3 Little-Known Perks of the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card

The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card is one of the more underrated travel rewards cards. (Citi is an advertising partner with Motley Fool Money.) It's affordable, with just a $95 annual fee, but it's also a big earner. It has a huge welcome offer of 75,000 ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. And it earns 3X to 10X points per $1 in bonus categories, which include air travel, hotels, restaurants, gas, and supermarkets.

Those are the benefits that get people's attention right away. But this Citi card also has some valuable perks you might not have heard about.

1. $100 annual hotel benefit

This card may have a $95 annual fee, but it can also save you $100 on a hotel stay once per calendar year. You get $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when you book through CitiTravel.com.

The benefit is applied instantly at the time of booking. If your stay costs $550, the benefit will take it down to $450.

Considering how much hotels cost, especially in popular destinations, it's not hard to use this perk. The only drawback is that you can't book with the hotel directly. You need to book through CitiTravel.com, which doesn't always have the lowest prices. But you can still save money when you're getting $100 off.

2. Transferable travel points

This card earns Citi ThankYou® Points and there are multiple ways to redeem them. The easiest is to use them to book travel through thankyou.com or purchase gift cards. With either of those options, you get a value of $0.01 per point, meaning the welcome offer of 75,000 ThankYou® Points would be worth $750.

But you could unlock much more value by transferring your points. When you have the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, you can transfer points to over 15 airline and hotel loyalty programs. These include:

• Avianca LifeMiles
• Air France/KLM Flying Blue
• Cathay Pacific
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Learning how to transfer your points takes a little more work. If you're willing to do that, you can score some incredible deals this way. Transfers are a smart way to book luxurious business-class airfare, in particular. I've gotten upwards of $0.03 per point by transferring my own Citi points to the Avianca LifeMiles and Air France/KLM Flying Blue programs.

3. Complimentary travel protections

No matter how well you plan a trip, there's always the possibility something goes awry. Maybe your flight has a lengthy delay because of bad weather. Or you get to your destination just fine, but your checked bag doesn't. The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card has several types of travel insurance that apply to eligible purchases:

• Trip delay protection
• Common carrier trip cancellation and interruption protection
• Lost or damaged luggage protection
• MasterRental coverage for car rental insurance

Benefits like these can give you extra peace of mind when booking a trip, so it's nice when you can find a top-rated credit card that includes them free of charge. Hopefully, you never have to use them. But if you do, you'll be glad your card has them. More information on these protections is included with the guide to benefits that comes with the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card.

If you take advantage of the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card's benefits, it could easily save you hundreds of dollars on travel every year. For more info on it, check out our in-depth review and see if it's right for you.