Citi to cut cash back redemption rate to 0.75c per point for Strata Premier

Many Citi Strata Premier cardholders have received an email indicating that cash back redemptions are going to be slashed in value, going from 1c per point to just 0.75c per point beginning on 8/24/25. The email Many Citi Strata Premier cardholders are receiving an email indicating that redemptions are changing for Strata Premier cardholders in […] The post Citi to cut cash back redemption rate to 0.75c per point for Strata Premier appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

May 20, 2025 - 06:05

Citi to cut cash back redemption rate to 0.75c per point for Strata Premier

Many Citi Strata Premier cardholders have received an email indicating that cash back redemptions are going to be slashed in value, going from 1c per point to just 0.75c per point beginning on 8/24/25.

The email

Many Citi Strata Premier cardholders are receiving an email indicating that redemptions are changing for Strata Premier cardholders in August:

We are writing to let you know that we are making a change to the ThankYou® Rewards Program. Effective 08‍/24‍/‍25, the redemption value for Cash Back redeemed through the ThankYou Rewards account associated with your Citi Strata Premier^® will change.

Current Value for Cash Back: 10,000 ThankYou Rewards Points are redeemable for $100.

New Value for Cash Back, effective 08‍/24‍/‍25: 10,000 ThankYou Rewards Points are redeemable for $75.

You may redeem ThankYou Points for Cash Back at the current redemption value through 08‍/23‍/‍25. After that, the new redemption value will apply.

Remember: There are many other great ways to redeem ThankYou Points for rewards like booking flights and hotel stays through Citi Travel^® or redeeming for gift cards from popular brands. Sign on to thankyou.com to see all the different ways you can use ThankYou points.

Quick Thoughts

We initially thought that this issue might be limited to those who do not have their points pooled across the Citi Strata Premier and Citi Double Cash cards, but we heard from at least one reader with those accounts linked who received this email.

The reason we thought that might make a difference is because we have so far only seen the email addressed to Citi Strata Premier cardholders, not to Double Cash cardholders. It would seem challenging to refer to the Double Cash card as awarding double cash if the rewards weren’t worth 1c per point.

At this point, I think that the change only applies to those with a Strata Premier card and only for redemptions made through the Strata Premier. Greg has a Citi Prestige card and has not received an email about this change.

It would seem reasonable to guess that the Custom Cash rewards points would also continue to be worth 1c per point since that card is advertised as earning a percentage of cash back.

While we won’t know for sure what happens until August, my instinct is that this likely only affects those without a Citi cash back card to which they can link ThankYou points. For people in that situation who also prefer to redeem their points for cash back, this is obviously a hugely negative change.

That said, you’ll almost always get much better value by transferring rewards to Citi transfer partners and using your points to book travel. If your primary use of Citi points is booking travel with transfer partners, this change won’t be of significance to you. Still, I always prefer to see the backup of redeeming points at $0.01 per point in case situations change and you end up needing a cash redemption.

It is worth noting that not all Strata Premier cardholders have yet received the email. It is unclear at this point whether the email is rolling out slowly or some cardholders are grandfathered in to a better redemption rate for some reason.

The post Citi to cut cash back redemption rate to 0.75c per point for Strata Premier appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.