【2025.7 update】FM also has a rumor, and most of the benefits line up with what we’ve already seen. The differences are that the annual fee is said to be $650, and the rumor says it will launch this weekend (I think both of those points are wrong). More importantly:

  • The ability to transfer to AA miles will not be available immediately; it will come later
  • Existing Prestige cardholders will be product changed to the new Strata Elite

A more detailed Strata Elite rumor is here. Someone claiming to be a Citi employee posted some details:

  • AF confirmed $595.

The rumored earn structure is:
Citi

  • 12x on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through Citi Travel; 6x on airfare booked through Citi Travel.
  • 6x at restaurants from 6pm-6am ET on Friday and Saturday nights (this one is honestly kind of ridiculous with the time restriction).
  • 3x at restaurants at all other times.
  • 1.5x on all other purchases, which is actually pretty solid for everyday spending.

Other benefits:

  • Global Entry credit.
  • $300 Citi Travel credit.
  • Possibly a weird $240 “splurge credit” at a list of selected merchants, including Best Buy.
  • Priority Pass, with no restaurant benefit mentioned.
  • 4 annual AA lounge passes.
  • If you have Citi Gold and $200,000 in accounts, you can get a $145 annual fee discount (this is actually pretty good).

In addition, this card is very likely to be part of the new World Legend Mastercard tier.

Citi Strata Elite finally has some real news. Citi announced that this card will launch in Q3 2025, and it will likely earn ThankYou Points and target the upper-mid to premium market. It took much longer than expected for this card to arrive. But with today’s premium-card market focused on coupon-book credits plus $600+ annual fees, Citi will probably follow the same trend.

There was an earlier rumor about the new card’s benefits. Personally, I think if Mastercard wants this card to carry a ~$595 annual fee, it needs a bit more in statement credits—maybe $200 for travel plus another $100-$200 for rideshare or dining would make more sense.

  • Annual fee of ~$595
  • Authorized Uber fee of $75 or $95
  • Points multipliers not as good as the current Citi Prestige, but a high point multiplier on travel booked through Citi travel. Current Prestige earn rates are as follows:
    • 5x air travel & restaurants
    • 3x hotels & cruise lines
    • 1x all other purchases
  • Priority Pass similar to Chase & American Express (eg restaurants not included)
  • Annual travel credit must be used through Citi travel
  • Possible admirals club access (likely limited uses per year)

Strata lineup

It looks like Citi Strata is becoming a full card family, with a no-annual-fee card, a mid-tier card, and a premium card, likely positioned to compete with the Chase Sapphire lineup and AMEX’s offerings.

Strata Lounge

On October 22, 2024, Citi filed a trademark for Strata Lounge. That suggests Citi may also be planning its own airport lounges, potentially to compete with Chase Sapphire Lounge and AMEX Centurion Lounge. Citi is getting a late start here, though—even Capital One already has its own lounge network.

Strata credit cards

From the looks of it, Citi Strata has been in the works since 2022. Two cards had already been registered earlier, and Citi recently also registered the Citi STRATA trademark.

Goods and Services Promoting the sale of credit card accounts through the administration of incentive award programs; credit card registration services; provision of consumer information services to credit card holders in the event of loss or theft, namely, consumer information about how to replace travel tickets, driver's licenses, passports and mobile phones.

Trademark links:

Citi has also filed another new trademark called Citi Strata Select, which looks like it could be a no-annual-fee card. It’s not yet clear whether this will be a brand-new product or a migration from an existing card. Based on the usual timeline, though, it may go live by the end of the year or sometime in 2025.