Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard® Review

People who fly American Airlines and the airlines in AA’s Oneworld alliance will enjoy mid-level flight perks and a great sign-up bonus when they choose the Citi®/AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®. You’ll earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every dollar you spend on eligible AA flights, as well as 2x miles for purchases at restaurants and gas stations, which means you don’t have to fly often to earn miles fast.

The sign-up bonus of 50,000 miles can be redeemed for a round-trip ticket from the United States to Europe with AA’s off-peak pricing. You’ll also get a number of perks for AA travel, including the first bag free, preferred boarding,a discount on inflight food and beverage purchases.

What we like about Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard®

• You’ll earn 2x miles for every dollar you spend on eligible American Airlines purchases and at restaurants and gas stations; one mile per dollar for other purchases.
• Earn a 50,000 AAdvantage mile bonus when you spend $2,500 within the first three months of opening your account.
• Receive a $125 flight discount with American Airlines after you spend $20,000 in the first year and renew for the second year of membership.
• There is no foreign transaction fee.
• Your first checked bag on domestic American Airlines flights is free for you and up to four companions traveling under the same reservation as you.
• Enjoy preferred boarding on American Airlines flights and save 25% when using the card to make inflight food and beverage purchases.

Things to consider

• Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard® no longer offers a host of travel services, including car rental insurance, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, lost baggage protection, travel and emergency assistance and lost baggage protection.
• You won’t earn access to the Admiral Club lounge with this card.
• This is not a general mile awards card, so the best deals are through AA and the Oneworld alliance members.

Travel reward details

You’ll earn unlimited 2x miles with Citi®/AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® when you use the card to make eligible AA flight purchases and restaurant and gas station purchases. You’ll also get $125 off an AA flight when you spend $20,000 the previous year and renew your card membership. If you are planning a vacation, a good strategy would be to use the card enough to get the $125 discount and use it to purchase one flight, then redeem miles to purchase the rest.

This card is co-branded with American Airlines, which means you’ll get the best deals by redeeming the miles you’ve earned through AA or a member of the Oneworld alliance, such as British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia and Qantas.

MileSAAVer level flights — commuter flights of less than 500 miles — start at 7,500 miles for one-way, which can save you money, since short flights to smaller cities tend to be more expensive. You can also shop for reduced mileage awards on domestic travel, which are updated regularly on the American Airlines site. If you’re not going to use the miles for short flights, it may be worthwhile to save them for premium-cabin transatlantic flights through one of AA’s foreign partners.

Fee details

Citi may raise your variable APR rate after a single late payment and keep you at the penalty APR rate for an indefinite period of time.

How does it compare to other travel reward cards?

Citi®/AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is a co-branded travel card, meaning that you are limited to American Airlines and its Oneworld alliance partners when you redeem miles for travel. A better option for people who are not near an AA hub would be a travel card that isn’t co-branded, such as Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Both these cards cost approximately the same amount to own and offer a comparable sign-up bonus. However, you can redeem miles with each at a much wider range of airlines, making these cards more flexible.