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The CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select credit card is a good pick for business owners that normally fly with American Airlines. They have a great offer of: 65,000 bonus miles and a couple of travel benefits. The value of these bonus miles will be worth about $910. It’s a great bonus value when you compare it to some of their competitors.
American Airlines (AA) is the world’s largest airline in the DFW area. This airline has about 6,700 flights each day to about 350 locations in more than 50 countries.
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CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Card Quick Facts
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| Bonus Available | Get 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening. |
| Bonus Value | $910 |
| Travel Credit | No travel credit. However, you are able to gain a $99 Companion Certificate for domestic travel once you’ve made $30,000 every year when your membership is renewed. |
| Ongoing Rewards/Benefits | Gain 2 miles for each $1 used for American Airlines expenses. Earn 2 miles for each $1 used towards car rentals, cable, and satellite, gas, and select telecom. Get 1 mile for each $1 used towards other expenses. Free checked bag on domestic American Airlines flights for no more than 4 travel companions and yourself. Preferred boarding on American Airline flights. |
| Foreign Transaction Fees | No |
| Airport Lounge Access | N/A |
| Annual Fee | $99, waived the first year |
Recommended Free Credit Score (Get Free Score)
690 – 850 (Good – Excellent)
*If interested see our list of Citi Bank bonuses for Checking & Savings accounts.*
Pros
- Bonus miles
- Bonus companion certificate
- Free checked bag(s)
- Preferred boarding
- Option to redeem with partner airlines
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- Has an annual fee
- Good-Excellent credit needed to qualify
- Rewards aren’t particularly easy to use
- No lounge access
Editor’s Alternate Pick
 The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offers 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®! You'll earn 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide, eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. And when you redeem your points for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you'll get 25% more value! This card carries a $95 annual fee. |
Citi / AAdvantage Card Bonus Miles
An eye catching benefit for the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select credit card is their welcome bonus offer. Make use of the 65,000 welcome bonus miles. It’s a great valued bonus offer. The value of these bonus miles will be worth about $910 (more on that below).
You must have spent at least $4,000 in the first 4 months of having your account open.
Here are some ideas on meeting the spending requirement:
| • Plastiq: Plastiq allows you to pay for expenses that you generally won’t be able to with your card like rent, tuition, auto lease, mortgage payment, and more. There’s a 2.5% processing fee for using your credit card. However, this’ll be worth the card bonus you’ll get. There’s also a referral program where you can earn “Fee-Free Dollars” to use towards processing fees. See our Plastiq review. |
| • Fund Checking accounts with your card: Many banks will allow you to fund the opening deposit with a credit card. Consider opening Checking accounts that also offer a sign-up bonus. This way, you can work towards bonuses from two different sources. Big banks like Chase, HSBC, Huntington, and TD Bank have great offers and allow credit card funding. You can generally fund anywhere from $50 to $1,000 towards the opening deposit with a credit card, depending on the bank. |
| • Buy gift cards: Consider buying gift cards with your credit card that you can then spend later at your leisure. Individual merchant cards (restaurants, gas stations, supermarkets, etc.) generally don’t have purchase fees, so this is a plus. On the other hand, American Express and Visa gift cards will have purchase fees. Amazon gift cards are a great idea as you can shop for almost anything there with no purchase fees either. Unfortunately, Citi credit cards tend to code gift card purchases as Cash Advances and there’ll be a fee. Call in to customer service and lower your Cash Advance limit to $0 before purchasing gift cards. You can also buy discounted gift cards as well from Raise or find gift cards on eBay. |
| • Everyday spending & bills: Always using your credit card for everyday spending, such as for dining, gas, groceries, etc. You can also use your credit card to pay for things like insurance bills, property taxes and income taxes. However, you’ll have to consider the convenience fees. |
What are AAdvantage Miles Worth?
Compared to other airline branded credit cards, depending on how you decide to use your miles will reflect their value. Typically, every AAdvantage mile will be worth about $0.014.
You are able to redeem your miles for American Airlines, American Eagle, and Oneworld flights or with one of their partners. The airline option and destination will all contribute to how much your miles are worth when you fly.
If looking for the best value for your bonus miles is something you like to do then this card is definitely worth your time. However, if you don’t like to mess around with numbers and calculations, then you should consider a general travel rewards credit card.
CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Card Top Features
If you’re not in the DFW area, the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage credit card can still be worthwhile. They have 23 airline partners that you are able to fly with and gain AAdvantage miles for travel for more than 1,000 destinations globally. Here is the list below:
| Air Tahiti Nui | Alaska Airlines | British Airways |
| Cape Air | Cathay Pacific | Etihad Airways |
| Fiji Airways | Finnair | Gulf Air |
| Hawaiian Airlines | Iberia | Interjet |
| Japan Airlines | Jet Airways | LATAM Airlines |
| Malaysia Airlines | Qantas | Qatar Airways |
| Royal Jordanian Airlines | S7 Airlines | Seaborne Airlines |
| SriLankan Airlines | WestJet |
Be sure that your miles won’t expire. You can gain or redeem on American Airlines or with one of the AAdvantage partners at least one time for every 18 months.
The average for checked bags is $30 and that can build up when you go on business trips.
Flying with American Airlines in the U.S, your baggage fees (and the fees for no more than 4 people with you) are waived. You can go on two round-trips with a coworker and your baggage fee savings will be able to cover the annual fee that comes with this card.
Preferred boarding will let you board the plane before the rest of the economy class. This will guarantee first dibs on the overhead bin and give you a good amount of time to get comfortable.
Benefit from a 25% savings on American Airlines inflight WiFi, food, and drinks when you use your card for these expenses.
Gain a $99 domestic economy fare American Airlines Companion Certificate. You just have to spend at least $30,000 in qualifying expenses in one card membership year. You will need to renew your card membership and pay the annual fee to be able to make use of this perk all the way.
The Companion ticket taxes and fees will differ from about $21.60 to $43.20 (as of Q4 2018), depending on your to do list, for one round trip economy fare. Look at American Airlines website to see any updated taxes and fees.
Buy things overseas without having to stress over any foreign transaction fees with the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select credit card.
Bottom Line
The CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select credit card is an amazing choice for you and your coworkers that normally fly with American Airlines. With their welcome bonus miles offer, large travel rewards, airline tailored benefits, and rewards on daily expenses makes this card very appealing.
Even though it comes with an annual fee of $99 each year, the annual fee will be waived for the first 12 months. The travel perks will also save you lots of money that will easily cover the annual fee attached to this business travel credit card.
The miles you gain on the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage card can even be used for travel on their partner airlines and major carriers like Alaska Airlines or Qatar Airways. This card is very malleable in bonus miles and will allow you to reserve travel in areas that even American Airlines doesn’t go to.
If you want the best value for your AAdvantage miles, then you should expect to put in the effort for it. However, if you don’t want to go through the miles calculation process, then you should consider a non-branded travel credit card that’s better suited for you instead.
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What’s the Competition?
There are some of CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select credit card’s top competitors listed below.
 The Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business offers a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles - equal to $500 in travel - once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. Your miles won't expire for the life of the account, and there are no categories to limit where or what you buy and you can earn 2 miles per $1 on every purchase. And 5X miles on hotel and rental car bookings through Capital One TravelSM using a Spark Miles card There is an annual fee of $95, however, there is a $0 intro annual fee for the first year. Enjoy no foreign transaction fees and fly on any airline, anytime, with no blackout dates or seat restrictions. |
 The Chase Ink Business PreferredSM Card offers 100k bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. You'll earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year; 1 point per $1 on all other purchases - with no limit to the amount you can earn. Furthermore, points are worth 25% more when you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. This card does come with a $95 annual fee but does not have any foreign transaction fees. |
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