Citigroup enters credit card perk wars with $595 annual fee for Strata Elite
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Citigroup enters credit card perk wars with $595 annual fee for Strata Elite
Citigroup is once again courting high-end credit card spenders as it rolls out its new Strata Elite premium card. The $595 annual fee joins an increasingly crowded field as the biggest names in finance chase after the same well-heeled consumers with credit card perks. With average interest rates above 20%, credit cards have long been “one of the most attractive areas in consumer banking,” CFRA banking analyst Ken Leon said. The rollout of the bank’s new premium card comes after Citigroup exited the business of courting wealthy spenders with perks in 2021.
“The modern customer, who is affluent with a passion for travel and dining, told us they want to maximize the rewards they can earn in the categories they care about,” Pam Habner, Citigroup’s head of US branded cards and lending, said in an interview.
Strata Elite joins an increasingly crowded field as the biggest names in finance all chase after the same well-heeled consumers with credit card perks.
Last month, JPMorgan Chase (JPM), the largest US credit card issuer by purchase volume, raised the annual fee of its top-tier Chase Sapphire Reserve card to $795 from $550 and loaded it with more perks.
The country’s second-largest credit card lender, American Express (AXP), also promised a refresh later this year of its higher-end Platinum card that currently comes with a $695 annual fee.
Capital One (COF) is also “leaning in hard” with its Venture X rewards card, CEO Richard Fairbank told analysts last week. That card, which launched in 2021, comes with a $395 annual fee and special offers.
A worker exits the Citigroup headquarters in New York. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid/File photo) · Reuters / Reuters
Big banks dominate the premium US credit card market. With average interest rates above 20%, according to Federal Reserve data in May, credit cards have long been “one of the most attractive areas in consumer banking,” CFRA banking analyst Ken Leon said.
Habner, who previously launched JPMorgan’s Sapphire Reserve card in 2016, said Citigroup’s new Strata Elite card will offer customers “the highest earning potential of any card in the market.”
“They very clearly told us we don’t want a card that has a coupon book filled with merchant offers we may or may not use,” Habner added.
Read more: See which credit cards topped the 2025 Yahoo Finance Awards
The rollout of the bank’s new premium card comes after Citigroup exited the business of courting wealthy spenders with perks in 2021, when it ceased accepting applications for its premium Prestige card ($495 annual fee).
By purchase volume and outstanding credit balances, Citigroup ranks as the country’s third-largest credit card lender. Its branded credit card business grew 11% in the second quarter compared with the year-ago period to $2.8 billion. Its smaller retail services card business fell 5% to $1.6 billion.
“Part of competing in this space is ensuring that we have innovative products that appeal to the needs and interests of our customers,” Citigroup CFO Mark Mason told reporters earlier this month.