A while back I wrote about the new Citibank Strata family of credit cards, and I also wrote about how and why we applied for this credit card. We have been using the card since then principally to complete the spend requirement for the 100k welcome bonus, but we have also strategically started to spend to use the card’s perks. Related to those perks are some things that are unique to this card that could potentially double the value of this card in the first year. Let’s get into it.

1. Quick refresher on the Strata Elite’s perks
2. What makes these perks ‘unique’ compared to other cards
3. How to maximize on the ‘loophole’
4. Summary

Quick refresher on the Strata Elite’s perks

The Strata Elite comes with a $595 annual fee, so that’s not cheap. Just to remind you of the card’s perks, here’s a quick summary of the ‘headline’ perks, all of which are quite easy to maximize:

• $300 annual hotel credit, to be used through the Citibank travel portal for stays of a minimum of 2 nights.
• $200 annual ‘splurge’ credit, to be used with two out of five predefined merchants. These need to be selected before the credit can be applied. We selected American Airlines and BestBuy.
• $200 Blacklane credit, a professional chauffeur service, provided as two bi-annual credits.
• 4 American Airlines Admirals Club passes, which can be used if you’re ticketed on a same-day oneworld flight (American Airlines or any of their alliance partners), by presenting a pass at the lounge for each individual in your p[arty (so if you’re traveling the two of you, you’d need 2 passes to enter).
• A priority pass membership, which gives access to lounges but doesn’t include restaurant credits.

What makes these perks ‘unique’ compared to other cards

By themselves, these credits are easy to maximize, and that’s a big reason why we got this card. However, here’s the kicker: all these credits are provided on the basis of the calendar year. That’s right, they are provided to you when you open the card, and are then renewed on January first.

I say this is unique, because commonly credits and other card benefits renew on the basis of the cardmember year, meaning that benefits renew a year after you first opened the card. This means that you can ‘double dip’ on the Strata Elite’s benefits during the first year of card membership. So how do you maximize that value?

How to maximize on the ‘loophole’

The principal way to maximize on this value is by strategically opening the card. The aim is to minimize the time you have the card open in the first year, so that you effectively pay the annual fee ‘once’ to then get twice the perks. Meaning:

• You should open the card around September-October. If you feel confident you can churn through all the credits, you can open it even later, in November. Remember you can use the credits now for travel booked many months later. By opening the card late in the year, you can get the credits and benefits, use them before the new year starts, and then in January get them anew, and all the while you only paid your annual fee just once. This is the best way to ‘double dip’ on these credits as you can use at least the $300 hotel credit, the $200 splurge credit, and a $100 Blacklane credit (this is provided every half year, so you’d only be able to use it once).
• I do not recommend applying in December, given that it does take a week to receive the card, and this may not give you enough time to effectively use the credits before January.
• Do NOT open the Strata Elite in January-July, as the card member year and calendar year will overlap too much and you won’t get much additional benefit out of this loophole.

Summary

We recently got the Strata Elite credit card from Citibank, and find that there’s something of a loophole in the use of the credits: by opening the card late in the year, you can use all the credits before January, which at that point renew, providing you twice the credits and benefits for the price of about a year worth of annual fee. This is an easy way to get extra benefit out of this card.