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For most travelers, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is the Goldilocks card of Citi’s American Airlines branded credit cards.
With a much lower annual fee than the premium Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® and more perks than the no-annual-fee American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®, the AA Platinum Select offers the perfect mix of a high-value 60,000 mile sign-up bonus, airline-focused benefits like a free checked bag and preferred boarding, and an affordable annual fee of $99, waived for first 12 months.
With these perks, it's easy to justify the annual fee of $99, waived for first 12 months.
- Free checked bags for you and up to 4 companions on domestic itineraries
- Priority boarding to help you win the race for overhead bin space
- A 25% discount on inflight food, beverage, and Wi-Fi purchases
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent at restaurants
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent at gas stations
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
- Earn 1X mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
The AA Platinum Select benefits are designed to make flying American Airlines a more enjoyable experience for AAdvantage members, and a little cheaper to boot.
While the perks are American Airlines-focused, cardholders can redeem AAdvantage miles earned on the card for flights on American Airlines partners such as Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and Qantas — plus non-alliance partners including Hawaiian Airlines, Fiji Airways, and Etihad.
Here’s the link to apply for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® — or read on for a full breakdown of the card’s benefits.
AA Platinum Select Current Sign-up Bonus
Earn 60,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles bonus AAdvantage miles after spending $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
Using American Airlines' new dynamic award chart, this bonus is enough for up to three roundtrip domestic flights within the continental US. Alternatively, you can book a roundtrip between the US and Europe — with miles to spare!
We find we can typically achieve a value of at least 1.5¢ per AAdvantage mile. At that rate, the sign-up offer on the AA Platinum Select is worth around $750!
And that's just the baseline value. You can potentially get much more value for premium cabin international fares.
AA Platinum Select Earning Potential and Bonus Categories
The AA Platinum Select bonus categories aren’t as generous as our favorite flexible travel cards. However, the card still comes in as one of the highest-earning cards for AAdvantage miles — due to the lack of programs transferring to AA.
AA Platinum Select cardholders earn:
- 2X miles per $1 spent on American Airlines purchases
- 2X miles per $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants
- 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
You also receive a $125 AA flight discount when you spend $20,000 in a cardmember year and renew your card. This isn't the most aspirational perk. However, if you're spending on the card to collect AA miles and earn Loyalty Points, this $125 flight discount can be the icing on the cake.
AA Platinum Select Feature Benefits
First Checked Bag Free
This is a perk that can be a real money saver if you travel with friends or family on the same reservation. The first checked bag on American will typically set you back $30. And this benefit covers the first checked bag for up to five people, including the primary cardholder. This one perk alone can potentially save you up to $150 each way or $300 on a single round-trip.
Even flying two round-trip solo flights per year can recoup the out-of-pocket expense of holding the card using this benefit. And that’s not taking into account any other perks or the waived annual fee for the first year.
$125 American Airlines Flight Discount after spending $20,000 in a year
Each cardmember year you spend $20,000 on the AA Platinum Select and renew your account for another year, you’ll receive a $125 American Airlines Flight Discount. The flight discount expires one year from the date of issue and can be redeemed against ticket purchases of American-marketed and -operated flights only.
25% savings on in-flight food and beverage purchases
If you purchase inflight food or drinks with your AA Platinum Select, you’ll get 25% of the purchase price back as a statement credit on your account. This perk is only valid on domestic American-operated flights.
Preferred boarding
You receive preferred boarding on American-marketed flights for you and up to four companions traveling on the same reservation. You'll board at the front of the Main Cabin line, just after first class and AAdvantage elites.
Purchase and travel protections
While not as robust as in the past, the AA Platinum Select still offers extended warranty and purchase protection.
Application Restrictions
Travelers applying for the AA Platinum Select need to be aware of two sets of application restrictions. In addition to Citi’s standard application restrictions, certain rules apply only to the Citi AA family of cards.
The combined application rules include:
- You must be an individual who resides in the United States and its territories, excluding Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Must not have applied for another personal Citi card in the past eight days
- Citi has a maximum of two (2) total Citi cards per 65 days
- The sign-up bonus isn't available if you earned a bonus on the same Citi AAdvantage card (AA Platinum Select) in the past 48 months.
In the past, Citi used a more restrictive rule that prevented you from earning an AAdvantage welcome bonus if you had opened or closed any consumer AAdvantage® card in the previous 48 months. This rule is no longer in effect. Now, your eligibility depends solely on your history of earning a bonus with the same card.
Final Thoughts
Whether you fly American regularly or just a few times per year, the AA Platinum Select can save you money on your flights and provide some added efficiency to your travel.
Even if you don't fly American Airlines, this card's sign-up bonus can help your rewards strategy by banking the miles for an aspirational trip on one of AA's many airline partners. Having the annual fee waived for the first year means it is possible to take the card for a test run for the better part of a year before deciding if it gets a permanent place in your wallet.
If you prefer more flexibility or prefer to travel with Star Alliance or SkyTeam, then you will want to explore cards that offer a wider variety of redemption options like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Citi Premier® Card, which earn points you can transfer to a variety of airline and hotel partners. AAdvantage miles can only be redeemed for airline flights on the Oneworld Alliance and American’s airline partners, and not used for other types of travel rewards.
If you enjoy flexibility or traveling with Star Alliance or SkyTeam, it's worth considering credit cards that offer a broader range of redemption options. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Citi Premier® Card allow you to earn transferable points that can be used with multiple airline and hotel partners. This gives you the freedom to choose how you want to use your rewards. Unlike AAdvantage miles, which are limited to airline flights within the Oneworld Alliance and American's airline partners, the Citi Premier card benefits extend beyond air travel. You can explore a wider range of travel rewards options with this card.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
1. is citi known for approving cards regardless, you meet the limit, THEN they tell you you aren’t eligible for bonus because you’ve had the product in last 48 months? (chase, BoA, Amex, barclays simply don’t approve you in that case) 2. if you aren’t sure if you received the bonus in past 48 months, what’s the best way to check?
1. Not that I’m aware.
2. Unfortunately, AA’s only mileage history only goes back two years. So, I’d check my credit report to see if I have any new Citi accounts. You can also check your email address. When I opened a new Citi Platinum Select back in 2017, I got an email with the subject “Welcome to your new Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard”
The 48 month language says: ‘American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® account in the past 48 months’.
It only says the Citi / AAdvantage Premium Select card, not the entire AA card family. So if one had other AA card opened/closed in the past 48 months, he/she should still be able to get the 60k bonus. Is that right?
Victor – correct. Citi used to have an “American Airlines family of cards” type of disclaimer about 2 years ago, then it changed to this “48 months just for this card” verbiage. You should be able to get a bonus from the new cardmember offer while having other card bonuses recently.
I have a question regarding the Citi 48 month rule. I am a federal employee and my official travel card was issued by Citi. Will this make me ineligible to get the bonus sign-up miles?
Should I have my wife sign up as the primary card holder in that case?
or
We have an antiques shop; and I assume we could sign up for the business card instead.
Looking for some words of wisdom.
That’s a unique question! Citi only considers the cards you’ve opened in the same family. So, unless your official travel card earned AAdvantage miles, you should be eligible to get a new AAdvantage credit card with a sign-up bonus. And yes, the Citi AA business card is a great option. Check out our review of it here: https://awardwallet.com/blog/citibusiness-aadvantage-card-review/
This is one card that I’m looking forward to getting, since I already have the MileUp card. Honestly, it seems all of the mid-range AA cards are designed to work as a pair, as the MileUp card is the only one that has a bonus category on groceries. It’s a strange setup, but you can’t have “too many cards” – if you know how to use credit effectively.
Great post! I know this is an old article but will see if someone can answer: my wife and I have this Citi AAdvantage card. We just booked 3 award tickets (Wife, kid and I) using the miles on her account (same reservation). We are planning to cancel her card when the annual fee is due (which will happen before our travel date). Since I have the card, will we be able to have the first bag checked free (each of us)? I’m just wondering if we would have any problem with that (since we booked the award tickets using her miles…). Thanks!