It’s not every day an all-new premium card launches — in fact, it’s pretty rare.
So I’m excited to see the new Citi Strata Elite℠ Card go live with a tempting limited-time offer of 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months after account opening.
The earning rates on this new card have impressed me so far — especially given that we just learned the points will be transferable at a 1:1 ratio to American Airlines AAdvantage, making Citi that highly valuable program’s exclusive credit card transfer partner.
For example, you can earn 12 Citi ThankYou Rewards points per dollar spent on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through the Citi Travel portal. Since TPG values Citi points at 1.85 cents apiece in our July 2025 valuations (which were calculated before the addition of AAdvantage as a transfer partner), you’re getting an astonishing 22.2 cents’ worth of points for every dollar spent this way.
You can also earn 6 points per dollar spent on airfare booked through the Citi Travel portal.
There is also a delicious new benefit called CitiNights℠: You can earn 6 points per dollar spent at restaurants, including restaurant delivery services, every Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Eastern time (or 3 points per dollar spent outside of that window). And you’ll earn a healthy 1.5 points per dollar spent on all other purchases.
You also get useful credits like a $300 annual hotel benefit, a $200 Splurge credit (good on brands including American Airlines, Live Nation and Best Buy), a $200 Blacklane car service credit and a $120 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit.
I’ve been a keen supporter of the ThankYou Rewards program, and I noted earlier this year that the program’s only shortfall was missing a slam-dunk transfer partner option. My prayers have been answered with the game-changing news that you can now transfer Citi points from the Strata Elite and other select cards to AAdvantage.
That’s because AAdvantage miles can be really valuable when redeemed through partner airlines. Here are some of my favorite ways to use them:
57,500 miles to Europe on Iberia or Finnair in business class with no surcharges
I’ve already tried transferring Citi points to American Airlines this week and am happy to report that the transfer was instant.
Remember: This impressive 80,000-point welcome offer is only available for a limited time. (And you may get an even higher offer if you’re able to apply at a Citi branch.)
Personally, I plan to focus my transferable points earning on ThankYou Rewards from now on, thanks to the new AAdvantage transfer option.
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