Nowadays, US airlines earn a large percentage of their profits from their credit card agreements. That’s not just good news for airlines, but also positive for consumers, since it means there are plenty of opportunities for us to rack up bonus miles, earn elite status, and take advantage of perks.
In this post, I’d like to take a look at the credit card portfolio of American AAdvantage, and in particular, focus on the eligibility rules to be aware of.
Basics of the American AAdvantage credit card portfolio
Up until recently, American Airlines had a unique co-branded credit card agreement as far as US airlines go, as the airline had cards issued by both Citi and Barclays. This dates back to the merger between American and US Airways, as historically Citi had partnered with American, while Barclays had partnered with US Airways.
However, we did recently see American and Citi reach an exclusive agreement, and as a result, American’s Barclays cards are no longer open to new applicants, and in 2026, are expected to be converted into different products.
So at this point, all of American’s credit cards in the United States that are open to new applicants are issued by Citi. There’s definitely more interest in these cards than in the past, given that with American’s Loyalty Points system, credit card spending can help you earn elite status.
Citi American AAdvantage credit card bonus rules
Credit card issuers have a variety of restrictions when it comes to approving people for cards. If you’re looking to apply for an American Airlines credit card, eligibility requirements are pretty lax in terms of being able to apply for multiple of these cards over time.
To start, here are the five co-branded American cards issued by Citi, which are open to new applicants:
These cards all have identical restrictions when it comes to earning the bonus:
- The bonus on each of these cards isn’t available to those who have received a new cardmember bonus on that exact card in the past 48 months; it’s fine if you’ve received the bonus on another AAdvantage product within the past 48 months, it just can’t be for the same product you’re applying for
- This is in addition to Citi’s general application restrictions, which include that you can get approved for at most one Citi card every eight days, and at most two Citi cards every 65 days
- Eligibility is completely unrelated to which AAdvantage card you have issued by Barclays, since that’s from a different issuer
So the great news is that you’re eligible for the welcome bonuses on each of these cards, meaning you can potentially rack up quite a few miles and perks.
What credit score do you need for American credit cards?
There’s not a consistent rule as to what credit score you need to be approved for an American Airlines credit card from Citi. In general, I’d recommend having a credit score in the “good” to “excellent” range if you’re going to apply for any of these cards.
Personally, I probably wouldn’t apply if my credit score were under 700, and ideally, I’d hope to have a credit score of 740 or higher. That being said, people with scores lower than that have been approved for these cards, and conversely, people with scores higher than that have been rejected. There are lots of factors that go into approval — your income, your credit history, how much credit an issuer has already extended you, etc.
Best strategy for getting approved for American credit cards
It’s pretty awesome how non-restrictive the eligibility requirements are for earning the bonuses on co-branded American Airlines credit cards. It’s quite rare to see no rules around mutual exclusivity of cards, which means you can potentially pick up each of the cards over the time, while also being eligible for the welcome bonuses.
American Airlines credit cards are a great way to build up your balance of AAdvantage miles, given all the great uses there are for these miles.
What’s the best strategy to take with applying for American Airlines credit cards? Personally, I think there’s always merit to applying for the cards with the biggest welcome bonuses, as there are typically opportunities to downgrade or product change cards after a year, should you prefer another option.
Broadly speaking, here’s how I view the long term value of the cards:
- The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is unique in the portfolio, given that it offers an Admirals Club membership and has a higher annual fee, so it’ll probably appeal to a different consumer base than the other cards
- The Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard® is a great middle of the road card, with a steep annual fee, plus perks that can help justify is; when you add in the great welcome bonus, this is definitely a serious contender
- The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® offers basic perks for a reasonable annual fee, but personally, I think either the higher annual fee or no annual fee products are more compelling
- For those looking for a no annual fee card, the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® is your only option; however, I wouldn’t necessarily apply directly for the card, given how much smaller the bonus is than on other cards
- The Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® is the only business card open to new applicants, and the big bonus definitely makes it worth considering
If it were me, and my goal were to maximize the miles I earn, my strategy would be to pick up one personal card and one business card. That’s generally my strategy when picking up cards from any one card issuer, since it gives you the best odds of approval.
So that would mean picking up the Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®, since it’s the only business card. Of the personal cards, personally I’d go with the Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard®, given the bonus it’s currently offering, plus the flexibility to product change it at a later point.
I have three of these cards, and you read about my Citi AAdvantage Executive Card approval, read about my Citi AAdvantage Globe Card approval, and read about my Citi AAdvantage Business Card approval.
Bottom line
American Airlines has co-branded credit cards issued by Citi, and fortunately eligibility requirements aren’t very restrictive. None of the cards are mutually exclusive, so over time you could pick up all of these cards, if you wanted to.
With the current bonuses, it’s an especially good time to apply for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard® and Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®, though all cards could make sense in the long run.
What has your experience been with getting approved for American Airlines credit cards?
