Posted on April - 29 - 2011
Review: Citi Gold AAdvantage Credit Card Offer
A credit card affiliated with a frequent flier program is only as good as the airline that runs the system. The Citi Gold American Airlines AAdvantage World MasterCard can claim to be one of the best airline cards if only because the American Airlines AAdvanage program continues to be one of the best frequent flier schemes among the major airlines.
Citibank and American Airlines will start you off with a 30,000 mile bonus as long as you make $750 in purchases within four months. Going with a value of one cent per miles, this works out to a $300 sign up bonus. The Citi AAdvantage card also waives your annual fee for the first year, which saves new cardmembers $50 and gives consumers a chance to test out the card without paying a fee. Plus, if you factor in the $300 value of the bonus AAdvantage miles and the fee free first year, these perks offset the cost of being a cardmember for 7 years.
As you use the card, you will receive the standard 1 mile per dollar spent. While AAdvantage miles do expire if your account is inactive for 18 months, any use of this card will reset your mileage expiration date. This feature can be really helpful if you are sitting on a bunch of AAdvantage miles that are due to expire in the near future.
What really makes the Citi AAdvantage credit card stand out among airline affiliated offerings is the quality of American’s frequent flier program. Award availability in this program consistently outshines rivals like Delta, United, and US Airways. When it comes time to redeem a domestic award for 25,000 miles, you actually stand a decent chance of finding a few seats on the flight you want.
With other programs, it is not uncommon to find no availability at the standard level for weeks or even months at a time. American also offers reduced mileage domestic awards for a mere 20,000 miles. The availability of reduced mileage awards is certainly scarcer than their standard award, but it does exist. Finally, the AAdvantage program is unique in that it currently allows mileage accrued through credit card bonuses and spending to count towards their lifetime status which is granted when you reach one million miles.
If you are the type of traveler that utilizes airline rewards in order to avoid spending money on leisure travel, this card can deliver some incredible value. With the rising price of oil, airfares are increasing, thus making domestic awards more valuable. While other programs diminish the value of their domestic awards by severely limiting award seats, the Citi AAdvantage MasterCard continues to deliver a high rate of return based on the ample award seats that American and its airline partners deliver.
Unfortunately, the AAdvantage MasterCard is not without a few drawbacks. It does not offer any low introductory rates, so if you currently have credit card debt, you may be better off using a card that offers 0% APR balance transfers. If you think you will take on new debt you can’t immediately repay, then a 0% APR credit card might be worth considering.
Another drawback is being tied to a single airline. If you live near an American Airlines hub and fly them frequently, this isn’t an issue. But if you tend to fly on different airlines, a card that lets you earn miles that can be used for any flight, like the Capital One Venture Card, may be a better fit.
For additional information and to apply for the American Airlines AAdvantage credit card, please see the information table below.
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