Autograph vs Citi Strata Premier
By Alex Compton · Updated
The Wells Fargo Autograph and Citi Strata Premier both earn 3x across wide everyday categories; the difference is a $95 fee and what the points become. The Autograph is the best free category card in the market. The Strata Premier charges $95 to make similar earning fully transferable to airlines. This is the cleanest test of whether transfer partners are worth paying for.
Wells Fargo Autograph
Wells Fargo
- Our rating
- 8.3/10
- Welcome bonus
- 20,000 points
- Bonus value
- ≈$200
- Annual fee
- $0
- Credits, max/yr
- $0
- Foreign txn fee
- None
Top earning rates
- 3x Restaurants, travel, gas, transit, streaming, phone plans
- 1x Everything else
Citi Strata Premier
Citi
- Our rating
- 8.6/10
- Welcome bonus
- 60,000 points
- Bonus value
- ≈$1,080
- Annual fee
- $95
- Credits, max/yr
- $100
- Foreign txn fee
- None
Top earning rates
- 10x Hotels, car rentals, attractions via Citi Travel
- 3x Restaurants, supermarkets, gas, EV charging, air travel, hotels
- 1x All other purchases
Where Each Wins
Annual fee
AutographThe Autograph is free. The Strata Premier costs $95, offset by a $100 hotel credit on a $500+ Citi Travel booking for those who use it.
Category coverage
TieThe Autograph earns 3x on restaurants, travel, gas, transit, streaming, and phone plans. The Strata Premier earns 3x on restaurants, supermarkets, gas, EV charging, air travel, and hotels. The Citi list trades streaming and phone plans for supermarkets, the single biggest category in most budgets.
Points ceiling
Strata PremierStrata Premier points transfer to Citi's full airline partner list, worth roughly 1.8 cents transferred well. Autograph points are near-fixed value unless you later add the $95 Autograph Journey, whose partner list is shorter than Citi's.
Welcome offers
Strata PremierThe Strata Premier's 60,000 points at 1.8 cents (roughly $1,080 transferred) beat the Autograph's 20,000 at face value ($200).
Extras
AutographThe Autograph includes cell phone protection and charges no foreign transaction fee, a strong free-card package. The Strata Premier also waives FTF but Citi's protections are thin.
The Compound Verdict
For the fee-averse, the Autograph is close to perfect: six 3x categories, phone insurance, no FTF, $0. Pair it with a 2% card and stop thinking. The Strata Premier earns its $95 the moment you care about flying on points: supermarket 3x plus real airline transfers makes it the better wealth-builder, and its hotel credit can wash most of the fee anyway. Cash-back simplicity goes Autograph; points ambition goes Strata Premier.
Our ratings give it to the Citi Strata Premier (8.6 vs 8.3). On current welcome offers, the Strata Premier brings the bigger first-year haul at ≈$1,080. The fee gap is $95 a year, so make sure the extra credits and multipliers actually fit your spend.
Read the full reviews for the complete math: Autograph review and Strata Premier review, or put them side by side in the comparison tool.
Common Questions
Is the Strata Premier worth $95 over the free Autograph?
If you will transfer points to airlines, yes: 3x on supermarkets (which the Autograph lacks) plus partners worth 1.8 cents per point out-values the Autograph's fixed-value earning by hundreds of dollars a year at normal spending. If you redeem for cash or statement credits, the free card wins.
Do Wells Fargo Autograph points have transfer partners?
Only indirectly: adding the $95 Autograph Journey unlocks Wells Fargo's partner list (Avianca, Air France-KLM, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Choice) for all pooled points. Standalone, Autograph points redeem at fixed value. Citi's partner list is deeper if transfers are the goal.
Which covers groceries?
The Strata Premier, at 3x on supermarkets. The Autograph's category list, restaurants, travel, gas, transit, streaming, phone plans, skips groceries entirely, its most significant gap for household spending.