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Maybe you travel with American Airlines frequently. Perhaps you travel just a couple of times a year on family vacations. Either way, as a small business owner, freelancer, or contractor looking for some extra perks on your next flight, you should consider the Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®.
With the Citi AAdvantage Business Card, your benefits can quickly add up. For example, you’ll get the first checked bag free for you and up to four companions traveling on the same domestic itinerary, receive preferred boarding privileges, and save 25% on inflight purchases. Moreover, the Citi AAdvantage Business Card also offers an excellent sign-up bonus on top of everyday earning rates that can help you earn American Airlines miles from your business expenses.
However, the card does have an annual fee, meaning it's not free to keep year after year. Is it worth it? Let us help you decide.
- 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 on cable and satellite providers
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent at gas stations
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on select telecommunications merchants
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on car rentals
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
- Earn 1X mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
Page Contents
- Citi AAdvantage Business™ Card Pros
- Citi AAdvantage Business™ Card Card Cons
- Citi AAdvantage Business Card Welcome Offer
- Citi AAdvantage Business™ Credit Card Benefits
- Citi American Airlines Business Credit Card Earning Rates
- Redeeming Miles With the Citi AAdvantage Business Card
- Application Eligibility and Restrictions
- Cards That Compete With the Citi AAdvantage Business Card
- Final Thoughts
Citi AAdvantage Business™ Card Pros
- Annual fee waived during the first year.
- Earn Loyalty Points toward elite status through credit card spending.
- Free checked bag and priority boarding as built-in benefits.
Citi AAdvantage Business™ Card Card Cons
- $99 annual fee in years two and beyond.
- Earning categories are modest and don't provide what other business cards offer.
- Companion certificate is valuable but requires significant spending to earn.
Citi AAdvantage Business Card Welcome Offer
Currently, new applicants for the Citi AAdvantage Business Card can earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 in purchases within the first 5 months of account opening.
If you value AAdvantage® miles on the conservative side — around 1.5¢ per mile — the welcome offer on the Citi AAdvantage Business Card is worth roughly $975. But, you could potentially get much more if you redeem them for premium cabin international fares. In short, this is a highly valuable offer.
Related: Best Small Business Credit Card Offers Available This Month
Citi AAdvantage Business™ Credit Card Benefits
Even if you fly American Airlines only a few times per year, the Citi AAdvantage Business Card offers a suite of helpful benefits. Thankfully, these benefits can easily offset the cost of the card's annual fee.
Annual fee waived during the first year
The Citi AAdvantage Business Card‘s annual fee is $99, waived for first 12 months. That gives you a year to test drive the benefits and see if this card is a keeper before you have to pay the annual fee in the second year.
First checked bag free
While not exactly a flagship perk, free checked bags on domestic itineraries are a quiet, hardworking benefit that provides ongoing value every time you fly. The value can quickly add up. Your first checked bag on American normally sets you back $30 each way. Just two round-trip flights per year would cover the out-of-pocket expense of holding the Citi AAdvantage Business Card each year — without taking into account the waived annual fee during the first year.
Even better, the benefit covers up to five people (including the cardholder) traveling on the same reservation. Thus, one family vacation could put you ahead in terms of value.
Preferred boarding
You’ll get preferred boarding on American-operated and -marketed flights, which allows you to board with group 5 — directly after passengers with Oneworld or American elite status. Although you can board one group earlier with the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®, Group 5 will put you in front of most of the crowd on most flights.
25% savings on in-flight food, drinks, and Wi-Fi
If you purchase inflight food, drinks, or Wi-Fi with your Citi AAdvantage Business Card, you’ll enjoy a 25% savings. This is applied as a statement credit on your card account after an eligible purchase. The perk is valid on domestic flights operated by American and its regional carriers. If you get reimbursed for business expenses when traveling for work, the Citi AAdvantage Business Card puts money back in your pocket.
Earn Loyalty Points from spending
American Airlines significantly revamped its elite program over the past couple of years. Rather than requiring elite qualifying flights and dollars, everything has switched to a Loyalty Points system. You'll earn 1 Loyalty Point for every dollar you spend with your Citi AAdvantage Business Card. Ultimately, you achieve American elite status faster due to this.
Earn a Companion Certificate through spending
Cardholders who spend $30,000 or more on purchases in a cardmember year and renew their account receive a $99 American Airlines companion certificate. The certificate is valid for a domestic economy flight. How does the companion certificate work? You (the cardholder) purchase a qualifying round-trip economy ticket on American. Then, you pay just $99 + taxes and fees (currently between $21.60 and $43.20) for a companion to fly with you.
While certainly better than nothing, this isn't a game-changing benefit. You have to spend a substantial amount on the card to earn it, likely foregoing a higher return from spending on a different card. Considering that the certificate is only valid for economy travel within the lower 48 states, it would be hard to get more than $300 in savings.
This would be roughly a 1% return on the $30,000 spent to earn the certificate. However, this perk offers some nice synergy if you plan to spend on your Citi AAdvantage Business Card to earn Loyalty Points.
Card fees
While not a benefit, it's important to note that the American Airlines Citi AA Business card carries an annual fee of $99, waived for first 12 months. As we've already mentioned, the benefits can easily outweigh this fee each year. On the plus side, the card doesn't charge foreign transaction fees and doesn't charge an additional annual fee for employee cards added to your account.
Citi American Airlines Business Credit Card Earning Rates
We don't generally celebrate co-branded airline cards for their generous earning rates. The Citi AAdvantage Business Card doesn’t dish up any surprises in this respect.
Cardholders earn:
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on cable and satellite providers
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent at gas stations
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on select telecommunications merchants
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on car rentals
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
- Earn 1X mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
The earning rates don’t compare well to the best flexible points-earning rewards cards. However, thanks to the relative isolation of American’s loyalty program (Marriott Bonvoy and Bilt Rewards are the exceptions for transfers to American AAdvantage®), the Citi AAdvantage Business Card actually provides some of the highest earnings for American Airlines miles when considering the bonus categories it offers.
If earning American miles isn't critical, you'll want to use a different card. This is especially true for car rentals and gas stations, where you can earn much more on other cards, but that comes at the expense of not earning AA miles.
Related: Best Rewards Credit Cards for Each Spending Category
Redeeming Miles With the Citi AAdvantage Business Card
American Airlines makes it easy to redeem miles at aa.com. You also get the best value when redeeming miles for American Airlines or partner flights. We don't recommend any other ways of redeeming your miles, such as buying an Admirals Club® membership or renting a car with your miles.
You'll typically get the best value when redeeming miles for international, premium cabin tickets. However, American uses dynamic award pricing for its own flights, which start at just 7,500 miles one-way for domestic itineraries. This is the official price, but we've found flights even cheaper.
Here are a few examples of American Airlines redemption sweet spots, offering great value for using the miles earned with your Citi AAdvantage Business Card:
- First class between the U.S. and Japan on oneworld partner JAL for 80,000 miles one-way
- Business class to Africa on American and other oneworld partners for 75,000 miles one-way
- Economy (20,000 miles) and premium economy (25,000) flights to northern South America
- Domestic short-haul tickets on American Airlines or regional partners; sometimes, you can find good deals
A major upside of award travel on American is the flexibility. American Airlines allows a full refund of award tickets. Interested in more about American award redemption? Check out our guide to American Airlines award travel rules.
Related: Playing the American Airlines Loyalty Points Game
Application Eligibility and Restrictions
To qualify for the Citi AAdvantage Business Card welcome bonus, you'll need to mind Citi's 48-month rule. Note that earning a welcome bonus on a personal Citi AA card doesn’t affect your eligibility here, stated as follows:
“American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® account in the past 48 months.”
Since this is a small business card, you may be asked to provide some documentation on your business to qualify for the card. But, your business doesn’t need to be a giant corporation. In fact, you can qualify for a small business card as a contractor or freelancer — or even operating a side hustle. For example, do you sell items on eBay or rent your spare room on Airbnb? These can qualify you for a business card. For more information, you can check out our resource on how to qualify for a business card.
Another bonus of getting the Citi AAdvantage Business Card is that it won’t appear on your personal credit report. Thus, it won’t add to your Chase 5/24 count. This is important if you are trying to get back under 5/24 to apply for Chase's business and personal cards.
Lastly, know that Citi doesn't tend to approve anyone for more than one small business card in a 90-day period.
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
Cards That Compete With the Citi AAdvantage Business Card
- 2x on United® purchases
- 2x on local transit and commuting — including train tickets, taxicabs, mass transit, tolls and ride share services
- 2x at gas stations, restaurants and office supply stores
- 1x on all other purchases
(Terms apply)
- 2X miles per dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta
- 2X miles per dollar on eligible U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (annual cap of $50,000 in eligible purchases)
- 2X miles per dollar on eligible U.S. shipping purchases (annual cap of $50,000 in eligible purchases)
- 2X miles per dollar on eligible dining purchases
- 1X miles per dollar on all other eligible purchases
- 3X points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year
- 1X point per $1 on all other purchases
- If you want a small business card earning airline miles but aren't sold on AA, consider The New United℠ Business Card. With a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $150, you'll get a year to test out this card also. This card offers 5,000 bonus miles each year if you also hold a United personal credit card, a free checked bag on flights (including one companion), a $125 United travel credit after making five United purchases of $100+ in a cardmember year, and 2x miles on United, transit, commuting, gas, restaurant, and office supply store purchases. Our United Business Card review provides more information.
- If you want a small business card earning airline miles on a different airline, look at the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card. The annual fee structure is similar: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 (Rates & Fees). Cardmembers receive priority boarding and free checked bag benefits, can earn a $200 Delta Flight Credit after making $10,000 in purchases in a calendar year, and get 15% off Delta award flight bookings. This latter benefit can be used an unlimited number of times. Our Delta Gold Business Amex review has additional details.
- If you want rewards you can use with multiple airlines and hotel programs, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card may be what you're looking for. With a $95 annual fee, the card provides quality travel insurance benefits and earns 3x points on the first $150,000 of annual spending across bonus categories, including travel and various business expenses. Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be used with 14 airline and hotel partners, though American Airlines admittedly isn't one. However, AA partners like British Airways and Iberia are, and other partners include Hyatt, Air Canada, and JetBlue. Find out more in our Ink Preferred review.
Related: Best Airline Credit Card Offers This Month
Final Thoughts
If you fly American even a couple of times per year, this card can easily pay for itself. If you typically check bags, then it takes just one or two round-trip flights per year for the card benefits to offset the annual fee. Plus, the annual fee is waived for the first year, meaning you can take the card for an extended test drive at no expense. The Citi AAdvantage Business Card currently offers a high-value 75,000-mile sign-up bonus after you meet the minimum spend requirement. In turn, it will fast-track your efforts to redeem your next award flight, and you can earn Loyalty Points toward elite status through your spending.
Conversely, if you don’t plan on flying American, you would be better off with another card, such as one from another airline or a flexible rewards card like the Ink Preferred.
- 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 on cable and satellite providers
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent at gas stations
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on select telecommunications merchants
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on car rentals
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
- Earn 1X mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The New United℠ Business Card (Rates & Fees), Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card (Rates & Fees), and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
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