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In this article, I am going to compare the three American Airlines credit card that is issued by Citibank. At the end of the article, I am also going to suggest an alternative card. But first, let's look at the table below. It shows the main differences in the three cards.
American Airlines AAdvantage Credit Card Comparison
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 |
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Citi® Bronz AAdvantage MasterCard® |
Citi® AAdvantage Gold MasterCard® |
Citi® AAdvantage Platinum Select® World
MasterCard® |
| Miles Formula |
1 Mile = $2.00 |
1 Mile = $1.00 |
1 Mile = $1.00 |
| Bonus Miles |
2,500 |
15,000 |
25,000 |
| Annual Fee |
No Annual Fee |
$50 |
$85 |
| Rate |
P+9.99% |
P+9.99% |
P+9.99% |
| Anniversary Bonus |
Reduced Mileage Award - N.A. |
Reduced Mileage Award - 5000 miles |
Reduced Mileage Award - 7000 miles |
| Caps on Miles |
25,000 |
60,000 |
100,000 |
Observations - An important observation is that while the Platinum Select version has a higher annual fee, higher bonus miles given to new cardholders and higher earning limits, you cannot earn double miles. In fact, unlike many other airline credit cards, AAdvantage credit cards cannot earn double miles.
Recommendations - I think the Citi® Gold/AAdvantage® World MasterCard®
is the better card to get compared to the Platinum Select version. The reason is because I think
there is little difference that justifies the higher annual
fee that the Platinum Select version charges. You do get more bonus miles for the Platinum Select
version. Also, every year, the AAdvantage program has a
reduced mileage award where certain rewards requires less
points to redeem. Hence, a Platinum Select card member needs
7,000 less miles versus 5,000 for a gold card member.
However, I think these are minor issues. I feel that for an
airline credit card to charge $85.00 in annual fee, you
should be able to earn double miles. This is where I think
the Citi® Platinum Select®/AAdvantage® World MasterCard® falls short.
A Better Alternative - Actually, there is an even better alternative to any of these cards. For Aadvantage members, I would actually suggest getting the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express. Watch the Video Below). The are several reasons for this. Firstly, the Starwood preferred Guest Program allows you to exchange starwood points for Aadvantage miles at a one for one ratio. Secondly, Starwood will give you 5,000 bonus aadvantage miles when you choose to exchange 20,000 points! That means you only need to earn 20,000 points to get an additional 5,000 miles! You can also earn double points at Starwood Hotels. The annual fee of $45 is also less than either the gold or platinum select version of the Aadvantage cards.
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