![Utilizing Citi Strata Elite Card's Annual $200 Spending Credit: A Guide [2025]](/en/content/images/size/w1280/format/webp/20250805134036_citi-strata-elite-card.jpeg)
Utilizing Citi Strata Elite Card's Annual $200 Splurge Credit: A Guide [2025]
The Citi Strata Elite card offers an attractive perk for frequent travellers - an annual Splurge Credit of up to $200. Here's how to make the most of this benefit.
Selecting the Right Brands
To maximise the Splurge Credit, choose two brands from a list that includes 1stDibs, American Airlines, Best Buy, Future Personal Training, and Live Nation. Activate the brands where you either regularly spend or can get the most value.
For example, if you travel frequently with American Airlines or purchase their ancillary fees, using that brand can offset those costs. If you attend concerts or events often, Live Nation can provide great value for tickets and merchandise. For luxury or unique items, 1stDibs offers high-end art, jewelry, and accessories under or around $200, allowing efficient use of the credit. Best Buy works well if you have planned electronics or gadget purchases. Future Personal Training is an option for fitness-related expenses.
Using the Credit Efficiently
To get the full benefit of the $200 credit, try to spend at least $200 combined across your two selected brands on eligible purchases each calendar year. You can swap your two selected brands anytime during the year, which allows optimising based on upcoming planned spending.
Utilising Authorised Users
Purchases made by both the primary cardholder and authorised users count towards the credit, providing more opportunities to maximise it.
Targeting Purchases
For 1stDibs particularly, filtering searches up to $200 aligns well with the credit limit so you get full value applied to your statement.
Important Exclusions
The Splurge Credit cannot be used on car rentals, hotel reservations, AAdvantage status boost or renewal purchases, or AA Cargo products and services with American Airlines. Purchases for events or venues outside the United States or a U.S. territory are not eligible for the Splurge Credit.
Additional Benefits
The Citi Strata Elite card offers other attractive benefits. It is Citi's most premium card built for frequent travellers and foodies, and offers 80,000 bonus ThankYou Points after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.
In addition to the Splurge Credit, the card includes bonus categories for 12x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel, 6x points on air travel booked on Citi Travel, 6x points at restaurants, including restaurant delivery services, every Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Eastern time, and 3x points any other time.
Using a favourite shopping portal like Rakuten or TopCashback can earn additional cash-back or points when shopping at Best Buy.
[1] Citi Strata Elite Card Guide [2] Citi Strata Elite Card Benefits [4] Citi Splurge Credit Guide
- Choose two brands such as 1stDibs, American Airlines, Best Buy, Future Personal Training, or Live Nation for the Splurge Credit, prioritizing where you regularly spend or can gain the most value.
- Spend at least $200 combined on eligible purchases across your two chosen brands each calendar year to maximize the full benefit of the $200 credit, and consider swapping brands based on planned spending.
- Purchases made by both the primary cardholder and authorized users contribute towards the Splurge Credit, providing extra opportunities to use the credit effectively.
- For 1stDibs, filter your searches to amounts under $200 to ensure the full credit value is applied to your statement.
- The Splurge Credit cannot be used for car rentals, hotel reservations, AAdvantage status boost or renewal purchases, or AA Cargo products and services with American Airlines. Additionally, purchases for events or venues outside the United States are ineligible for the Splurge Credit.
The Citi Strata Elite card offers additional benefits beyond the Splurge Credit, including bonus categories for hotels, car rentals, and attractions, air travel, restaurants, and partnerships with shopping portals like Rakuten or TopCashback for extra cash-back or points at Best Buy.
