If you travel by airplane often, and you find that the best prices for your routes center around one airline, it can often be beneficial to join that airline’s frequent flier loyalty program. In addition, many airlines also partner with credit card companies to offer travel rewards credit cards that help you accrue frequent flier miles faster.
American Airlines is a large airline with a long history, and over that time the company has developed loyal customers. For those who fly this airline often, the Citi® Platinum Select®/AAdvantage® Visa Signature® card offers rewards for credit card users. Right now, signing up for this card means you’re eligible for 30,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles once you make $1,000 in purchases within the first three months. Here’s a review of the card’s features and how to earn bonus miles.
As mentioned above, to start you off, new Citi Platinum Select/AAdvantage Visa Signature cardholders will receive 30,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $1,000 on the card during the first three months of card ownership. That’s less than $350 a month; just putting your monthly groceries on the card and paying them off before the bill is due might put you close to that amount. The 30,000 bonus miles is worth more than a round-trip economy ticket within the continental U.S. (including Alaska) and Canada, if you can book one of the restricted MileSAAver award seats. When you redeeem AAdvantage bonus miles, you also earn 10% of those redeemed miles back as new AAdvantage bonus miles, up to 10,000 bonus miles in a calendar year.
On an ongoing basis, the rewards program for the Citi Platinum Select/AAdvantage Visa Signature is fairly straightforward. Spenders earn two AAdvantage miles for every dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and one AAdvantage mile for every dollar spent on other purchases. Miles earned by this card will never expire as long as one of the three following criteria are met every 18 months:
- You redeem American Airlines AAdvantage® miles,
- You earn miles on an American Airlines, American Eagle or AmericanConnection carrier, or
- You earn miles through an approved American Airlines AAdvantage participant
Every card membership year in which you make at least $30,000 in purchases, you also receive a $100 flight discount redeemable towards an American Airlines, American Eagle, or AmericanConnection carrier ticket originating in the U.S., or towards a ticket booked with a oneworld partner or on an American Airlines codeshare flight.
Frequent American Airlines fliers will appreciate that this card lets you check one standard eligible bag for free (normally $25 for a domestic flight). Also free are the first checked bags of up to four traveling companions, as long as they’re traveling on the same reservation as the primary cardholder — a nice benefit for family travel. Cardholders and up to four companions on the same reservation also get priority boarding for flights.
The interest rate for the Citi Platinum Select/AAdvantage Visa Signature — currently a variable APR of 15.24% for purchases — is above the average for rewards cards. The cash advance APR is 25.24%, but for most responsible cardholders, cash advances will not be a consideration.
Unfortunately, there is a $95 annual fee associated with this card, but the fee is waived during the first year. Plus, if you usually check a bag on your American Airlines flights, the first-checked-bag-free benefit would more than cover that annual fee within one round-trip itinerary for two people.
When you look at the Citi Platinum Select/AAdvantage Visa Signature from top to bottom, the card appears to come off as average or perhaps below average. This card is best for people who can pay their balance in full each month and who are American Airlines frequent flyers, both because the bonus miles you earn for initial spending adds up to a free flight and because of the travel perks that can make each American Airlines flight a little more pleasant. Only frequent flyers of American Airlines should consider owning this card. To apply, visit the Citi Platinum Select/AAdvantage Visa Signature application.
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Customers who purchased their airline tickets six weeks in advance received an average discount of about 6 percent off the average fare paid for that flight. 
