covers the $120 application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

How does Citi's Strata Elite compare with Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire and Capital One Venture X?

The release of the Strata Elite is Citi's big comeback to the premium credit-card market. The company once offered the Citi Prestige as a premium product, but the card ultimately closed to new applicants a few years ago.

"Both Amex and Chase were able to adjust their card benefits to survive COVID-19 while Citi began to scale back, removing travel protections, capping benefits and finally closing the Prestige card for new applications in 2021," Bankrate credit-cards expert Ana Staples said.

See more: You'll have to charge over $75,000 a year on the new Chase Sapphire Reserve card to get the most out of it

American Express and Chase remain leaders in the market, and their high annual fees reflect that. The Sapphire Reserve card's price tag rose to nearly $800 last month, and there's a possibility that Amex Platinum could start carrying a $1,000 fee later this year. The Platinum card currently has a $695 annual fee.

"We're going to take these Cards to a new level, not only in what they offer in travel, dining and lifestyle benefits, but also in how they look and feel, to meet the evolving needs of our customers," Howard Grosfield, group president of U.S. consumer services at American Express, said in June when the upcoming refresh to the card was announced. American Express declined to provide additional comment for this story.

Chase Sapphire general manager Sam Palmer said the Sapphire Reserve provides a "unique blend of premium dining and travel rewards, [and] carefully selected lifestyle credits from our partners."

"After nearly a decade of listening to our cardmembers, we've designed the most rewarding card out there," Palmer said in a statement provided to MarketWatch.

The Strata Elite's $595 annual fee (plus $75 for each authorized user) places Citi in between the more expensive options and Capital One's $(COF.AU)$ Venture X card, which costs users $395 annually. Capital One did not respond to a request for comment from MarketWatch.

Which premium credit card offers the best deal?

So which card offers the best deal? It depends, experts say, especially when you're comparing statement credits. Ewen recommends going through each of the cards' offerings and looking for subscriptions or perks you're already paying for without the card, rather than ones you don't have yet.

For example, the Sapphire Reserve card covers Apple $(AAPL)$ Music, so if you already pay to listen to music on the platform, that can offset the annual fee. If you enjoy watching shows on Hulu or Disney+ $(DIS)$ or fly often on Delta Air Lines $(DAL.UK)$, Amex's monthly digital-entertainment credit might intrigue you.

If you fly American a lot, you might consider the new Strata Elite card to be a good deal. Beyond points transfers, it also offers four passes each year to Admirals Club airport lounges.

These lounges have become an important perk for cardholders in recent years. They've gotten so popular that some cardholders even have to wait to get into them.

See more: Why American Express and American Airlines shrunk the airport lounge

Chase, Amex and Capital One each have branded lounges in airports across the globe, while Citi does not. Instead, the Strata Elite offers the four passes to the Admirals Club plus a free membership to Priority Pass Select - a nearly $500 value that allows access to lounges in 95% of the world's busiest airports.

One perk that makes the Chase Sapphire Reserve stand out is its $300 flexible travel credit. It's an automatic rebate for any travel purchase, not just those made through the Chase Travel portal.

"Any travel purchase with any travel provider is eligible, and the credits generally post within a day," Ewen said.

See more: Premium travel perks like VIP lounges and rewards points offer less than they used to - but these upgrades are still worth it

Despite myriad credits, points transfers and lounges that offset the annual fee, for many consumers, the hundreds of dollars a year required are just too much to cough up. But "perhaps that's the point now," Staples noted.

"As these cards change and increase annual fees, they aren't for the average consumer who wants to get access to luxury travel experiences on a budget anymore," she said. "They're for people who don't find paying a few hundred dollars in a single charge to be any real financial pain. These cardholders want luxury, and they can afford it."

If you're just starting out on your money or career journey and have questions about how to navigate your finances, we want to hear from you. Write to Dollar Signs, MarketWatch's new advice column, at dollarsigns@marketwatch.com.

-Genna Contino

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July 27, 2025 09:00 ET (13:00 GMT)

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