What is the Citi Strata Elite Card's "Citi Nights" dining offer, and how do you use it?
Editor's Note
If you hold the new Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (see rates and fees), you have access to a bonus-earning dining perk. Citi Nights is a weekend offer that boosts restaurant and restaurant delivery earnings to an impressive 6 Citi ThankYou Rewards points per dollar spent when you pay using your Strata Elite card.
Given how rewarding this tasty new perk can be, here's what you need to know about how it works and the time restrictions you need to be aware of.
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How the Citi Nights dining offer works
During Citi Nights (which is every Friday and Saturday between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Eastern time), you'll earn 6 ThankYou Rewards points per dollar spent when paying with your Citi Strata Elite Card at restaurants, including restaurant delivery services.
Outside of the Citi Nights time window, you'll earn 3 points per dollar spent at restaurants.
How to maximize the Citi Nights benefit
If you want to capitalize on this bonus points-earning perk, make sure you pay with your Strata Elite card during the designated East Coast time window. So, if you're on the West Coast, you'd have between 3 p.m. and 3 a.m. PST on Friday and Saturday to use your eligible card at restaurants.
If you're abroad, align your local dining time to Eastern time. For example, Paris is six hours ahead of Eastern time, so you'd need to dine between midnight and noon local time to hit the Citi Nights window.
Also note that Citi bases Citi Nights on when the purchase is authorized, not when it posts to your account. Therefore, you can still earn 6 points per dollar spent at restaurants as long as the authorization happened during that Eastern time window.
To avoid missing out on the bonus points during the Citi Nights promotion:
- Keep receipts and double-check your points in case you need to follow up with Citi.
- Check Eastern time before you order, especially close to 6 a.m. Eastern time.
- For delivery, place the order during the window; authorization usually occurs at order time.
- If a late‑night meal runs past 6 a.m. Eastern time for any reason, ask the server to run the card before the cutoff.
- Because Citi defines Citi Nights in Eastern time, your local start and end times may shift by one hour when the U.S. moves into or out of daylight saving time, and many other countries also observe daylight saving time on different dates.
- Add Eastern time as a second clock on your phone to avoid missing out during the EDT changeover weekends.
Given these complexities and the card's design for international travelers, it is unfortunate that the Citi Nights time frame was not extended to, say, 6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Sunday. This would make it much easier to navigate without having to dine within a limited time period.
Related: Citi Strata Elite: Citi finally adds a premium travel card — was it worth the wait?
Why the Citi Strata Elite is such a rewarding card
New Citi Strata Elite cardholders can earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
Along with the welcome bonus and Citi Nights dining perk, the card also offers:
- A $300 annual hotel benefit: Each calendar year, cardholders receive up to $300 off a prepaid hotel stay (minimum two-night booking) when booked through Citi Travel
- A $200 Splurge credit: Each calendar year, cardholders receive up to $200 in statement credits on their choice of two brands: 1stDibs, American Airlines, Best Buy, ESPN+, Future Personal Training and Live Nation
- A $200 Blacklane credit: Receive a biannual statement credit of up to $100 (up to $200 annually) for Blacklane chauffeur bookings
- A $120 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit: Up to $120 statement credit every four years toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
- Priority Pass Select membership for lounge access
- Four American Airlines Admirals Club passes per calendar year
- No foreign transaction fees and a suite of travel protections
Bottom line
Citi Nights is a generous new way to supercharge your weekend dining on the Citi Strata Elite Card and earn an impressive 6 Citi ThankYou Rewards points per dollar spent on the card.
If you are using the offer in a different time zone, whether at home or abroad, you'll need to pay close attention to time zone restrictions and ensure the transactions are authorized within the Citi Nights windows to maximize your points earning.
Related reading:
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