Citi AAdvantage $125 Flight Discount

After spending some time with our Citi AAdvantage Platinum $125 flight discount I can say that there are some things to like about this card perk, but a couple of warts too. This is a somewhat overlooked perk of the personal American Airlines co-branded credit card issued by Citi. I think it has gained a bit of popularity over the last few years though, with many miles and points people chasing American Airlines status at least in part via spend. My wife earned the $125 flight discount on her card during the summer, but this is my first chance to mess around with one of these.

How To Earn The $125 American Airlines Flight Discount

It isn't easy to earn the Citi AAdvantage Platinum $125 flight discount because it requires a ton of spending on your card. That would be $20,000 in spend to be exact! The spending requirement is based on your 12 month cardmember year, not based on calendar year. If you do earn the discount then it more than offsets the card's $99 annual fee. The $125 Citi AA flight credit is also good for 12 months from issuance, so you get plenty of time to use it. It should be noted that the flight discount could take up to 8-12 weeks to arrive after it is earned and it is added to your loyalty account. That is an improvement over how they have mailed out a coupon in the past.

Here are some notable terms for the $125 Citi AAdvantage flight discount:

• The Flight Discount expires one year from date of issue of the certificate.
• The Flight Discount is redeemable toward the initial ticket purchase of air travel only on flights marketed or operated by American Airlines or American Airlines codeshare flights for itineraries originating in the U.S., Puerto Rico, or U.S. Virgin Islands, and sold in US Dollars.
• It is redeemable online at aa.com, or by calling American Airlines Reservations.
• A reservations services fee may apply for travel booked through American Airlines Reservations.
• The Flight Discount is redeemable only toward the purchase of the base airfare and directly associated taxes, fees and charges that are collected as part of the fare calculation for travel.
• The Flight Discount cannot be used to pay the taxes and charges on mileage redemption tickets where only taxes and fees are being collected.
• If the ticket price is greater than the value of the Flight Discount, the difference must be paid only with a credit, debit or charge card.
• Any unused balance can be applied towards eligible future travel until the stated expiration date. 

Why Would Anyone Spend That Much On The Citi AAdvantage Platinum Card?

You may be wondering why someone would focus $20,000 of spend on this card. Someone could rack up a ton of welcome offers with that spend after all! Thinking solely in those terms can be a miles and points fallacy though.

Earning this card perk may make sense if you have spend that outpaces your ability to grab welcome offers and you need other goals. It can also make sense if you are long in the tooth in miles and points and are limited in new card options available to you. This level of spend could also make sense if you highly value American Airlines elite status and this is a part of your loyalty points earning plan.

How To Redeem The Citi AAdvantage $125 Flight Discount

The process to redeem your American Airlines flight discount is pretty straight forward. Here is the step by step process when you get to the payment page for your flight booking.

Step 1: Locate Add A Gift Card / Flight Discount On The Payment Page

You will want to locate the button pictured above to access the pop-up to use your flight discount voucher.

Step 2: Fill Out The Information From Your Flight Discount Mailer

After you select the gift card / flight discount button you will get a pop-up to input the required info. The info in question will be found at the bottom of your mailer. Input your American Airlines flight discount code and the pin, hit apply and you are done.

My Experience Using The American Airlines Flight Discount

I recently needed to book a flight on American Airlines and decided to give the Citi AAdvantage $125 flight discount a whirl. There were a few things that I liked about the credit, on top of it being easy to redeem, but there are a couple of big red flags as well.

Good: The Flight Discount Can Be Used On More Than Just American Airlines

Before you get really excited about this, there are a few caveats to it. The flights must originate in the U.S., Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands to be eligible. The booking needs to be made through the American Airlines system too. If you are able to get it to populate on your searches then it should work.

Included Airlines That Work For The Citi AAdvantage Flight Discount:

• American Airlines (obviously)
• Oneworld Airlines
• Envoy Air
• Republic Airways
• SkyWest
• Mesa
• PSA
• Piedmont Airlines

This makes the credit a bit more versatile than many people likely think. If you can find a cheap flight on a partner airline then this could change things between booking an award flight or a cash flight.

Bad: The Flight Discount Can't Be Combined With Other Credits / Gift Cards

The $125 Citi AAdvantage flight discount seems to work like a normal American Airlines gift card, except for when it doesn't. The great thing about American Airlines gift cards is that you can use up to 8 of them on one booking. After that you need to pay the balance, if there is any, with a credit card. Why would anyone have that many American Airlines gift cards? Because of credit card incidental credits of course! Let's get back on topic though.

While the flight credit is added just like an American Airlines gift card, it does not come with the same flexibility. Unfortunately, that means that you can not combine the flight discount with other gift cards.

That is also true of any flight credits you have with American from cancelations or price drop rebookings too. To be fair, the same limitations apply with gift cards and flight credits without jumping through some hoops. This all means that the Citi AA $125 flight discount can only be paired up with a credit card or debit card.

Good: Anyone Can Use The American Airlines Flight Discount

Anyone is able to use the $125 flight discount, which is awesome. You do not need to be the Citi credit cardholder in order to apply the value to your flight. I think that adds some value to this card perk, and should make it easier for people to use. You could even give it as a gift if you like.

Good & Bad: The Citi AA Flight Discount Expires, But It Is Better Than Expected

As stated earlier in this article, the Citi American personal card's flight discount expires 12 months from the date of issuance. That inherently makes it worth less than its face value, at least compared to cash. How much it deteriorates the value depends on how easily you can use it.

On the good side of things, the expiration date on the American Airlines flight discount is a use by date, not a book by date. That means you get up to close to two years in flight calendar to use it on.

Good: The American Airlines Discount Works On Any Class Of Service

Yes, you can even use the $125 flight discount on basic economy tickets.

Bad: If You Cancel Your Flight You Could Lose The Citi AA Flight Discount

You may be able to get an American Airlines agent to issue you a flight credit for the entire amount if you cancel your flight booking. They are not required to do it though, so don't expect it. It is best to use your $125 flight discount on a sure thing flight booking.

Good: You Earn Miles & Loyalty Points On The Booking

Using the Citi AAdvantage $125 flight discount should not change the way you earn miles or loyalty points on your desired flight.

Citi AA Flight Credit: ToP Thoughts

As you can tell from above, the Citi AA $125 flight discount has more good going for it than bad. Having said that, not being able to combine the flight discount with anything other than a credit card, or debit card, could be a deal breaker for some. The best use for it is inexpensive one-way flights, where the flight discount covers most of the cost. I will say I like that you get almost two years worth of flights to use it on. That is because of the cancellation timeframe, and it being a book by and not use by type of perk.

The largest hoop of this Citi AAdvantage card perk is by far the spending threshold. Many people will skip right over this because of the $20,000 in spend required. For those that don't thumb their nose at it, I do think it is an overall positive card perk. It just isn't one worth chasing on its own without some ulterior motive.

Let me know if you have ever used the Citi AAdvantage $125 flight discount over in the ToP Facebook Group.