Tag Archives: Citi Bank

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One Year Later: An Update to Our Simplified Wallet Strategy for 2026

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Good morning everyone, I hope your weekend is going well.  Last year, we set out to simplify our wallets before Madison was born (Cutting $2,000 in Credit Card Annual Fees: Our Simplified Wallet Strategy for 2025). Our goal wasn’t to maximize every credit card perk. Instead, we wanted to reduce the total amount paid in annual fees, eliminate coupon-book credit cards (cards with high annual fees and lots of credits), and keep only the cards that delivered outsized value with minimal effort. One year later, it’s time to see how closely we stuck to that plan, what surprised us, and which cards earned a permanent place in our wallets.

One Year Later at a Glance:

  • 💳 Closed 5 credit cards
  • ⬇️ Downgraded 3 credit cards
  • ✨ Opened 5 new credit cards (and earned 360,000 points & miles in welcome bonuses)
  • 💵 Received $429 in retention offers
  • 🏨 Prioritized Free Night Certificates and travel credits over coupon-book benefits

Cards We Closed

Credit Card Name Annual Fee Notes
Laura’s AMEX Gold $325 Closed card in February 2025 (we were tired of jumping through hoops to get all the monthly credits.)
Barclays JetBlue Plus $99 Closed card in March 2025 (we didn’t have any upcoming JetBlue flights planned.)
Bank of America Air France / KLM $89 Closed card in March 2025 (we didn’t have any upcoming Air France / KLM flights planned.)
AMEX Delta Platinum Business $250 Closed card in July 2025 (I redeemed all my Delta SkyMiles and didn’t have any upcoming Delta flights planned.)
Laura’s Barclays Hawaiian Airlines $99 We decided to keep this credit card open in the hopes of a future product change to a Bank of America Alaska Airlines Credit Card.
AMEX Business Gold 3 $375 Closed card in November 2025 (we were tired of jumping through hoops to get all the monthly credits.)

While most of these credit cards come with a variety of credits / coupons, these cards did not provide enough value for us to justify paying the annual fees for another year. Continue reading →

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2026 Travel Predictions Midyear Review: Which Predictions Came True?

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your weekend is going well. As we approach the halfway point of 2026, I thought it would be fun to revisit my 2026 travel predictions and see how many have come true so far.  Predicting the future is never easy, especially in the travel and credit card world, but it’s always entertaining to look back and see what actually happened.

Below are my original predictions and a midyear update.  Predictions in green have come true, while predictions in red have not come true just yet… 

Airline Predictions (0 / 3):

  • Alaska Airlines will change the Global 25K Companion Award into a Global 25K Award Discount (valid for a single passenger). – Nope, Alaska Airlines has not made any changes to the Global 25K Companion Award. 
  • Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, or Delta Airlines will launch a debit card. – Nope, none of the 3 airlines has launched a debit card.
  • Southwest Airlines will not award Rapid Rewards Points on Basic Fares. – Nope, Southwest Airlines has not made any changes to earning points on Basic fares.

Continue reading →

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A Tale of Two Citi Strata Elite Credit Card Applications

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well. First, a quick nod to the bookworms and literary buffs who caught the reference to A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.  Now let’s fast forward to this century.  In mid-December, Laura and I both applied for the Citi Strata Elite Credit Card because we were hoping to triple dip the annual benefits ($300 Hotel Credit and $200 Splurge Credit) in December 2025, January 2026, and again in January 2027 before the $595 annual fee was due. Unfortunately, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” in terms of instant approvals.

The Results

My application: instant denial.  Laura’s application: pending.

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How Fast Does the Citi Strata Elite $200 Splurge Credit Post for Best Buy Purchases?

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Last month, both Laura and I applied for the Citi Strata Elite Credit Card because we had a property tax payment due by December 31 (and we were hoping to triple-dip the $300 Annual Hotel Benefit and $200 Splurge Credit). Long story short (and a situation deserving of its own blog post), Citi declined my application but approved Laura’s application.

If you already have the Citi Strata Elite, the $200 Splurge Credit should be very easy to use. I wanted to share our experience and show how quickly you can expect the credit to post.  Laura selected Best Buy as her “Selected Brand” and spent $200 on Best Buy’s website (they offer a wide variety of gift cards available). The purchase posted on December 29 and the $200 statement credit posted 2 days later on December 31.

Since the Splurge Credit resets each calendar year, she was able to use it again in 2026. Laura kept Best Buy as her “Selected Brand” and made another $200 purchase on January 3. Once again, the credit posted quickly, just 2 days later on January 5. We were both pleasantly surprised that the credits posted automatically and without any need to contact Citi.

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My Overly Ambitious (and Probably Wrong) 2026 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions

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Good afternoon everyone and let me be the first (or maybe the tenth) to wish you a very happy New Year! Fresh off the heels of reviewing my 2025 travel predictions (including 7 wins and plenty of misses), it’s time to look ahead. From airlines and hotels to credit cards and loyalty programs, here are my overly ambitious (and occasionally wishful) predictions for what 2026 has in store for the miles and points community.

Airline Predictions:

  • Alaska Airlines will change the Global 25K Companion Award into a Global 25K Award Discount (valid for a single passenger).
  • Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, or Delta Airlines will launch a debit card.
  • Southwest Airlines will not award Rapid Rewards Points on Basic Fares.

Continue reading →