Earlier this year, Citi jumped back into the premium credit card market with the launch of the Citi Strata Elite card. This card is positioned to compete with the American Express Platinum card and Chase Sapphire Reserve card but, while it appears to have a good value proposition, cardholders are becoming increasingly frustrated after issues with the user experience.
Citi Strata Elite Cardholders Have Been Locked Out of Their Accounts Without Explanation
While the card was unveiled to great fanfare, a recent report by The Wall Street Journal has unveiled a myriad of issues that customers have faced after receiving the card. This includes seemingly random card freezes, charges being declined, and requests for customers to upload an income verification form from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in order to access card benefits.
Though lower than American Express’ and Chase’s premium credit cards, the Citi Strata Elite card still has a hefty $595 annual fee. When you’re talking about cards with annual fees north of $500, you expect a certain level of service from your card issuer. You certainly don’t expect to have your card shut off seemingly at random.
One of the most frustrating aspects of these card freezes is the fact that multiple cardholders have reported the fact that they are at risk of not reaching the sign-up bonus spending threshold to unlock bonus points. The card’s 100,000 bonus point sign up bonus is enough for a roundtrip ticket between the United States and Europe in Business Class.
With the issues outlined in the WSJ article, one has to wonder whether the benefits are worth the potential headache from the card of if they are better off getting a premium travel card from another issuer.
My Thoughts
Though I am far from the credit card guru, I am a big fan of points and miles and the travel opportunities that they unlock. While my primary card portfolio is with American Express, I also have a couple of different Chase cards in my wallet. On each of these cards, I’ve had nothing but great experiences in my interactions with the card issuers.
Based on how The Wall Street Journal positions the issues with the card, it seems more widespread than I would expect from a card with an annual fee around $600. As the newest card on the block, you’d think that Citi would be doing everything in its power to make the user experience as easy as possible.
While I’d like to think that those individuals mentioned in the article are some unfortunate outliers, the fact that the story landed on the front page of The Wall Street Journal gives me an indication that isn’t the case. I’m curious to hear if any of the readers here have had a similar experience with their Citi cards.
Summary
According to The Wall Street Journal, Citi Strata Elite cardholders have been locked out of their accounts and forced to upload IRS documents in order to get them unfrozen. This has been quite a nightmare for cardholders and certainly isn’t what you’d expect from a premium travel card.