Citi Strata℠ Card

3x at supermarkets plus 3x on one self-selected category is the unusual part. Self-select structures normally sit on cash-back cards — Bank of America's Customized Cash, U.S. Bank's Cash+ — and rarely on a travel-points card with no annual fee.

Supermarkets at 3x is a strong permanent rate on its own. It beats every flat-rate card in this catalog on groceries, and groceries are the most predictable large category in most household budgets. That alone makes this card worth holding even if you never touch the travel side.

Strata Premier costs $95 and pays 10x through the portal and 3x on dining and fuel. Strata Card is free and pays 5x through the portal and 3x on supermarkets plus one chosen category. So the fee buys a higher portal multiple and swaps supermarkets for dining and fuel.

For most people the free card is the better starting point: the categories are more everyday, and there's no fee to earn back before the card is net positive. Move up only if the portal multiple or the fuel category is doing real work in your budget.

The APR is 18.49% to 28.49%, a couple of points below the Premier's floor — the usual pattern of the no-fee card being priced for a broader applicant pool.

5x through Citi Travel, 3x at supermarkets and on a category you select, plus 3x on transit and fuel, and 2x on dining — on a card with no annual fee. Its stablemate Citi Strata Premier offers a broader version of the same shape and charges $95 for it.

The self-select category is the piece that distinguishes it from the rest of the no-fee field: most cards here either fix the categories or rotate them, and choosing one yourself means the bonus rate follows the way you actually spend.

Strata Premier pays 10x through the portal to this card's 5x and adds flights and hotels to the 3x band. If your travel is frequent enough to fill those, $95 buys a meaningfully better card. If it is not, this one delivers the same architecture on the everyday categories for nothing.

The 18.49% floor is a point and a half below Strata Premier's 20.24%, so the no-fee card is also the cheaper one to carry a balance on — though on a rewards card that should never be the plan.

5x through Citi Travel, 3x at supermarkets and on a category you select, plus 3x on transit and fuel, and 2x on dining — on a card with no annual fee. Its stablemate Citi Strata Premier offers a broader version of the same shape and charges $95 for it.

The self-select category is the piece that distinguishes it from the rest of the no-fee field: most cards here either fix the categories or rotate them, and choosing one yourself means the bonus rate follows the way you actually spend.

Strata Premier pays 10x through the portal to this card's 5x and adds flights and hotels to the 3x band. If your travel is frequent enough to fill those, $95 buys a meaningfully better card. If it is not, this one delivers the same architecture on the everyday categories for nothing.

The 18.49% floor is a point and a half below Strata Premier's 20.24%, so the no-fee card is also the cheaper one to carry a balance on — though on a rewards card that should never be the plan.