Citi Strata Premier vs Chase Sapphire Preferred: Which Wins?

The short answer is: Citi Strata Premier wins for most people once the bonus year is over. Since Chase now values Ultimate Rewards points at a guaranteed 1 cent, the same as Citi’s ThankYou Points, identical multipliers mean identical dollars, and Citi’s 10x portal rate, its 3x on air travel booked directly, and a supermarket bonus that doesn’t care whether you shop online or in person give it the edge. Chase Sapphire Preferred keeps a bigger sign-up bonus, Chase’s ecosystem, and a 10% anniversary points bonus, and it ties Citi on rate for a household whose grocery spend is online. Here’s why.

There’s a twist worth flagging up front: Chase’s bigger bonus still wins Year 1 in two of the three spending profiles I ran. Once the bonus year is behind you, Citi leads in two profiles and ties in the third. Time horizon matters here almost as much as spending category.

I’ve run the numbers across three spending profiles that stress-test the real differences between these cards: direct vs. portal travel booking, and physical vs. online grocery shopping. The rest of this article walks through that math so you can find the profile closest to your own spending.

At a Glance

Both cards charge the same $95 fee, so this comparison comes down almost entirely to rate and bonus rather than cost. Chase’s sign-up bonus is worth $150 more in raw dollars, and its 5/24 rule is a real accessibility hurdle Citi simply doesn’t have. Past the bonus year, the two cards earn at the same guaranteed point value, so it comes down to which purchases each one bonuses, which the rest of this article works out.

How the Rewards Work

Citi Strata Premier

Citi Strata Premier pays 1x ThankYou Point on everything by default, then 3x on restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations/EV charging (all uncapped), 3x on air travel and hotels booked outside the Citi Travel portal, and 10x on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked directly through the Citi Travel portal.

Here’s the math: book a $500 hotel stay through Citi Travel and you earn 5,000 ThankYou Points, worth $50 at the $0.01/point rate this article uses throughout. Book that same room directly with the hotel instead and you’d earn 3x, worth $15. That 10x portal rate is the single biggest number on this card, and it applies to car rentals and attractions too, not just hotels.

Citi’s 3x supermarket category doesn’t distinguish between online and in-store purchases the way Chase’s grocery bonus does. Buy groceries however you want — curbside pickup, delivery, or walking the aisles yourself — and it’s 3x either way, uncapped.

None of Citi’s bonus categories carry an annual cap, either. That matters for households with concentrated grocery, gas, or dining spend: there’s no ceiling to track through the year and no need to check a running total in December to see if you’ve fallen back to 1x.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Chase Sapphire Preferred pays 1x Ultimate Rewards point by default, then 5x on travel booked through the Chase Travel portal, 3x on dining, gas stations/EV charging, and select streaming services, 3x on online grocery purchases only, and 2x on all other travel booked directly, not through the portal.

Here’s the math: spend $400/month at restaurants and you earn 1,200 Ultimate Rewards points a month, worth $12 at the guaranteed $0.01/point rate (Chase: “100 points are worth $1”). That’s exactly what Citi’s 3x restaurants pays on the same spend. Chase’s Points Boost can lift points to as much as 1.5 cents on select hotels and flights booked through Chase Travel, but that’s an offer on specific bookings, not a rate this comparison can count on.

The catch on Chase’s grocery bonus is the word “online.” It excludes Target, Walmart, wholesale clubs, and any purchase made walking into a physical supermarket. If you do your grocery shopping in person, that spend earns Chase’s 1x base rate, not 3x — a meaningful gap from Citi’s blanket in-store-or-online 3x.

Chase’s bonus categories are also uncapped, the same as Citi’s — there’s no annual ceiling on dining, gas, streaming, or online grocery spend to plan around. The gap between the two cards isn’t about caps at all; it’s about which specific purchases qualify and what each program’s guaranteed point is worth.

Both currencies are valued at $0.01/point throughout this article, each program’s guaranteed rate that requires no transfer-partner optimization: Citi’s gift-card/cash rate and Chase’s own stated value for Ultimate Rewards points. Earlier versions of this comparison valued Chase points at 1.25 cents through the Chase Travel portal; Chase no longer offers that fixed rate to new cardmembers, replacing it with variable Points Boost offers. With both at 1 cent, a 3x category is worth 3% back on either card. For more on how guaranteed-vs-aspirational point values work, see our points and miles guide.

The Math: 3 Spending Profiles

Profile 1: Solo, Books Travel Direct, Dines Out Regularly

Annual earnings:

• Citi Strata Premier: $264/year
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: $228/year

Year 1 (with sign-up bonus):

• Citi Strata Premier: $264 + $600 bonus = $864
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: $228 + $750 bonus = $978

Year 2+ (ongoing):

• Citi Strata Premier: $264/year
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: $228/year

Break-even: Chase’s bigger bonus puts it $114 ahead after Year 1, but Citi earns $36 more a year from then on ($264 vs. $228), so Citi catches up around month 50, a bit over four years in. Even adding Chase’s 10% anniversary bonus (about $251/year), Citi stays ahead ongoing.

Takeaway: Chase wins Year 1 on the bonus; Citi wins every year after, slowly. With dining now worth the same 3% on both cards, Citi’s 3x on direct-booked air travel against Chase’s 2x is what separates them.

Profile 2: Couple, Books Hotels Through the Portal, Shops for Groceries In Person

Annual earnings:

• Citi Strata Premier: $756/year
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: $372/year

Year 1 (with sign-up bonus):

• Citi Strata Premier: $756 + $600 bonus = $1,356
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: $372 + $750 bonus = $1,122

Year 2+ (ongoing):

• Citi Strata Premier: $756/year
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: $372/year

Break-even: Not applicable. Citi leads in Year 1 ($1,356 vs. $1,122, despite Chase’s bigger bonus) and by $384 a year after that ($756 vs. $372).

Takeaway: Citi Strata Premier wins Profile 2 outright, Year 1 included. The 10x portal-hotel rate and the blanket in-person-or-online supermarket bonus are exactly the two things Chase can’t match for this couple’s spending shape.

Profile 3: Family of 5, Orders Groceries Online, Moderate Dining and Gas, Books No Travel Through Either Portal

Annual earnings:

• Citi Strata Premier: $516/year
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: $516/year

Year 1 (with sign-up bonus):

• Citi Strata Premier: $516 + $600 bonus = $1,116
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: $516 + $750 bonus = $1,266

Year 2+ (ongoing):

• Citi Strata Premier: $516/year
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: $516/year

Break-even: Not applicable. Chase leads Year 1 by $150 on its bigger bonus; after that the two cards earn exactly the same $516/year, because every dollar here lands in a 3x category both cards share, at the same 1-cent value.

Takeaway: Chase wins Profile 3 in Year 1 and ties after that on rate. Chase’s 10% anniversary bonus (about $52 a year here) is what keeps it slightly ahead ongoing for this family.

Two things worth knowing that aren’t part of the rate math above. Both cards’ $100 annual hotel credit effectively offsets their $95 fee to -$5 — Citi’s via a single Citi Travel hotel stay of $500 or more once per calendar year, Chase’s via a Chase Travel hotel stay that clears the credit. Neither of the totals above assumes you’ll actually redeem it, since that depends on whether you book hotels through the portal in the first place; if you do, knock $95 off both cards’ cost in every profile above.

Chase Sapphire Preferred also pays a 10% anniversary bonus on every Ultimate Rewards point you earn that cardmember year — a real, guaranteed, recurring benefit, but one that depends on your account-anniversary date rather than a clean per-dollar rate, so it isn’t folded into the Year 2+ numbers above either. Citi Strata Premier has no equivalent. It’s worth $23–$52 a year across these profiles: enough to break Profile 3’s tie in Chase’s favor, not enough to change Profile 1 or 2.

Where Each Card Wins

The pattern that keeps showing up: with both currencies worth the same guaranteed cent, Chase no longer wins on point value, so the comparison is about categories. Citi’s 10x portal rate, 3x on direct-booked flights, and no-strings-attached supermarket bonus decide it for most spending shapes; Chase’s case is its bigger bonus, its anniversary bonus, its travel perks, and Chase’s transfer partners for readers who’ll actually use them.