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Travel on Point(s) is an independent, advertising-supported website. This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites like Cardratings.com. This compensation does not impact how or where products appear on this site. Travel on Point(s) has not reviewed all available credit card offers on this site. Reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any partner entities.

CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® Review

The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® offers many benefits for frequent American Airlines (AA) flyers. Currently, the card also has a good welcome offer that deserves attention from even infrequent American flyers. In our CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® review we will look at the card's earning rate, card benefits, current welcome offer and share our overall thoughts.

Current Welcome Offer

The current welcome offer for the Citi Business AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard is as follows:

  • Earn 65,000 AA miles after spending $4,000 in purchases in the first 4 months from account opening.
  • The annual fee is $99, which is waived for the first 12 months.

CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® Review

CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® Review: Application Rules

Citi will approve you for at most one card every eight days, and two cards every 65 days. Also, if you earned a welcome offer for this card in the past 48 months, you are not eligible for the bonus. Each American Airlines card is considered a separate product. They do not have a family rule like the Citi ThankYou point earning cards do.

Earning Structure

The Citi Business AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard offers the following earning structure:

  • 2x American Airlines miles for every $1 spent in these categories:
  • The card also earns 1x on all other purchases.
  • Earn 1 Loyalty point for each mile as well

CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® Review: Card Benefits

The Citi Business AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard offers the following card benefits to cardholders:

  • Free checked bag on domestic routes (including up to 4 companions on same reservation).
    • AA charges $30 for a first checked bag per one-way trip.
  • 25% savings on AA inflight Wi-Fi, food, and beverage purchases when you use your card.
  • You and up to four travel companions on your same reservation can board AA flights in Group 5.
    • This is after elite passengers but before most of economy passengers.
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • Earn a companion certificate each year after spending at least $30,000 after cardmember renewal.
    • Redeeming the certificate costs $99 for a “ticketing fee” plus government taxes and fees that range between $21.60 to $43.20. This means you can bring a companion on a flight for somewhere between $120.60 and $142.20.

CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® Review

ToP Analysis

The Citi Business AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard is a great card for the current welcome offer alone. With waived annual fee the first 12 months, this card offers an easy way to boost your AAdvantage miles balance. American Airlines miles are some of the hardest airline miles to earn, so this larger offer is welcomed. With this increased offer, the welcome offer is more than enough miles for a one-way business class flight on Q Suites to the Maldives or the Middle East at 70,000 AA miles!

Beyond the welcome offer, this is still a pretty good card that American flyers should consider keeping long-term. The free checked bag, 25% savings on inflight purchases, and preferred boarding are all helpful perks that are easy to use. The free checked bag alone can offset the $99 annual fee if used more than three times in a year.

The companion certificate could be a nice benefit, but the $30,000 spending requirement makes it not really worth pursuing for most folks. That is unless they are already chasing American Airlines status via spend.

When it comes to earning American Airlines miles, the Platinum Select offers some decent opportunity with 2x earning on multiple categories, including gas stations. so those looking for a constant source of AA miles should consider the Platinum Select.

Recently, American Airlines became a transfer partner of Bilt Rewards. The Bilt Rewards Mastercard allows you to earn 3x on dining, 2x on travel, and 1x on everything else, including rent. While the Bilt Rewards Mastercard is a great card for earning AA miles, it can not match the perks of the Citi Business AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard for American flyers. 

CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® Review: ToP Thoughts

The Citi Business / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard is a great option for those looking to earn a lot of AA miles through credit card spend, especially with its generous 75,000-mile welcome offer. After the first year, the card is very useful for frequent AA flyers. Benefits that should help flyers include one free checked bag, 25% savings on inflight purchases, and preferred boarding. This makes the Citi Business AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard a great business card to add to your wallet if you're looking to boost your stash of American miles. Especially for anyone trying to get under, or stay under, Chase 5/24.

What are your thoughts on the Citi Business AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard? Come join the discussion in our Facebook group!

Travel on Point(s) has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Travel on Point(s) and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities

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