This one comes in two flavors: the Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage World MasterCard, and Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage Visa Signature Card. As our readers know, both Visa Signature and World MasterCards come with a nice collection of benefits, such as travel and rental car insurance, fraud protection, purchase protections, exclusive offers, and more. So that’s all well and good, but we’re here to talk travel. And boy, does this card have the goodies for any miles-hoarder worth their salt.
To start, if you hit the spending requirement of $3000 in the first three months, you get 40,000 bonus miles, which is enough to take you to Hawaii and back in the off-peak. Thereafter, you get a mile for every dollar you put on the card, and double miles on American Airlines purchases. If you spend $30,000 or more in a year, you receive a $100 flight discount, essentially paying for annual fee. But wait, the rewards don’t stop. Every time you redeem your AAdvantage miles, you get 10% of the miles redeemed back right away. In addition, all Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage cardholders get access to MileSAAver rates for select destinations that change every quarter — these are 7,500 miles less than the regular award flight rates. Nice!
Once you’re traveling, you will still enjoy the special perks of this card. Get your first checked bag for free, saving $25 each way. This is valid for you and up to four people on your reservation — all together the group could save up to $250 per roundtrip! Plus, enjoy free priority boarding, so that you can grab a good spot for your carry-on and settle in that much sooner. Once the plane takes off, just use your Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage card and get 25% off in-flight purchases. Of course, all of these perks assume you are flying with American Airlines or one of their partners.
American Airlines boasts a solid frequent flyer rewards program. Their miles retain a good value, and AA doesn’t charge extra for stopovers, open jaws, and one-ways on award flights. Plus, they allow a free one-way out of major American hubs, including Dallas, Miami, Chicago, New York JFK, and Los Angeles LAX.
Check out our guide to the details below.
Money Math
- Annual Fee: $95 (waived for the first year)
- Foreign Transaction Fee: 3%
- APR: var 15.24%
- APR for Balance Transfers: same as above
- Balance Transfer Fee: 3%
- APR for Cash Advance: var 25.24%
- Cash Advance Fee: 5%
- Late Fee/Returned Payment Fee: $35
- Over Credit Limit Fee: None, just pay the difference each month
- Penalty APR: var 29.99%, may apply with late/returned payment
Rewards
- Bonus: 40,000 miles after spending $3000 in first 3 months
- 2 miles per $1 spent on every American Airlines purchase
- 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Miles Worth: 1 mile = 1-2 cents, or up to 12 cents when redeeming for business/first class or long international
- Rewards Limit: None
- Rewards Expiration: None
- Redeem Rewards For: flights, upgrades, car rentals, hotel stays, and more
- Get first checked bag free for yourself and up to 4 people on your reservation
- Get Group 1 priority boarding
- 25% off in-flight purchases on American Airlines flights
- Receive $100 American Airlines flight discount every year you spend $30,000 or more
- Get back 10% of redeemed AAdvantage miles (up to $10,000 back per year)
- Redeem with 7,500 less miles through AAdvantage Reduced Mileage Awards
Benefits
- Get discounts from Hertz
- $0 Fraud Liability Protection
- Purchase Protection: Yes
- Travel Insurance: Yes
- Auto Rental Insurance: Yes
- Extended Warranty: Yes
- Customer Service: 24/7 concierge-like service
My thoughts
I’m a big fan of the Citi AAdvantage cards. The sign-up bonus is sweet, and I especially love the 10% rebate on all reward redemptions, and free checked bags. I do wish that the Citi American Airline cards have category bonuses, or offered 2x on all purchases like the Barclaycard Arrival PlusTM World Elite MasterCard®.
Don’t forget to check out our list of the best travel credit cards and best rewards credit cards.
