Tag Archives for citibank.
Citi Strata Elite arrives in a surprisingly premium package, but the real value is what the card earns. The current offer delivers 75,000 points and credits worth up to $1,200 in the first year, and its points now transfer to American Airlines AAdvantage.
Citibank is devaluing ThankYou Rewards transfers to Choice Privileges and Preferred Hotels effective April 19, cutting the Choice ratio by 25% and the I Prefer ratio by 50%. The change wipes out value from these niche hotel partners. Preferred had been one of the program’s sweet spots.
Citi new Strata Elite card delivers a surprisingly strong first-year value play. The current offer combines 75,000 points with up to $1,200 in travel credits, and those points can now transfer directly to American Airlines AAdvantage.
Citi is surveying a refresh of the American AAdvantage small business card that looks meaningfully better than what’s sold today — even with a higher annual fee. The two hooks: authorized-user spend would earn Loyalty Points too, and the card would add a simple flight-based bonus (4 qualifying flights = 4,000 Loyalty Points, up to 12,000 a year), with credits used to sell the higher fee.
The Barclays-issued AAdvantage cards are officially converting to Citi on April 24, and Citi just published the full playbook — including new cards with new account numbers and a no-login window April 24–26.
The sleeper detail is that for now your existing card’s legacy perks stay in place while you also pick up the standard Citi-version benefits, creating a temporary stacking window (especially valuable for Aviator Silver moving to Globe).
I used to avoid Citi Travel because prepaid portal bookings often don’t earn hotel points or elite benefits. But with Citi Strata Elite’s $300 annual hotel credit and 12x earning on Citi Travel bookings, I started price-checking—and I’m seeing something surprising: Citi Travel sometimes undercuts “book direct” member rates, not just other OTAs.
American Airlines already cut basic economy mileage earning to zero, and it is a classic penny-wise move with a bigger hidden cost. The airline is giving up the cheapest hook it has to get price-sensitive flyers into AAdvantage and, ultimately, into its credit card funnel—the business that actually drives profits.
Citi and American Airlines just launched the new mid-tier Globe Card, offering a 90,000-mile initial bonus. While the upfront miles are enticing, a deeper analysis reveals significant strategic missteps and surprisingly limited ongoing benefits—here’s exactly who should (and shouldn’t) consider it.
Seeing Emirates transfers disappear for a time from both Chase and American Express, following the announcement of a devalued transfer ratio from Citi, suggests a move by Emirates rather than by any one bank.
Along with announcing a deal with Citibank that will make them the exclusive issuer of U.S. American Airlines AAdvantage credit cards, the carrier filed an SEC 8-K that offers some limited detail on the financial affects of the 10-year pact.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
