The Citi Trifecta is a credit card setup that is often overlooked but can be highly effective for those with moderate spending habits who prefer a straightforward approach. If you want a credit card strategy that allows you to focus on your life rather than complicated rewards schemes, the Citi Trifecta is for you. 

Citi Trifecta Basics

The Citi Trifecta is a credit card setup that involves three Citi credit cards to maximize rewards o your everyday spending. This includes the Citi Double Cash® Card, Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, and the Citi Custom Cash® Card. 

With Citi, each card fills a specific role, unlike the Chase setup. It's highly efficient and also a lot easier to use. 

Citi Double Cash® Card

The Citi Double Cash® Card is probably the most straightforward card available. It has no annual fee, and you get 2% cash back for all of your purchases – 1% when you spend and 1% when you pay off the card. 
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This card's main drawback is the foreign transaction fees. However, this card is the gold standard for cashback everywhere.

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Citi Strata Premier℠ Card

This is going to be your workhorse and primary earner for your large spending categories. With the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, you’ll get 3x points at:

• Restaurants
• Gas stations
• Air Travel 
• Hotels

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In addition to everyday point multipliers, there is a $100 annual hotel savings credit. Get $100 off a single hotel stay of $500+, excluding taxes and fees, when you book through thankyou.com. This credit is only valid once per calendar year.
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Citi Custom Cash® Card

The Citi Custom Cash® Card offers a unique feature in which you can choose your top eligible spending category each month to earn 5% cashback on, up to a maximum of $500 spent per month. The 5% eligible categories include: 

•  Restaurants
• Gas stations
• Grocery stores
• Select travel
• Select transit
• Select streaming services
• Drugstores
• Home improvement stores
• Fitness clubs
• Live entertainment

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It's best to use this card for just one category where you spend the most money, and that is not covered by the Premier or another spot card. 

Bonus: Citi Rewards+® Card

The best thing about this setup is that you can transfer your points to Citi's partners. But if you want to make the points even stronger, you can add another card. In this case, I'd pick the Citi Rewards+® Card. This card rounds up your points on every purchase to the nearest 10 points. Plus, you get 10% back on the first 100,000 points you redeem.

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What are the Major Pros and Cons of The Citi Trifecta?

Pros

• It allows one of the best 2% everywhere cards to ascend.
• Reliable setup
• It does not require getting a business card in order to get the multipliers for gas. For other setups, you generally do need a business card to earn transferable points. 
• The categories are not capped outside of the custom cash, and it works for people outside of the U.S.

Cons

• There are no airport lounge benefits. There's no Priority Pass membership, and your only ways of getting in are either paying or having Elite status.
• You need to add other cards to squeeze more cash back or more value.
• Other setups might be cheaper if you don't mind hoop-jumping for credits and you actively use them. 
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YouTube Video

To learn more about how you can leverage this setup, watch this video:

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Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, vendors or companies, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.