The State of the Heroes
It’s been a while since we’ve had a new Unsung Hero candidate for two major reasons:
- Plenty of would-be candidates are at smaller banks and credit unions, and the volume of the greater internet would likely kill them
- Venture capital investment in the FinTech and credit card space has been declining annually every year since 2017, at least in terms of deal volume
Don’t worry though, a decrease in venture capital has been met with increased annual fees and coupon book crap benefits at most major banks. Oh wait, no do worry.
A New Challenger
The Citi Strata Premier is familiar card to most of us I’m sure. After all, other than rebranding the card to have more confusing naming in early 2024 and a few worth-ignoring new category multiplers, nothing significant has changed about the card. It has, however, become a standout because:
- Its $95 annual fee is 🤏 in today’s world
- It earns 3x at grocery, gas, and restaurants, uncapped
- Citi payments can be shenaniganie
- It doesn’t have any coupon book credits, other than a hotel credit you don’t need to worry about and probably won’t use
- This card’s approvals are relatively loose
- Citi’s transfer partners are surprisingly great
- ThankYou points can be simply cashed out for a penny each
In other words, in a face of $195 annual fees, $25,000 bonus caps, $7 ride share credits, 0.6 cent point cashouts, Bilt cash, and lounges with 90 minute long lines, the Citi Premier card is easy, valuable, and unobtrusive.
Have a nice day friends!
It’s not all Strata Premier roses though: Leaked upcoming monthly Strata coupon.