Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard review: Best for casual American Airlines flyers
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Citi? / AAdvantage? Platinum Select? World Elite Mastercard? Overview
The Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard is a solid mid-level credit card for anyone who wants to earn American Airlines miles and enjoy elite-status-like benefits. Although this card won't help you with Admirals Club access, fans of American Airlines can still get value out of the card. Card Rating*: ???
*Card Rating is based on the opinion of TPG's editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
Not all airline credit cards are created equal. Several have annual fees of roughly $100 a year, so you must be sure a card fits your travel goals and delivers maximum miles and travel benefits.
The Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard makes the life of an American Airlines flyer easier and gives non-AA flyers an avenue to diversify the miles in their award portfolio — all for an annual fee of only $99 (waived the first 12 months). The card has a recommended credit score of 670 or higher.
Let's look at the benefits of this American Airlines credit card and who it is best suited to.
The information for the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select pros and cons
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Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select welcome offer
The Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select is offering 75,000 American AAdvantage miles after you spend $3,500 in the first four months of account opening. The offer on this card is worth $1,163, according to TPG's valuations.
The best welcome offer we have seen on this card is the opportunity to earn 75,000 bonus miles, however, any offer providing at least 50,000 bonus miles is worth considering.
You won't be eligible for this bonus if you've earned a sign-up bonus from a Citi Platinum Select card in the past 48 months.
Related: The best uses of American Airlines AAdvantage miles
Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select benefits
The Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select isn't a luxury travel card, but it does offer a few perks for those who fly on American Airlines.
You'll have access to a free checked bag on domestic itineraries, a 25% discount on inflight purchases, and a $125 flight discount when you spend $20,000 or more on your card during your membership year and renew the card.
Since some of these perks are also offered to AAdvantage elite members, they may not get much added value from this card. However, those who haven't earned status yet can enjoy some elitelike benefits with this card.
As far as status qualification goes, you'll earn 1 Loyalty Point per every eligible AAdvantage mile earned, though the sign-up bonus is excluded from earning Loyalty Points.
Related: Credit cards that can help you earn airline elite status
Unfortunately, Citi stripped many valuable travel and purchase protection benefits from the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select a few years ago. This isn't necessarily a dealbreaker, but it's something to keep in mind before applying for this card.
Earning miles with the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select
With the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select, you'll earn 2 miles per dollar on eligible American Airlines purchases and at restaurants and gas stations. All other spending earns 1 mile per dollar spent. There's no cap on how many miles you can earn in a year.
Earning 2 miles per dollar puts you at a 3.1% return on bonus category spending, based on TPG's valuations. That's not significant, and you can certainly do better with cards such as The Platinum Card? from American Express or the Chase Sapphire Reserve? when you book flights, which earn a 10% and 6% return, respectively.
Once you hit the sign-up bonus or welcome offer on the card, you'll likely want to use a different card for most purchases.
Related: The best airline credit cards
Redeeming miles with the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select
The most valuable redemptions of AAdvantage miles are for premium-cabin partner bookings. For domestic flights, I'd turn to programs like Southwest and JetBlue before using American miles. I'd much rather save AA miles for business or first class on Qatar, Etihad, Finnair, Iberia and partner carriers with highly regarded international long-haul service.
You can also fly in American Airlines economy class within the contiguous 48 U.S. states and to Canada, starting at 7,500 miles one-way; business and first class flights start at double that.
TPG credit cards writer Danyal Ahmed redeems miles earned on his Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select card for premium cabin redemptions, often with Qatar Airways, to fly in a Qsuite to the Middle East.
Which cards compete with the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select?
American Airlines flyers have plenty of cobranded credit cards to choose from:
- If you want more perks: Try the Citi? / AAdvantage? Executive World Elite Mastercard? (see rates and fees). With perks like Admirals Club membership, frequent AA travelers will likely get more out of this premium card, however, it comes with a hefty $595 annual fee. For more information, read our full review of the Citi? / AAdvantage? Executive World Elite Mastercard?.
- If you want an easy sign-up bonus: Barclays' AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard offers similar travel benefits to the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select. It also has annual statement credit for inflight Wi-Fi purcahses and the possibility of earning a companion certificate through spending. For more information, read our full review of the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard.
- If you have a business: The Citi? / AAdvantage Business? World Elite Mastercard? (see rates and fees) is a great way to earn points for your business and open another AA miles-earning credit card if you're ineligible for personal ones. The card comes with an annual fee of $99, which is waived for the first year. For more information, read our full review of the Citi?/ AAdvantage?Business World Elite ?Mastercard.
For additional options, check out our full list of the best premium travel cards.
The information for the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select vs. AAdvantage Aviator Red
Is the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select worth it?
The travel benefits on this card are nice, but certainly not at the same tier as the more premium Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard. That's to be expected since the annual fee on the Executive card is much higher, but this card might still be the best choice for you if you want AA benefits on a budget.
Bottom line
If you need Admirals Club lounge access, this card won't help you. But if you're a casual American Airlines traveler who wants a few elitelike benefits when you fly with the airline, the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard is one you should consider adding to your wallet. The best time to apply for the card is when it offers the highest welcome bonus to ensure you can get the most from your AAdvantage miles.