CitiBusiness AAdvantage review: The sign-up bonus alone can save you $1,500+ in airfare
Looking to boost your American Airlines miles balance to save money on airfare? Consider the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard®, that’s currently offering an increased sign-up bonus.
With the bigger bonus, you can earn 70,000 American Airlines miles after meeting minimum spending requirements. That’s enough for a one-way business-class award flight to Paris or ten short-haul flights within the U.S.
Here’s our review of the Citi American Airlines Platinum Select small-business credit card:
Citi American Airlines business card review
When you sign up for the Citi American Airlines Platinum Select small-business credit card, you’ll earn 70,000 American Airlines miles after making $4,000 in purchases within the first four months of account opening. The card is also packed with benefits that can be worth much more than its $99 annual fee, which is waived for the first 12 months.
The best way to use 70,000 American Airlines miles depends on your travel goals. Here are a few examples of what you can do with the welcome bonus:
- 45,000 American Airlines miles for a round-trip coach award flight to Hawaii (or 40,000 miles on off-peak travel dates)
- 50,000 American Airlines miles for two round-trip coach award flights within the continental U.S.
- 60,000 American Airlines miles for a one-way business-class award flight to Korea
- 40,000 American Airlines miles for a round-trip coach award flight to northern South America (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru)
Besides the lucrative sign-up bonus, one of the huge advantages of this card is that it will not appear on your personal credit report. Savvy miles-and-points enthusiasts know that limiting the number of cards that appear on your personal credit report avoids hurting your chances of opening new cards with other banks that have strict card limits.
How to earn miles with the Citi American Airlines business credit card
It’s easy for Citi American Airlines Platinum Select small-business cardholders to boost and replenish their miles balances because you earn:
- 2 American Airlines miles per dollar spent on American Airlines flights
- 2 American Airlines miles per dollar spent at telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants and gas stations
- 1 American Airlines mile per dollar spent on other purchases
There’s a special benefit for big spenders. You’ll earn an American Airlines companion certificate after you spend $30,000 or more in purchases during your card year and renew your card (account must remain open at least 45 days after anniversary date).
Benefits of the Citi American Airlines business credit card
First checked bag for free
When you fly domestically on American Airlines, your first checked bag will fly free, along with those of up to four travel companions on the same reservation.
Preferred Group 5 boarding
When you add your American Airlines loyalty number to your flight reservation, you and up to four companions will get Group 5 boarding status. This is the group that boards right after premium-cabin and elite-status members.
Grab a seat early, snag precious overhead bin space and start reading on your Kindle or working a Sudoku puzzle while everyone else boards.
Access to reduced mileage awards
American Airlines releases a monthly list of routes you can book with American Airlines miles and save up to 7,500 miles on round-trip award flights. The Citi American Airlines Platinum Select small-business card gives you access to these awards.
Annual $99 Companion Certificate
This is a niche benefit, but could be useful for some. When you spend $30,000+ in a cardmember year, you’ll get a certificate for a companion to fly with you for $99, plus taxes and fees (~$22 to ~$43, based on itinerary). The terms and conditions say there are blackout dates, which are provided when you receive the certificate.
25% savings for inflight snacks
When you fly American Airlines, you’ll save 25% on inflight purchases of drinks, snacks and Wi-Fi when you pay with your card.
No foreign transaction fees
The Citi American Airlines Platinum Select small-business card is a good option for spending overseas because it doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.
Automatic Mastercard easy savings rebates
With the Citi American Airlines Platinum Select small-business card, you’ll get automatic enrollment in Mastercard Easy Savings, a rebate program on purchases from certain merchants.
Complimentary employee cards
If you want to track purchases and set spending limits per employee, you can add authorized users for free. Many small businesses value this level of detail for expense reports and accounting.
Citi Private Pass for event access
Citi Private Pass gives Citi customers early access to concerts, sports events, theater performances and more. Other times, you’ll get better seats or invitations to special events.
Personal Business Assistant for help with day-to-day planning
You can call the Personal Business Assistant line to help with:
- Travel plans
- Vendor sourcing
- Dining arrangements
- Entertainment tickets
Is the American Airlines Business Credit Card worth the annual fee?
The card has a $99 annual fee, which is waived for the first 12 months. This means you can test the card for ~11 months and decide if it’s worth keeping for another year.
If you fly American Airlines semi-regularly and don’t have elite status, the Citi American Airlines Platinum Select small-business card is definitely worth having – particularly if you like earning American Airlines miles.
And the free checked bag and priority boarding are excellent benefits if you’ll use them.
If you spend a lot in the 2x bonus categories, you can rack up American Airlines miles at double speed. And if you want to give cards to your employees, or just keep better track of your business spending, having a small-business account is an easy way to keep expenses in one place.
Who is eligible for the Citi American Airlines business credit card?
You must have a small business to qualify for the Citi American Airlines Platinum Select business credit card, but this doesn’t mean you’ll need a huge multi-million dollar corporation. You could qualify with side gigs like freelance writing and photography or renting an Airbnb. And keep in mind, you can apply for small-business credit cards using your Social Security number.
Citi has a rule that says if you opened or closed another card within the same brand in the last 48 months, you can’t earn the bonus on other cards in that brand. But if you’ve had a personal version of the Citi American Airlines card, you can still qualify for the small-business version because it’s considered a different card product. Taking advantage of personal and small-business cards that earn the same type of miles is a great trick for earning lots of rewards.
Bottom Line
With the Citi American Airlines Platinum Select business credit card, you can earn 70,000 American Airlines miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first four months of account opening.
This is a huge sign-up bonus that can get you more than $1,100 worth of airfare. You might consider using the bonus miles to splurge on a luxurious flying experience, like a business-class award flight to Tokyo or India.
American Airlines miles are useful for flights on partner airlines, like Alaska Airlines and Cathay Pacific. So if you can’t find American Airlines award seats, there’s an opportunity to redeem your miles to save on other flights.
It’s great that the card’s annual fee is waived the first year. This gives you an opportunity to test the card and its perks to decide if it’s worth keeping for years to come. Most folks, who fly American Airlines, like to keep the card because of the savings on baggage fees.
For more information on earning and using American Airlines miles, check out these guides:
- American Airlines miles review
- American Airlines miles value
- American Airlines status
- Best use of AA miles
- How to earn AA miles
- How to set up an American Airlines account
- How to use American Airlines miles
- AA award chart
- Do American Airlines Miles Expire?
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