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Key takeaways
- Strategically combining three Citi cards allows you to both earn more rewards as well as squeeze out more value when you redeem them.
- Three popular cards to include in your Citi trifecta are the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, Citi Double Cash® Card and Citi Custom Cash® Card.
- Citi Strata Premier is the only card of the three that charges an annual fee.
If you’re a credit card enthusiast or enjoy maximizing your rewards, you may be interested in a credit card trifecta. This approach combines three cards from the same issuer to take advantage of the best perks and rewards rates on each card. More importantly, it allows you to easily combine your rewards for better redemption options, like the ability to transfer rewards to travel partners.
What is the Citi trifecta?
For the Citi credit card trifecta, we’re going to describe using the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, Citi Double Cash® Card and Citi Custom Cash® Card to rack up piles of Citi ThankYou points and cash back.
All three cards offer different rewards structures and redemption options. On their own, the cards offer the following:
- Citi Custom Cash: Redeem your rewards for direct deposits, checks, statement credits, gift cards, travel booked through Citi or eligible purchases on Amazon via Shop with Points. This card earns “basic” ThankYou points.
- Citi Double Cash: Redeem your rewards for direct deposits, checks, statement credits, gift cards, travel booked through Citi or eligible purchases on Amazon via Shop with Points. Again, this card earns “basic” ThankYou points.
- Citi Strata Premier: Redeem rewards for cash back, gift cards, shopping with points, charitable contributions, travel through Citi Travel and transfers to Citi travel loyalty partners. You earn “full-fledged” ThankYou points with this card.
- Alternative option: The Citi Rewards+® Card could be used instead of the Custom Cash, but the rewards earning structure doesn’t allow as much flexibility to maximize your earning, so we’re focusing on Custom Cash.
Notice that both Citi Double Cash and Citi Custom Cash earn basic Citi ThankYou points that cannot be transferred to the full slate of Citi travel partners. Those transfer partners are how you can realize the most value from your redemption.
That’s where Citi Strata Premier comes in. It includes all of the redemption options available for the Citi Custom Cash and Citi Double Cash plus the ability to transfer Citi ThankYou points to Citi airline and hotel partners. Combine all your rewards under your Premier card to convert your basic ThankYou points into full-fledged, transferrable ThankYou points.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the perks and rewards structures of the Citi Custom Cash, Citi Double Cash and Citi Strata Premier cards before we dive in to how you can maximize your rewards with each card:
| Cards | Welcome offer | Rewards rate | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citi Custom Cash® Card | $200 (fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou Points) after spending $1,500 in the first 6 months | 5% cash back on your top eligible spending category each billing cycle (on up to $500 spent, then 1% back); 1% back on all other purchases | $0 |
| Citi Double Cash® Card | $200 (fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou Points) after spending $1,500 in the first 6 months | 2% cash back — 1% back when you make a purchase and another 1% back when you pay off your purchase | $0 |
| Citi Strata Premier℠ Card | 70,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening | 10X points on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com, 3X points on air travel and other hotel purchases, at restaurants, supermarkets, and gas and EV charging stations, 1X point per dollar on all other purchases | $95 |
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The Citi Custom Cash card comes with plenty of perks, but the rewards you can earn are the focus here, so make sure you max out the top earning category each billing cycle. Earn 5 percent cash back on up to $500 spent in your top spending category each billing cycle. Categories include restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs and live entertainment.
The key to making the trifecta work for you is strategically using all three cards. Therefore, you want to use your Custom Cash card to earn 5 percent back on a full $500 spent each billing cycle. Do that and you’ll earn $25 in cash back per billing cycle, which is awarded as 2,500 ThankYou points.
Plus, you’ll get a 0 percent intro APR on eligible balance transfers and purchases for 15 months. After the intro period expires, you’ll have a 18.74 percent to 28.74 percent variable APR.
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Citi Double Cash is the workhorse of the Citi trifecta. It earns flat-rate rewards so it isn’t going to earn a lot of rewards quickly, but it is the card you should reach for when you make any purchase that doesn’t qualify for higher rewards with another card.
Instead of earning higher rewards rates in one spending category per month, you earn 2 percent cash back on all of your purchases — you’ll get 1 percent cash back when you charge a purchase and another 1 percent cash back when you pay for that purchase.
This flat 2 percent cash back rate makes the Citi Double Cash one of the best flat cash back cards on the market since most cards earn 1 percent to 1.5 percent back on all general purchases. With the Citi Double Cash, you won’t have to keep track of bonus or rotating categories; you can earn the same high rate of cash back on every purchase.
The Citi Double Cash also comes with a 0 percent intro APR on eligible balance transfers for 18 months, then a variable APR of 18.74 percent to 28.74 percent.
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The Citi Strata Premier Card is the secret weapon of the Citi trifecta. It’s the card you need to maximize the rewards you earn with the other two cards in the group since this is the card that allows you to transfer to travel partners.
The Citi Strata Premier card is a travel rewards card that earns Citi ThankYou points you can transfer to Citi airline and hotel partners. Plus, you’ll earn 3X points on restaurant, supermarket, EV and gas station, hotel and air travel purchases, along with 1X points on all other purchases. And if you book through Citi Travel, you’ll earn 10X points on hotels, car rentals and attractions.
As for other benefits, you’ll enjoy World Elite Mastercard benefits and an annual $100 discount on a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when you use your card to book your stay through Citi ThankYou.
How to maximize the Citi trifecta
Choose the right card for your purchases
Successfully maximizing the Citi trifecta hinges on being mindful of how you use each card. Managing multiple credit cards always requires more strategy and attention than only carrying one card, but managing multiple cards with a goal of maximizing rewards takes that a step further.
Here’s a rough outline of what you should use each card for:
| Card | Spending category | Earning rate |
|---|---|---|
| Citi Custom Cash® Card | Pick one of the following for up to $500 spent in that category per billing cycle: Restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs and live entertainment | 5% (up to $500 spent per billing cycle) |
| Citi Double Cash® Card | Everything that doesn’t earn more with Premier or Custom Cash | Up to 2% (1% when you buy, 1% when you pay) |
| Citi Strata Premier℠ Card | Gas station, air travel, hotel, restaurants and supermarkets purchases (When NOT your Custom Cash category for the month) | 3 points per dollar |
Keep the Custom Cash’s spending limit in mind
You will have to be careful when choosing between the Custom Cash and Double Cash for some purchases. If you max out the Custom Cash’s 5 percent category, and if the Citi Premier doesn’t offer that same category, make sure you switch over to the Double Cash so you can earn that up to 2 percent cash back instead of dropping to the Custom Cash’s 1 percent back.
Redeem rewards for high-value options
As with most credit card trifectas, the main reason to use a credit card combination is to maximize rewards redemption value. By adding in the Citi Premier, you’ll be able to transfer your rewards to Citi airline and hotel partners. Access to this redemption method is key for maximizing your rewards value. Your points could be worth about 1.6 cents each when transferred to a high-value travel partner, according to Bankrate’s valuations. Their base value without Citi Strata Premier transfer options is just 1.0 cents each.
Make a plan to earn the welcome bonuses
It isn’t an ongoing strategy, but earning your welcome bonus is part of maximizing your rewards. In total, the current bonuses for the Citi trifecta cards add up to 110,000 ThankYou points. That’s a lot of points to leave on the table if maximizing rewards is your primary goal. Therefore, make sure your budget and lifestyle allow you to meet the minimum spend requirement and earn the bonuses.
How to get the Citi Trifecta
As the name suggests, the Citi trifecta strategy requires you qualify for all three Citi cards — Citi Strata Premier, Citi Double Cash and Citi Custom Cash. And to qualify for these cards, you’ll need a good to excellent credit score. However, the higher your credit score, the higher your chances of qualifying. For example, you may have a better shot at approval if you have a FICO score of 700 or higher.
If your credit score is too low, you can work on building your credit by paying your bills in full and on-time each month and by paying off as much of your existing credit card debt (if you have it) as you can.
The bottom line
Employing the Citi trifecta is a great way to maximize your Citi ThankYou rewards. But this move won’t work for everyone. If you don’t travel much, for instance, the Citi Strata Premier won’t make sense for you, especially considering its annual fee. Or if you don’t spend much in the available bonus categories for the Strata Premier or Custom Cash, you won’t earn as many rewards.
Review your spending habits before applying for the Citi Strata Premier, Citi Double Cash and Citi Custom Cash. If your current monthly spending habits won’t result in the highest possible amount of rewards, these cards might not be the best combination for you. But if they do, the Citi trifecta could be your perfect rewards credit card strategy.
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