Being at 4/24 has made me focus on business card applications to keep below the 5/24 barrier. After getting approved for the Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business card, I decided to put go for a personal card. By the time I’m ready for another Chase business card on my 6-month-Chase-business-card schedule, one of the 5/24 count will have fallen off anyway.
And so I applied for the Citi Strata Elite card and got an instant approval! It even came with an instant-issue card number.
The Citi Strata Elite card is interesting due to its 100,000 Thank You points signup bonus with a reasonable $6,000 spend requirement.
Especially notable now is that the card comes with an annual $200 Splurge credit (requires activation) each calendar year which includes places like Best Buy and American Airlines and more options.
Since Citi posts the annual fee at the end of the first statement (so likely 30 days after approval), my first annual fee will post around December 20th. I’ll then have 30 days to decide whether to keep the card or cancel for a full fee refund which get me until around January 20, 2027. I can also opt to downgrade at any time for a prorated refund.
And so I’ll be able to get 3 x $200 Splurge credits before having to make the decision about keeping the card longer term.
The $300 hotel credit and Admiral Club passes can also be triple dipped. And then there’s the $100 Backlane limo service credit which I’ll get four times: once before year end, twice in 2026, and once in early 2027.
I’m less sure if/how I’ll use the travel credits, but to me the three Splurge credits mostly offset the $595 annual fee and makes the 100,000 points signup bonus very appealing. I’ll likely buy Amazon or Best Buy gift cards from Bestbuy.com to use the credit.
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