A couple days ago we posted that the American Airlines 75K AAdvantage Bonus was finally dead; the “expired” links that had worked for about 7 months finally stopped working. Many of you were able to take advantage of that offer to pick up 150,000 AAdvantage Miles, or even 225,000 if you also took advantage of the business card.
If you weren't able to take advantage of the offer because you were approved less than 18 months ago for AAdvantage Citi cards, there's a new Citi offer: 50,000 bonus miles each for the following cards, after $3000 spend within the first 4 months.
Update: Note that the previous offer has expired, so check Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards for the current best Citi AAdvantage card offers.
CitiBusiness AAdvantage Visa
- 50,000 AA miles after $3000 in spend within first 4 months
- $150 statement credit for first eligible AA spend within 12 months
- 2 Admirals Club Lounge One-Day passes
- Annual fee waived for first year
Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage Visa Signature Card
- 50,000 AA miles after $3000 in spend within first 4 months
- $100 statement credit for first eligible AA spend within 12 months
- 1 companion certificate. Eligible fare classes are H, V, M, L, K, W, G, S, N, Q or O
- Annual fee waived for first year
Citi Select AAdvantage American Express Card
- 50,000 AA miles after $3000 in spend within first 4 months
- $100 statement credit for first eligible AA spend within 12 months
- 1 companion certificate. Eligible fare classes are H, V, M, L, K, W, G, S, N, Q or O
- Annual fee waived for first year
Other benefits:
- 2 AAdvantage miles for ech $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases for first 12 months; 1 AAdvantage mile/$1 for all other purchases
- Reduced mileage awards (Continental U.S. and Canada) for select destinations; destination list changes quarterly, see current Reduced Mileage Award List
If you apply for both of the personal Citi AAdvantage cards back to back, it will just be one credit inquiry and you can get a total of 100,000 AAdvantage Miles. If you're worried about applying for too many credit cards, see our tips: Understand How Your Credit Score Works to Maximize Credit Card Rewards. You won't be able to apply for the CitiBusiness card though at the same time; you'll need to wait at least 2 months before applying, and you'll likely be asked about your business type, revenues, directors, employees, and details such as your EIN (Employee Identification Number) although your SSN may suffice.
If you don't already have these cards, are close to locking in Lifetime Gold (Million Miler Status) on American and can complete the spend in time for the 100,000 AAdvantage bonus miles (from 2 cards) to post prior to December 1, 2011 (after which only AAdvantage miles earned from flying will count towards lifetime status) this is a no-brainer.
Even if you're not looking to boost AAdvantage Miles for that purpose, this is still a very good offer. It's AAdvantage miles, so you don't have the flexibility to transfer to other programs, as you do with the 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points you get with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, but it's a slightly lower spend requirement ($2500 vs. $3000).
Also, after the British Airways Executive Club Changes that will devalue its single Oneworld partner reward chart on November 16, American will be a prime way to book Cathay Pacific to Asia: Cathay Pacific Business Class is 110,000 AAdvantage miles, and in First Class it's 135,000 AAdvantage miles. So apply for the 2 cards, spend the $2500 for the bonus and you just need 7500 more AAdvantage miles for business class to Bali on Cathay (See Tips for Booking Award Tickets to Bali).
What to Know:
- Annual fee is waived for the first 12 months; after that it's $85/year for each of the personal cards, and $75/year for the CitiBusiness card
- This offer is technically for first-time Citi AAdvantage cardmembers. Although you may still get the bonuses if you were approved for a Citi card over 18 months prior, there is no guarantee
- You can earn a maximum of 100K AAdvantage miles per calendar year from the personal cards, and a maximum of 150K AAdvantage miles per calendar year from the CitiBusiness card
Excerpts from The Fine Print (see full details on the offer page)
1. This Citi® / AAdvantage® card offer is valid only for first-time Citi® / AAdvantage® cardmembers who apply pursuant to this offer for an account by October 31, 2011. The American Airlines AAdvantage® miles will appear as a bonus in your AAdvantage® account 8–10 weeks after you have met the purchase requirements
2. This Citi® / AAdvantage® card offer is valid only for first-time Citi® / AAdvantage® cardmembers who apply pursuant to this offer for an account by October 31, 2011. The American Club® One-Day Pass is valid for one day for one person. Each pass must be filled in completely and presented at time of visit. “Pass holder” must be at least 18 years of age and hold a same-day ticket for travel on American Airlines that allows clearance though security for flight departure and access to the Admirals Club lounge. Up to three children under 18 years of age admitted for free when accompanied with the adult “Pass holder.” For additional details regarding rules, conditions and restrictions, please visit www.aa.com/admiralsclub
4. Doubling of American Airlines AAdvantage® miles applies to eligible purchases made with the Citi® / AAdvantage® card within 12 months of cardmembership for items billed by American Airlines as merchant of record, such as airline tickets, Admirals Club® membership, American Airlines flight upgrades, and onboard food and beverage purchases. Other products or services do not qualify, such as car rentals, hotel reservations, American Airlines VacationSM packages, purchases of American Airlines AAdvantage® miles, duty-free purchases, and AA CargoSM products and services.
5. The maximum number of American Airlines AAdvantage® miles you can earn from purchases using the Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® Visa Signature® card and the Citi Select® / AAdvantage® American Express® card is 100,000 AAdvantage® miles per calendar year, and 150,000 AAdvantage® miles per calendar year with the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Visa® card. AAdvantage® bonus miles are excluded from this mileage cap. AAdvantage Executive Platinum,® AAdvantage Platinum® and AAdvantage Gold® members are excluded from these limits. AAdvantage® miles are only earned on eligible purchases.
Related posts:
Maximizing Awards Using American AAdvantage Miles
American AAdvantage Oneworld Explorer Award Chart and FAQ
How to Fly Hawaiian from NYC to Hawaii with AAdvantage Miles
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