Citi AAdvantage Platinum Card Review: A low-priced winner for American Airlines flyers

You can quickly earn piles of miles on flights, restaurants and gas stations. The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® * The information for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. also grants decent perks when you fly American, plus a fast track to elite status.

Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard basics

• Annual fee: $99, waived for the first 12 months.
• Welcome bonus: 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles after spending $2,500 in purchases in the first three months of account opening. 
• Rewards: 2 AAdvantage miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, restaurants and gas stations and 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• APR: 21.24% to 29.99% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers. A balance transfer fee of $5 or 5% of each transfer, whichever is greater, applies.
• Other perks and benefits: First checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries, preferred boarding on American Airlines flights, 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines flights, $125 flight discount after spending $20,000 or more on purchases each cardmembership year and renewing the card, Loyalty Points towards AAdvantage elite status, no foreign transaction fees on purchases made abroad. 
• Does the issuer offer a preapproval tool? None.
• Recommended credit score: Good to excellent.

About the Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® * The information for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. is one of three cobranded consumer credit cards issued by Citibank for American Airlines customers. The card offers an impressive 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles after spending $2,500 in purchases in the first three months of account opening. You’ll also earn 2 AAdvantage miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, restaurants and gas stations and 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases. Every eligible mile you earn also nets you 1 Loyalty Point, which counts toward AAdvantage elite status.

The card also offers free checked bags and preferred boarding on American Airlines flights for you and up to four travel companions. Cardholders earn a 25% inflight discount on food and beverages and a $125 American Airlines flight discount after spending $20,000 or more on purchases in a cardmembership year and renewing the card. Finally, the card’s annual fee is $99, waived for the first 12 months. A checked bag fee for a domestic flight on American starts at $30 one way, so if you and a companion fly round trip once a year on the airline, you’ll save money on baggage fees in spite of the card’s annual fee.

Pros

• Solid welcome bonus: The card’s welcome bonus gives you the chance to earn enough miles to book multiple award flights, depending on where you want to travel. With no annual fee the first year, you don’t have to worry about fees eating into your initial bonus value.
• Good flight perks: Every time you fly domestic with American Airlines, you and up to four companions on your itinerary will get the first checked bag free. You’ll also get preferred boarding and 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases in the form of a statement credit.
• Value outpaces the annual fee: Even after the first year, you can get more value than the cost of the card’s annual fee if you spend $20,000 or more on purchases and renew your card each cardmembership year to earn the $125 flight discount. And if you spend enough to earn loyalty rewards and elite status, the card is well worth its annual fee.

Cons

• Rewards are inflexible: As with other airline credit cards, it only makes sense to get the Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard if you only want to redeem your rewards with American Airlines and its partners. If you want more flexible rewards, consider a general travel credit card. 
• Perks are limited: While you can get more value with this card than the cost of the annual fee, many other travel credit cards offer more premium benefits, such as airport lounge access, general travel credits, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application credits and more.
• Bonus rewards are limited: While you can earn double the miles on purchases with American Airlines and at restaurants and gas stations, other travel credit cards may offer higher rewards rates and more bonus categories.

Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard rewards

The Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite earns 2 AAdvantage miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, restaurants and gas stations and 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.

As a new cardholder, you’ll also earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles after spending $2,500 in purchases in the first three months of account opening.

Additionally, each mile you earn — not including the welcome bonus — nets you 1 Loyalty Point. With 15,000 Loyalty Points, you can pick a reward, such as priority boarding or preferred seat coupons. Starting at 40,000 Loyalty Points, you can qualify for elite status, which comes with complimentary upgrades and more.

Using government data and other publicly available information, we estimate that a household in the U.S. that would be in the market for this card has around $25,087 in annual expenses that can be charged to a credit card. Here’s how our sample household’s rewards could break down:

SPENDING CATEGORY	SPENDING AMOUNT	MILES PER DOLLAR	MILES EARNED
Dining	$3,526	2 miles	7,052 miles
Gas	$3,009	2 miles	6,018 miles
Flights	$11,188	2 miles	2,376 miles
Other	$17,364	1 mile	17,364 miles
TOTAL	$25,087		32,810 miles

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You can redeem your American Airlines AAdvantage miles in a number of ways, including:

• Award flights
• Seat upgrades
• Car rentals
• Hotels
• Vacation packages
• Admirals Club lounge access
• Luxury experiences

The value of your miles can vary depending on how you redeem them, but you’ll generally get the most value when you redeem them for award flights. Depending on where you want to fly, award flights start at just 7,500 miles each way. 

With our sample cardholder’s 32,810 AAdvantage miles, they could fly one-way from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport (GIG) in January 2024, round trip from Chicago’s O-Hare International Airport (ORD) to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) in April 2024 or even one way from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS) in May of 2024.

Other options that could stretch your mileage further include redeeming AAdvantage miles for flights with one of American’s airline partners via the Oneworld network or other non-alliance partners.

Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard APR

Like most travel credit cards, the Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard doesn’t offer an introductory 0% APR promotion. Depending on your creditworthiness, your variable APR will be 21.24% to 29.99% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers. A balance transfer fee of $5 or 5% of each transfer, whichever is greater, applies.

How the Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard compares to other travel credit cards 

Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard vs. Other American Airlines credit cards

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® * The information for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. is the middle card in the American Airlines Citi-cobranded lineup plus there is a Barclays-issued AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® * The information for the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. . Here’s how the Platinum Select compares to the other options. The right one for you between these options will depend on your willingness to pay an annual fee in exchange for perks and benefits.

	CITI/AADVANTAGE PLATINUM SELECT	AMERICAN AIRLINES AADVANTAGE® MILEUP®*	CITI® / AADVANTAGE® EXECUTIVE WORLD ELITE MASTERCARD®*	BARCLAYS AVIATOR RED CARD
Annual fee	$99, waived for the first 12 months	$0	$595	$99
Welcome bonus	50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles after spending $2,500 in purchases in the first three months of account opening	15,000 miles after making $500 in purchases within the first three months of account opening	70,000 miles after spending $7,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening	60,000 miles after making a first purchase and paying the $99 annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days of account opening
Rewards	2 AAdvantage miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, restaurants and gas stations and 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases	2 AAdvantage miles per $1 at grocery stores, including grocery delivery services, 2 AAdvantage miles per $1 on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 AAdvantage mile per $1 on all other purchases	10 AAdvantage miles per $1 on eligible car rentals booked through aa.com/cars and eligible hotels booked through aa.com/hotels, 4 miles per $1 on eligible American Airlines purchases. Then after spending $150,000 in purchases in a calendar year, cardmembers will earn a total of 5 miles per $1 on eligible American Airlines purchases for the remainder of that calendar year, 1 mile per $1 on other purchases	2 miles per $1 on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases
APR	21.24% to 29.99% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers. A balance transfer fee of $5 or 5% of each transfer, whichever is greater, applies	21.24% to 29.99% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers. A balance transfer fee of either $5 or 5% of each transfer, whichever is greater, applies	21.24% to 29.99% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers	0% intro APR on eligible balance transfers for 15 billing cycles, followed by a regular APR of 21.24% to 29.99% variable on purchases and balance transfers. Balance transfers must be completed within 45 days of account opening. A balance transfer fee of either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, applies
Cardholder perks	First checked bag free on domestic AA flights for you and up to 4 travel companions on the same reservation; Preferred boarding; $125 American Airlines flight discount after spending $20,000 or more during your card membership year and renewing your card; 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines flights when you use your card	25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines flights	Admirals Club airport lounge membership; Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® application fee credit up to $100 every 5 years; Priority boarding; First checked bag free on domestic AA flights for you and up to 8 travel companions on the same reservation; 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines flights	Each anniversary year, earn a companion certificate good for 1 guest at $99 (plus taxes and fees) if you spend $2

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Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard vs. Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

If you prefer to fly with Delta Air Lines, the Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card (terms apply, rates & fees) might be a better fit. The card offers 65,000 miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. The card earns 2 miles per $1 on Delta purchases, at U.S. supermarkets and restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. and 1 mile per $1 on other eligible purchases. 

Other perks include a 15% discount anytime you book Award Travel with miles on Delta flights when using delta.com and the Fly Delta app, a free checked bag for you and up to eight travel companions, a $200 Delta flight credit to use toward future travel after you spend $10,000 or more on eligible purchases in a calendar year and 20% back in the form of a statement credit after using your card on eligible Delta inflight purchases. The card has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 annual fee.

Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

If you’re looking for a card that offers travel rewards you can use for more than just flights, look to the Capital One Venture card. The card charges a $95 and earns 5 miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and purchases through Capital One Entertainment and 2 miles per $1 on other purchases. Those rewards can be used for travel several ways: via booking through Capital One Travel, booking through any travel provider for and getting a statement credit back for the purchase or transferring your miles to one of Capital One’s multiple airline and hotel transfer partners.

The multiple redemption options make the Venture card a far more flexible choice than the Citi/AAdvantage Platinum card and the Venture also offers two free airport lounge passes per year and an up to $100 application fee credit for TSA Precheck or Global Entry. You won’t get a free checked bag perk or preferred boarding however.  

Should you get the Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard?

The Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard can be an excellent choice if you fly American Airlines at least once or twice a year and have a good idea of whether you’d be able to take full advantage of the card’s perks. It can be particularly useful if you only fly American and want to take advantage of loyalty rewards and elite status benefits offered by the airline.

That said, if you want a little more flexibility with your rewards and don’t like being tied down to one airline, you may consider a travel credit card with transferable points, so you’ll have a little more flexibility over how you can spend your hard-earned rewards.

Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard summary

CITI/AADVANTAGE PLATINUM SELECT WORLD ELITE MASTERCARD DETAILS
Annual fee	$99, waived for the first 12 months
Rewards	2 AAdvantage miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, restaurants and gas stations and 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
Welcome bonus	50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles after spending $2,500 in purchases in the first three months of account opening
APR	21.24% to 29.99% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers. A balance transfer fee of $5 or 5% of each transfer, whichever is greater, applies
Foreign transaction fees	0%
Major perks	First checked bag free, preferred boarding, 25% inflight discount on inflight food and beverage purchases, $125 American Airlines flight discount after spending $20,000 or more on purc

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Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

^{For rates and fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card please visit this page.}