Which Earn Points, Which Earn Cash Back, and How to Use Them for Travel

Citi isn’t always the first bank people think about when they start learning about points and miles. Most beginners focus on Chase, American Express or Capital One.

But recently, Citi has quietly become a much more interesting program — especially with the addition of the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card and the ability to transfer Citi ThankYou® Points to American Airlines AAdvantage®.

If you’re trying to decide whether Citi cards should be part of your strategy, here’s a simple breakdown of:

Which Citi cards earn ThankYou Points
Which earn cash back
How cash back can turn into transferable points
Citi’s transfer partners
Which cards make sense for different types of travelers

Citi ThankYou® Points

Citi’s main travel rewards currency is ThankYou Points.

These points can be:

• redeemed for travel through Citi Travel
• transferred to airline and hotel partners
• combined across Citi accounts
• earned from both points cards and certain cashback cards

One important detail: not every Citi card unlocks transfers to airline partners.

To get full transfer ability, you need one of Citi’s premium ThankYou cards, like the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card or the Citi Strata Premier® Card.

Once you have one of those, you can move points earned from other Citi cards into that account and turn them into transferable travel points.

This is where the strategy gets interesting.

Citi Cards That Earn ThankYou Points

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

This is Citi’s premium travel card and the newest major addition to their lineup.
Annual fee: $595

Key benefits include:

• $300 annual hotel credit when booking a stay of two nights or more through Citi Travel
• $200 Splurge Credit℠ each year at select retailers like Best Buy or American Airlines
• $200 Blacklane credit split into two $100 credits per year
• Priority Pass lounge access with two guests
• 4 American Airlines Admirals Club® passes annually
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® credit

Earning rates

• 12x on hotels, attractions, and car rentals through Citi Travel
• 6x on airfare booked through Citi Travel
• 6x dining during Citi Nights℠ (Friday and Saturday 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. ET)
• 3x dining at other times
• 1.5x on everything else

Citi Strata Premier® Card

Annual fee: $95

If the Strata Elite is Citi’s version of a premium travel card, the Strata Premier is the more approachable everyday option.

Where this card really shines is in its bonus categories.

Earning rates

• 3x at restaurants
• 3x at grocery stores
• 3x at gas stations
• 3x on EV charging
• 3x on hotels and airfare
• 1x on other purchases

Those categories cover a large portion of everyday spending, which makes this one of the stronger earning cards in the mid-tier travel category.

The card also includes:

• $100 hotel credit when booking a $500+ stay through Citi Travel

For people who want to earn Citi ThankYou points without a large annual fee, this is usually the most practical starting point.

Citi Strata Card

Annual fee: $0

This is Citi’s entry-level ThankYou points card.

However, the points earned here don’t unlock full transfer partner access on their own.

That means this card is usually best as:

• a downgrade option
• or a companion card to the Premier or Elite

On its own, it’s not typically the strongest choice if your goal is maximizing travel points.

Citi Cash Back Cards That Can Turn Into Points

Several Citi cashback cards can effectively become travel rewards cards when paired with a Strata Premier or Strata Elite.

That means the cash back you earn can be converted into ThankYou points and transferred to airlines.

Two cards in particular stand out.

Citi Double Cash® Card

Annual fee: $0

This card offers a very simple earning structure:

• 1% when you make a purchase
• 1% when you pay the bill

That effectively becomes 2% back on everything.

But if you also hold a Strata Premier or Strata Elite, that 2% cashback can be converted into 2 ThankYou points per dollar.

This makes the Double Cash an excellent everyday spending card.

Citi Custom Cash® Card

Annual fee: $0

This card automatically earns:

• 5% cash back on your top spending category each billing cycle (up to $500)

Eligible categories include things like:

• restaurants
• gas stations
• grocery stores
• select travel
• transit
• streaming services
• drugstores
• home improvement stores
• fitness clubs
• live entertainment

And again, when paired with a Strata Premier or Strata Elite, that 5% cashback can effectively become 5x transferable points.

Citi Transfer Partners

Citi has built a strong lineup of airline partners, including one that makes them stand out in the points world.

Hotel partners

• Accor Live Limitless
• Choice Privileges®
• Preferred Hotels & Resorts
• Wyndham Rewards

Some of these programs can provide surprisingly good value.

For example, Citi transfers to Choice Privileges at a 1:2 ratio, which means 10,000 Citi points becomes 20,000 Choice points. In certain international destinations, that can cover an entire hotel night.

Combining Citi Cards for Maximum Value

The real strength of Citi’s system appears when you combine cards together.

For example:

Simple setup

• Citi Strata Premier®
• Citi Double Cash®

Result:

• 3x points on everyday spending categories
• 2x points on everything else

Advanced setup

• Citi Strata Elite℠ Card
• Citi Custom Cash® Card
• Citi Double Cash® Card

Result:

• 5x on top category spending
• 6x dining on weekend nights
• 2x everywhere else

All of those points can then be transferred to airline partners.

A Few Important Rules About Citi Points

Citi’s system works well, but there are a few quirks to understand.

Points and card closures

Points remain active as long as the card that earned them is open.

If you close a card, any points tied to that account may expire soon after.

A common strategy is to downgrade to a no-annual-fee card instead of closing the account, which keeps your points safe.

Sharing points

Citi allows you to share points with another person, but there are limits.

• Up to 100,000 points per year can be shared
• Shared points expire after 90 days

Because of that short expiration window, it’s usually best to share points only when you’re ready to book a redemption.

Which Citi Cards Make the Most Sense?

Best for frequent travelers

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

Best for people who can easily use the travel credits and want access to premium travel perks and airline transfers.

Best mid-tier travel card

Citi Strata Premier® Card

Low annual fee with excellent bonus categories that cover everyday spending.

Best everyday spending card

Citi Double Cash® Card

A simple 2% earning structure that becomes 2 transferable points per dollar when paired with a premium Citi card.

Best for targeted spending

Citi Custom Cash® Card

Automatically earns 5% back in your highest category each month.

Final Thoughts

For years, Citi’s ThankYou program sat quietly behind the bigger names like Chase and American Express.

But the combination of:

• the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card
• strong earning categories on the Strata Premier®
• cashback cards that convert to points
• and the ability to transfer to American Airlines

has made Citi a much more compelling option.

For people who love maximizing travel rewards, Citi cards can now play a meaningful role in a well-rounded points strategy.

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Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

Citi Cards Explained

Citi ThankYou® Points

Citi Cards That Earn ThankYou Points