Citi Strata Premier vs. Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Visa® Card (2024)

Somewhere between the no-annual-fee, no-frills rewards credit cards and the ultra-premium cards that charge annual fees costing hundreds of dollars a year, is where the most popular segment of the market is: Mid-tier rewards cards with annual fees of just under $100.

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Visa® Card*The information for the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Visa® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. and the Citi Strata Premier℠Card*The information for the Citi Strata Premier℠Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. cards are two of the top cards when it comes to a travel rewards card at a relatively reasonable annual fee. The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey is a brand new card, while the Citi Strata Premier is largely the same as the pre-existing Citi Premier® Card*The information for the Citi Premier® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.. But with a few new and returning features, it’s now one of the best Citi credit cards available. Both offer bonus rewards that can be transferred to multiple airline and hotel loyalty programs, but the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey lets you book travel your way, while the Citi card’s best value is for those who are willing to book their reservations through CitiTravel.com.

Citi Strata Premier vs. Wells Fargo Autograph Journey

Rewards and benefits

Since both cards are travel rewards cards, choosing the right one for you will largely rest on each card’s rewards and benefits. Specifically, you’ll want to examine how easy it is to earn rewards, as well as the options for redeeming your points, including airline and hotel transfer partners.

Earning rewards

The Citi Strata Premier picks up where its predecessor, the Citi Premier card, left off. When traveling, it earns 10 ThankYou® points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com, 3 points per $1 on air travel and other hotel purchases, at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations and EV charging stations and 1 point per $1 on other purchases.

Earning up to 10 points per $1 is truly outstanding, but it can come at the cost of various rewards and benefits that you might have received if you booked your hotel or rental car directly with the travel provider. For example, most hotel loyalty programs won’t offer rewards or honor elite status benefits to guests who book their rooms through third parties like CitiTravel.com.

With the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey, you’ll earn 5 points per $1 on hotels, 4 points per $1 on airlines, 3 points per $1 on other travel and dining and 1 point per $1 on other purchases. You can book your hotels and airfare anyway you’d like, without being limited to booking through the issuer. These features make it one of the best Wells Fargo credit cards.

Redeeming rewards

Like most credit card rewards programs, both the Citi ThankYou® Points program and the Wells Fargo Rewards program offer you the options of redeeming your points for one cent each towards gift cards, merchandise and travel reservations.

Transfer partners

Award travel enthusiasts know that the best way to receive more value from your points is to have the ability to transfer them to different airline and hotel partners.

The Wells Fargo Rewards program currently offers just six transfer partners including:

• Aer Lingus AerClub.
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue.
• Avianca LifeMiles.
• British Airways Executive Club.
• Iberia Plus.
• Choice Privileges (transfers at a 1:2 ratio).

Thankfully, these airlines represent all of the three major international airline alliances; SkyTeam, Star Alliance and Oneworld. On the hotel side, Choice Privileges is often associated with budget accommodations, but it does have an increasing number of luxury hotels in its portfolio, and its 1:2 transfer ratio is very favorable.

The Citi ThankYou points program has a much more robust list of transfer partners at a 1:1 ratio except as noted:

• Accor Live Limitless (2:1 transfer ratio).
• Aeromexico Rewards.
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue.
• Avianca LifeMiles.
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles.
• Choice Privileges: (1:2 transfer ratio).
• Emirates Skywards.
• Etihad Guest.
• EVA Air Infinity MileageLands.
• JetBlue TrueBlue.
• Leaders Club (5:1 transfer ratio).
• Qantas Frequent Flyer.
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club.
• Shop Your Way (1:10 transfer ratio).
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.
• Thai Royal Orchid Plus.
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles.
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
• Wyndham Rewards.

There’s real value in many of the travel partners offered by Citi, but not by Wells Fargo, including Emirates Skywards, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Wyndham Rewards.

Make the most of your hard-earned rewards. Here’s some of the best ways to use Citi ThankYou points

Welcome bonus

The welcome bonus for the Citi Strata Premier card is 75,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. The welcome bonus for the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey is marginally lower at 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in purchases in the first three months of account opening. If you assume the points are worth about an equal amount, then you’re receiving about 25% more value from the Citi offer.

Travel benefits

Both these cards come with a similar slate of travel insurance benefits. This is actually a bit of a surprise considering that a few years ago, Citi eliminated all of its travel insurance and purchase protection benefits on most of its cards. Both cards come with trip delay protection, trip cancellation and interruption coverage, lost or damaged luggage insurance and rental car coverage.

Other benefits

The Citi Strata Premier offers a $100 annual credit towards a hotel booking of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) made through CitiTravel.com. The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey offers a $50 annual statement credit with a $50 minimum airline purchase. So while the Citi offer is more generous in terms of dollars, the Wells Fargo offer is much more accessible, as any airline ticket (of $50 or more) will trigger this credit.

Winner for rewards and benefits: Wells Fargo Autograph Journey

Fees and charges

Another key factor in choosing between these travel rewards credit cards are its fees and other costs.

Annual fee

Both of these cards have a $95 annual fee.

Foreign transaction fee

Neither card imposes foreign transaction fees on charges processed outside of the United States.

Balance transfer fee

Neither of these cards are considered ideal balance transfer cards, as neither offers 0% APR promotional financing. If you want to transfer a balance, the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey has an introductory balance transfer fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each balance transfer, whichever is greater, for 120 days from account opening, then a fee of up to 5% for each balance transfer, with a minimum of $5, applies — while the Citi Strata Premier imposes a fee of either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

Winner for fees and charges: Wells Fargo Autograph Journey

Additional perks

Citi offers its Citi Entertainment service on this and other cards, which features special access to purchase tickets—including presale—to concerts, sporting events and dining experiences. Past offers have included a Maroon 5 VIP package, Luke Bryan presale tickets and access to the Citi concert series on the TODAY show.

Likewise, Wells Fargo offers Autograph Card Exclusives that are only available to Wells Fargo cardholders. Offers have included special concert access and experiences to musicians Brandi Carlile, Imagine Dragons and Mumford and Sons.

Winner for additional perks: Tie

Citi Strata Premier might be right for you if:

• You want to earn elevated rewards on purchases of hotel stays, car rentals and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com and don’t mind booking through the issuer.
• You want access to airline and hotel transfer partners through Citi that aren’t offered by Wells Fargo.
• You plan on making a hotel reservation through CitiTravel.com that’s worth more than $500 (excluding taxes and fees). This will enable you to receive the $100 annual credit.

Wells Fargo Autograph Journey might be right for you if:

• You want to earn bonus points by booking airline and hotel reservations directly with travel providers. This will give you the most rewards and benefits from your flights and hotel stays, and make it much more simple when you need to make a change.
• You find it much easier to use the $50 annual airline statement credit.
• You appreciate the opportunity to take advantage of some of the Wells Fargo Autograph Exclusives entertainment opportunities.

Final verdict

Citi and Wells Fargo are both competing for customers in the valuable segment of the travel rewards credit card market, and it’s not a surprise that their offerings are quite similar. Citi’s enhanced Strata Premier has the advantage of the more mature ThankYou Rewards program, which offers more transfer partners than the Wells Fargo Rewards program. And Citi also offers more bonus points to those who are willing to book travel through Citi’s travel agency, rather than directly.

But Wells Fargo’s Autograph Journey is the clear favorite among those who prefer to book their reservations directly with airlines and hotels. And if Wells Fargo’s transfer partners are able to suit your needs, it can be the clear favorite between these two close competitors.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

^{*Blueprint uses credit ranges derived from FICO® Score 8, which is one of many different types of credit scores. If you apply for a credit card, the lender may use a different credit score when considering your application for credit.}