In the last week or so, I’ve done a couple of credit card consults where folks were looking for the best American Airlines credit card. I realized in the process of answering those questions that I need to get a post up about the current offers and guidelines for Citi American Airlines credit cards.
The current best offer is 50,000 miles for the Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MasterCard. Just spend $3,000 in the first 3 months of card membership, and you’ll get your points.
Benefits:
- Get the first eligible bag checked free for you and up to 4 travel companions.
- Enjoy Group 1 boarding and use the extra time to prepare for your flight.
- Earn a $100 American Airlines Flight Discount each year of cardmembership in which you spend $30,000 or more in purchases and renew your cardmembership.
- Earn AAdvantage® miles for using AAdvantage miles. Earn 10% of your redeemed AAdvantage® miles back — up to 10,000 AAdvantage® miles each calendar year.
- Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 you spend on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 AAdvantage®mile for every $1 spent on other purchases6
- Receive a 25% savings on in-flight food and beverage purchases when you use yourCiti® / AAdvantage® card.
- Fly using fewer AAdvantage® miles with Reduced Mileage Awards!
Guidelines When Applying for Citi Credit Cards
- 50,000 miles for the Citi Platinum Select Aadvantage World MasterCard.
- Optional – any other Citi card 8 or more days after applying for the Citi Platinum Select.
- 65+ days after applying for the Citi Platinum or 65+ days after applying for your second Citi card you could apply for a business card like the CitiBusiness Aadvantage World MasterCard with a 50,000 mile sign up bonus.
In the end, getting 100,000 Aadvantage miles for two credit card applications is pretty amazing!
A Note Regarding CitiBusiness AAdvantage credit cards
When I called to see if I’d be offered a retention bonus, they gave me two options:
- $50 statement credit (towards the $95 annual fee)
- Bonus 10,000 points after spending $5,000 in six months
Also, I was informed that each year you get a 5% mileage bonus based on eligible purchases through the year. I notice the same language on the bottom of the business card landing page. I think I only spent about $3,000 on the card, so that’s only 150 miles, but it’s better than nothing.
While days of churning and same day applications are over, there are still some good Aadvantage earning opportunities.
How does the free checked baggage thing work? Do I show them my card when I check in?
Jana
Jana,
As long as you’ve used your AAdvantage number on the reservation and that is the same account linked to your card it should happen automatically. Having your card with you as a back up isn’t a bad idea, just in case.