The 50K Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard, earned after spending $3000 within the first 3 months, is one of the best current credit card signup bonuses, particularly since the death of the 50K CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select, which is why I list the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card first on the Best Travel Credit Cards page.
AAdvantage Miles Are Valuable
Why do I rank the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select Card so highly, when many credit cards, such as the Ink Plus, British Airways Visa, or targeted AMEX Business Gold card also offer a 50K signup bonus, or even potentially 100,000 points in the case of the British Airways Visa?
AAdvantage miles are particularly valuable due to the AAdvantage oneworld award chart, in light of the various British Airways Avios devaluations, United devaluation last year, and multiple Delta SkyMiles and Aeroplan devaluations, not to mention unattractive award charts of Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Cathay Asia Miles, etc.
It's hard to beat values such as Cathay Pacific First Class roundtrip to Asia for 135,000 AAdvantage miles, JAL First Class to Japan for 125,000 AAdvantage miles, Etihad A380 First Class Apartment from Abu Dhabi to Australia one way for 60,000 miles, or Qantas A380 First Class from London to Australia one way for 80,000 miles. Admittedly, award availability is very limited and Etihad A380 award space is increasingly not available in advance, except for the London – Abu Dhabi route and the new Abu Dhabi – Mumbai route. But for those who are flexible, the value of AAdvantage miles is considerable.
And since Ultimate Rewards, AMEX Membership Rewards and Citi ThankYou points do NOT transfer to American AAdvantage, you'll need to either earn AAdvantage miles directly or transfer valuable SPG points.
Eligible to Earn a 50K Signup Bonus Again for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select?
One question I've been asked by multiple readers lately is whether they're eligible for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard, if they had another Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card in the past. Here's what the terms state:
“50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles can be earned by new Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card cardmembers approved through this offer…AAdvantage bonus miles are not available if you have had a Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard opened or closed in the past 18 months.”
Note that it says a Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard (bolding mine). In my case, I had closed a Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select Visa within the past 18 months, but this did not prevent me from earning a new 50K bonus for a new Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard. It was similar for my husband, who also earned a new 50K bonus, despite having closed a Visa version of the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select within the past 18 months.
So if you haven't opened or closed the MasterCard version of the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select, I'd say you have a good chance of earning the bonus again. I can't guarantee it, since I'm not Citi, but our experience indicates it's possible.
Do you have or plan to apply for the 50K Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard?
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