Citi Strata Elite Card Waived for Military and Military Spouses | Citi MLA 2026 Updates #202

Jamie's no longer a "Citi hater" because Citi just changed the game. The new $595 Citi Strata Elite now has automatic annual fee waivers for military—no complex formulas, no statement balance tricks, no emails required. Plus $500 in easy-to-use annual credits and a 100,000 point welcome offer. 

Key Benefits Annual Fee Waiver

• $595 fee automatically waived for MLA covered borrowers
• Fee charged on first statement, then automatically refunded same day
• No documentation or emails required
• Works for active duty, Guard/Reserve on 30+ day orders, and military spouses in DEERS
• Authorized user fee also waived
• Check MLA database before applying

$200 Annual Splurge Credit (Unique to This Card)

• Choose from: First Dibs, Best Buy, American Airlines, Fiture, or Live Nation/Ticketmaster
• Easy to switch categories
• Simple for any military family to use

$300 Annual Hotel Credit Points Earning

• 12x on hotels, car rentals, attractions (through cititravel.com)
• 6x on flights (through cititravel.com)
• 6x restaurants during "Citi Nights" (Fri/Sat 6pm-6am Eastern)
• 3x restaurants all other times

Other Benefits

• Four American Airlines Admiral Club passes annually
• Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit
• No foreign transaction fees
• $200 Black Lane credit (black car service in major cities)
• Extended warranty, purchase protection, trip delay protection
• Good transfer partners such as American Airlines (good for Emirates, Etihad, Cathay Pacific)

Resources & Links Mentioned

• Latest Citi offers: militarymoneymanual.com
• Max Rewards app referral: maxrewards.app.link/jamesl02
• Military Lending Act database info: militarymoneymanual.com/mla-database/
• Instagram: @MilitaryMoneyManual

 

Spencer and Jamie offer one-on-one Military Money Mentor sessions. Get your personal military money and personal finance questions answered in a confidential coaching call. militarymoneymanual.com/mentor

Over 20,000 military servicemembers and military spouses have graduated from the 100% free course available at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3

In the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course, you can learn how to apply for the most premium credit cards and get special military protections, such as waived annual fees, on elite cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card.

• https://militarymoneymanual.com/amex-platinum-military/

• https://militarymoneymanual.com/chase-sapphire-reserve-military/

Learn how active duty military, military spouses, and Guard and Reserves on 30+ day active orders can get your annual fees waived on premium credit cards in the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3

If you want to maximize your military paycheck, check out Spencer's 5 star rated book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom on Amazon or at shop.militarymoneymanual.com.

Want to be confident with your TSP investing? Check out the Confident TSP Investing course at militarymoneymanual.com/tsp to learn all about the Thrift Savings Plan and strategies for growing your wealth while in the military. Use promo code "podcast24" for $50 off. Plus, for every course sold, we'll donate one course to an E-4 or below- for FREE!

If you have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast, please reach out on instagram.com/militarymoneymanual.