The $95 annual-fee Citi Premier card was replaced last year by the Citi Strata Premier card. Earlier this year, Citi paused applications for the no-fee Rewards+ card.
The news today is that the Rewards+ card which launched in 2019 is being discontinued and replaced by a new Citi Strata no-annual-fee card.
New Strata Card
- Existing Rewards+ cardholders will be converted to the new Strata card on July 20, 2025 and will lose the special 10% rebate and roundup feature of the Rewards+ card. Those who opened their Rewards+ card from July 20, 2024 through July 19, 2025 will continue to have access to the Round Up feature and the 10% Points Back until July 19, 2026.
- New applications for the Strata card will become available later this year.
Card Details
- Both cards have no annual fee and 3% foreign transaction fee.
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months
The other details of the new Citi Strata no-fee card are very different from the Rewards+ card:
- Signup bonus on the Citi Strata at launch will be 30,000 ThankYou points. That’s better than the 20,000-25,000 offers we saw on the Rewards+ card.
- The 10% redemption rebate feature on the Rewards+ card will not be a feature of the Citi Strata card.
- The points roundup feature on the Rewards+ card will not be a feature of the Citi Strata card.
- Points earning details on the Strata card are better:
- 5x points on Hotels, Car Rentals and Attractions booked on Citi Travel
- 3x points at Supermarkets
- 3x points on Select Transit and at Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 3x points on an eligible Self-Select Category of your choice. Eligible categories include Fitness Clubs, Select Streaming Services, Live Entertainment, Cosmetic Stores/Barber Shops/Hair Salons or Pet Supply Stores.
- 2x points at Restaurants
- 1x points on All Other Purchases
Our Verdict
Obviously a bummer on the removal of the 10% and roundup feature. Overall, though, I’d say this can be a solid no-fee card for a non-hobbyist who is just using one card for everything. Getting 3x on Grocery/Gas/choice, and 2x on Restaurants isn’t bad. Still, I’d think for most people Double Cash makes more sense, especially given that the Strata is no longer easily redeemable for 1 cent per point.
Reminder: Before cards get converted on July 20, 2025, everyone should do redemptions to max out the 10,000 annual max for the 10% redemption bonus.
Hat tip to DDG
Does anyone know what happens to a Rewards+ card if you did NOT receive any notice or email about a product change for either July 2025 or July 2026? Citi Customer Service is apparently clueless anything will change at all on this card, and they have stated the card will continue with the current benefits for this account so it’s baffling. Not sure whether to product change to Custom Cash or try to keep the benefits by doing nothing if it’s true.
I had not received a notification but just logged into the app and was told it would be converted effective Sunday. I guess I need to cash out my points before then to get the extra 10% (turns out I had $100 in rewards to cash out, so an extra $10). Will convert to another Custom Cash card 9this will be #4). I’ll miss using it for small purchases under $2 and of course redeeming the 5% earned on the CC cards. Good news is one less card in my wallet. And it no longer matters that points transfer from P2’s TYP account to mine has been broken for over a year.
PC’ed Rewards+ to Custom Cash.
Me too, called Citi on 7/7 to do the conversion to my fourth Custom Cash. My statement closed a few days ago and I didn’t want the new Strata card.
does anyone know if it will it be 1 cent per point or .75 per point?
Was just able to PC from rewards+ to custom cash via phone rep
Was able to replicate on my rewards+ just now as well. Custom cash is probably the best landing net for this.
Yeah this is a HUCA.. had a “can only be PC’d to AA cards”, then some guy who knew nothing but nonsense.. then ok for CC…
I was also successful converting my Rewards+ to a Custom Cash over the phone yesterday. Took five minutes max.
Just attempted to product change from R+
My only options were AA Mile-Up and AA Platinum
Does anyone know if the AA Mile-Up enables ThankYou points to be converted to AA miles? Might be enticing to switch now to keep myself out of the Strata family for SUB purposes.
Well, I doubt it, since TYP points can’t be converted to AA miles in the normal TYP points conversion process.
same. not seeing upside to not closing after last 10k…
I’ve had the rewards card sock drawered for years as I’ve focused on Amex MR and Chase UR. I’m about fully tapped out of new cards for those two brands. Should I close my Rewards+ card now so I can apply for the Strata branded cards in the future?
I have exactly the same question. I’m afraid to cancel though because I’ve read that Citi has a 24-month rule that locks you out of getting a SUB if you cancel a card in that family. I’m not sure if canceling the Rewards+ will trigger this rule. I would like to apply and get a SUB for the Citi Strata Premier within the next 6 months.
Tangentially-related DP: tried to change from Strata Premier to Custom Cash. First CSR said Citi doesn’t allow that. HUCA. Second CSR said I could change to Custom Cash or Double Cash. Successfully changed to Double Cash.
Citi randomly credited 20k TYP to my Rewards+ account on the statement closing date yesterday. Shows up as, “ Citi Rewards+SM Card (XXXX)
Courtesy”. I wonder if it’s related to the card being discontinued.
The card is not being truly discontinued, it’s being changed a lot though and being renamed at the same time.
I’m so surprised that so few people seem to have had this card for the 2 year warranty extension. It was amazing! Buy a product with. 90-day warranty and boom! It’s a 820 day (2yrs+90days) warranty. 5 year warranty became 7 years. That was amazing. I’ve not seen anything definitive either way whether that will continue, but I’m assuming not. In which case, will the new card continue to honor the warranties?
Does anyone know whether the transfer partners for this new Strata card are going to be the same as the Rewards+ or the Strata Premier? (I don’t have the Strata Premier, so it’d be nice to have a more expanded set of transfer partners.)