Amex Platinum vs. Citi Strata Elite: Which premium cards' benefits are a better fit for you?

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Citi is no longer accepting applications for the Citi Custom Cash® Card product as of May 28, 2026. 

Two of the most popular premium travel rewards cards are the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card and the American Express Platinum Card®. While both have higher annual fees (especially the $895 Amex Platinum, see rates and fees), you can easily recoup value through the cards' statement credits and travel perks — but only if you use them well.

Here's how to quickly decide whether you should open the Amex Platinum Card or the Citi Strata Elite.

The Amex Platinum Card charges an annual fee of $895 (see rates and fees), while the Citi Strata Elite charges a lower $595 annual fee.

Don't let these annual fees scare you away. Premium credit cards with high annual fees typically come with ongoing benefits worth much more than their price points. If a credit card's perks save you more than you pay in fees, its annual fee is worth it. We cover each card's perks further below to help you decide.

The Amex Platinum Card currently offers a welcome bonus as high as 175,000 American Express Membership Rewards® Points after spending $12,000 on purchases within the first six months from account opening. You'll know how much you're eligible for before accepting the offer, so you can decide for yourself.

American Express Membership Rewards® Points are worth 1 cent each for many redemptions, but it's possible to get considerably more value when you take advantage of Amex's transfer partners. A points bounty from a welcome bonus like this could easily net you over $3,000 in flights, if you transfer to the right airline partners.

The Citi Strata Elite currently offers 75,000 bonus Citi ThankYou® Points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. Similar to Amex points, it's not difficult to receive 1 cent per point in value or an even higher value toward Citi transfer partner travel. You may be able to squeeze $1,425 in airline transfer partner value from this bonus.

The Amex Platinum Card is notoriously limited when it comes to earning points. You'll get:

• 5X points on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel (on up to $500,000 in purchases per calendar year)
• 5X points on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel
• 1X points on all other eligible purchases

The Citi Strata Elite features more impressive return rates than the Amex Platinum Card, though it still doesn't offer a wide range of bonus categories. You'll get:

• 12X points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked via Citi Travel
• 6X points on airfare booked through Citi Travel
• 6X points at restaurants on Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. ET (dubbed "Citi Nights")
• 3X points at restaurants at any other time
• 1.5X points on all other eligible purchases

The Citi Strata Elite takes the cake with its 1.5X minimum rate of return.

Again, both the Amex Platinum Card and the Citi Strata Elite earn flexible rewards that can be redeemed for anything from cash back to gift cards to Amazon purchases. Here are a few popular ways to use them.

Book travel through the online bank portal

American Express and Citi provide proprietary online booking agencies where you can "buy" travel with points at a fixed rate. Both let you book airfare, hotels and more for up to 1 cent each (though Amex points are sometimes worth just 0.7 cents each, depending on how you use them).

Transfer partners

The best use of your rewards is to transfer them to partner travel programs. Converting your points into airline miles or hotel points can potentially result in a value upwards of 2 cents per point.

Both the Amex Platinum Card and Citi Strata Elite have a similar number of transfer partners, though the partners differ slightly. Choosing the right option will mostly depend on where you live and which airports you travel in and out of most frequently. You can transfer rewards at a 1:1 ratio unless otherwise specified:

Trade for cash

Cashing out your rewards is not the most valuable option — but it's certainly one of the easiest.

Amex points are typically worth just 0.6 cents each when redeemed as a statement credit, while Citi ThankYou® Points are redeemable for statement credits at 0.75 cents apiece with the Citi Strata Elite. That said, if you also hold either the Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees) or the Citi Custom Cash® Card, you can cash out your ThankYou® Points at a rate of 1 cent per point.

The beating heart of any premium rewards credit card is its ongoing benefits — and reviewing them is how you can determine whether a card is worth its annual fee.

The Amex Platinum Card and Citi Strata Elite come with similar benefits, but each offers unique perks that can save you hundreds (or thousands) each year if taken advantage of.

Lounge access

The Amex Platinum Card and Citi Strata Elite both offer solid airport lounge access across different lounge networks. Airport lounges typically offer free snacks and drinks, comfy chairs, fast Wi-Fi and more.

The Amex Platinum Card gives you entry into American Express Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass™ airport lounges (enrollment required), Plaza Premium Lounges, Escape Lounges, Lufthansa Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs when flying an eligible same-day Delta flight.

The Citi Strata Elite also comes with Priority Pass airport lounge access, as well as up to four American Airlines Admirals Club passes each year.

These lounge perks are each worth many hundreds of dollars annually. No matter which card you choose, you'll have access to more than 1,500 airport lounges worldwide.

Statement credits

The American Express Platinum is the undisputed king when it comes to statement credits. Here are some of the highlights:

• Up to $600 hotel credit: Get up to $300 in statement credits biannually for eligible Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts bookings or prepaid bookings with The Hotel Collection. (The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.)
• Up to $200 in Uber Cash: Receive $15 per month ($35 in December) deposited into your Uber Wallet after adding your card to your Uber account. Use your Uber Cash on rides and orders in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction (terms apply).*
• $120 Uber One Credit: Receive up to $120 in statement credits each calendar year for an auto-renewing Uber One membership (terms apply). 
• Up to $200 in airline fee credits: Receive up to $200 back per calendar year for incidental fees charged by your selected qualifying airline (qualifying airlines are subject to change). See terms and conditions for more details.
• Up to $219 CLEAR+® credit: Receive up to $219 per year in statement credits for a CLEAR+ membership (excluding any applicable taxes and fees; subject to auto-renewal).*
• $120 TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit: Receive either a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($120) or a statement credit after you apply for a five-year membership for TSA PreCheck^® (up to $85 through a TSA PreCheck official enrollment provider) and pay the application fee with your Platinum Card. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck
• Up to $400 in Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits per quarter when using your card on eligible Resy purchases.*
• Up to $300 in Digital Entertainment Credit: Receive $25 in statement credits per month when you pay for eligible purchases with the Platinum Card® at your choice of one or more of the following providers: Disney+, a Disney+ Bundle, ESPN streaming services, Hulu, The New York Times, Paramount+, YouTube Premium, YouTube TV, Peacock and The Wall Street Journal.*
• Up to $300 in lululemon credits: Get $75 in statement credits per quarter for spending at lululemon stores (excluding outlet stores).*
• Up to $155 in Walmart+ credits: Receive up to $12.95 per month in statement credits on one monthly Walmart+ membership with your Platinum Card. You'll get perks like discounts on gas, free shipping and more (Plus Ups not eligible; subject to auto-renewal).*
• $200 Oura ring credit: Receive $200 in statement credits when you purchase an Oura Ring at Ouraring.com.*

*Enrollment required

Meanwhile, the Citi Strata Elite comes with a handful of valuable credits of its own:

• Up to $300 in annual hotel credit: Book two or more nights at a hotel through Citi Travel and receive $300 off, once per calendar year.
• Up to $200 in annual Splurge Credit^℠: Choose up to two eligible brands to receive a combined reimbursement of up to $200 per calendar year. Brands include American Airlines (with exclusions), Best Buy, Live Nation (exclusions apply) and more.
• Up to $200 in annual Blacklane Credit: Book premium global chauffeur service Blacklane and receive up to $100 between January and June and another $100 between July and December.
• Up to $120 in TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit: Receive a statement credit to reimburse either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® every four years.

As you can see, both cards offer enough credits to easily offset their respective annual fees. However, the Amex Platinum Card offers exponentially more value.

Additional benefits

Both the Amex Platinum Card and Citi Strata Elite come with varying levels of travel and shopping protections. They both offer a form of:

• Trip delay insurance*
• Lost/damaged luggage insurance**
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance*
• Purchase protection**
• Extended warranty**

Both cards also give you access to hotel booking programs that deliver elite-like benefits — from free breakfast to property credits to room upgrades when available through Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts® or The Reserve by Citi Travel®.

It's also worth noting that the Amex Platinum Card offers a myriad of hotel and rental car elite statuses after you enroll, including Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Hilton Honors Gold, Hertz President's Circle and Leaders Club Sterling Status.

Terms apply for all benefits. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

*Amex Platinum benefit underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

**Amex Platinum benefit underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

The card best suited for you depends on your unique financial and travel goals. One thing is certain, however: These cards are geared toward travelers.

While the American Express Platinum Card has a higher annual fee (see rates and fees), it offers significantly more value in statement credits. The card also provides slightly better lounge access, which could make a difference for those who live near an airport with Amex Centurion lounges (enrollment required).

The Citi Strata Elite charges a lower annual fee, which you can recoup most of with the hotel and Splurge credits alone. This card also offers American Airlines as a transfer partner, which could be a worthwhile perk for loyal AA customers or those with a close American hub.

Both of these premium travel cards provide solid travel benefits and ways to earn back the annual fee you pay, so your choice will depend on which card's added perks are most valuable to you.

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For rates and fees of the American Express Platinum Card®, click here.

Information about the Citi Custom Cash® Card has been collected independently by CNBC Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.