Citi Strata Premier® Card vs Discover it Cash Back: Which Card Wins for Your Spending?

Which earns more for you?

Monthly spending. We rank on rewards minus the full annual fee, so statement credits and perks are listed separately and never counted for you.

Choosing between the Citi Strata Premier® Card ($95/yr) and the Discover it Cash Back (no annual fee) comes down to where you spend most. Citi Strata Premier Card needs about $400 a month in dining, groceries, gas, flights or hotels, counting that spending alone, to make up its $95 higher annual fee over Discover it Cash Back. Below that, Discover it Cash Back comes out ahead. Enter your monthly spending above to see which comes out ahead for you.

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Meet the Contenders

Citi Strata Premier Card

Strongest in flights and hotels at 3%. 10x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on cititravel.com; 3x on air travel, restaurants, supermarkets, gas & EV charging.

Annual fee: $95 Sign-up bonus: 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in 3 months Foreign fees: 0%

Perfect if: You're comfortable booking through the issuer's own site for the best rate.

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Discover it Cash Back

5% on rotating quarterly categories (up to $1,500/quarter), 1% on everything else. Cashback Match doubles all cash back in first year.

Annual fee: None Foreign fees: 0%

Perfect if: You want solid rewards without paying an annual fee.

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Head-to-Head Comparison

Feature Citi Strata Premier Card Discover it Cash Back
Annual Fee $95 $0
Sign-Up Bonus 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in 3 months None
Foreign Transaction Fee 0% 0%
Base Reward Rate 1% 1%
Flights Rewards 3% 1%
Hotels Rewards 3% 1%
Dining Rewards 3% 1%
Groceries Rewards 3% 1%
Gas Rewards 3% 1%
Rates with conditions
not counted in the rows above
10% through Citi Travel
Earns 10% only on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through Citi Travel, Citi's own booking site. Booking direct with a hotel or rental company earns 3%.
None
Key Benefits 10x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on cititravel.com; 3x on air travel, restaurants, supermarkets, gas & EV charging. 5% on rotating quarterly categories (up to $1,500/quarter), 1% on everything else. Cashback Match doubles all cash back in first year.

The Verdict

Citi Strata Premier Card pulls ahead for travel, dining, groceries, gas spending.

The $95/year fee difference means Citi Strata Premier Card needs to earn about that much more in rewards to justify its cost.

Citi Strata Premier Card carries $100/year in credits (mostly tied to specific merchants or bookings). Those only count if you’d actually use them. Worth checking against your own habits before treating them as a discount on the fee.

Not sure which fits your life? Enter your spending below and we’ll do the math. The calculator ranks purely on rewards minus the full annual fee, so credits and perks are yours to judge.