The single best way to earn American AAdvantage Loyalty Points with credit card spending often flies under the radar, so I’d like to talk a little more about that in this post, especially since this tends to cause some confusion, and is also sort of unofficial.
Best way to earn American Loyalty Points with credit cards
With the American AAdvantage Loyalty Points program, you can typically earn one Loyalty Point per dollar spent on a co-branded American credit card. However, there’s one card that’s sometimes an exception and by far the best.
The Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® (review) is the co-branded Citi and American Airlines business card. There’s a quirk to the card, though, when it comes to authorized user rewards. On this card, the authorized user ordinarily earns the Loyalty Points for their spending, and not the primary cardmember, which is an unusual policy for a small business card.
The catch is that there’s a limited time, targeted promotion, that offers the ability to double dip. For those who are targeted (more on that in a bit), both the primary cardmember and authorized user earn Loyalty Points for spending. It basically means you earn two Loyalty Points per dollar spent, just in different accounts.
This is technically limited time, and is currently valid through December 31, 2026. However, it’s worth understanding that this has been extended twice in the past, so it’s entirely possible it gets extended again, into 2027 (or it might not… I don’t have any inside information there).
Personally, this is how I’ve been qualifying for AAdvantage elite status. I had a hard time justifying putting spending onto co-branded American cards compared to some other cards out there, when I was only earning one Loyalty Point per dollar. But if I can qualify for elite status for two people at once, and earn the corresponding Loyalty Point Rewards perks, the math on that spending starts to look much better.
Who is eligible for the Loyalty Points double dip opportunity?
With this double dip promotion valid through the end of 2026, I’m sure a lot more people are curious if they could apply for the Citi AAdvantage Business Card now, and still qualify for the opportunity?
If you look at the terms of the offer, you’ll see that this is only available to “select” cardmembers:
This special offer is only for select Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® or other eligible Citi® / AAdvantage® small business credit cardmembers.
I still haven’t been able to figure out how exactly they decide on who to target. I can only speak based on my observations, but this seems to be very widely targeted, and most people I know who have this card have been eligible for the offer. That includes those who picked up the card in recent times. The offer is usually communicated in the form of an email, once you’re a cardmember.
Let me emphasize that I absolutely can’t guarantee who will and won’t be eligible for this, so don’t be disappointed if you apply and don’t get this offer (if anyone has data points about being eligible for this offer while having the card, I’d love to hear it).
Either way, the Citi AAdvantage Business Card offers several valuable perks, and also has an excellent welcome bonus at the moment, making it an ideal time to apply. So if you are eligible, I’d consider applying even if the double Loyalty Points opportunity doesn’t work out (though hopefully it does).
Bottom line
Select cardmembers with the Citi AAdvantage Business Card are able to double dip Loyalty Points earning through authorized user spending. This limited time promotion is valid through the end of 2026, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it extended again. I’ve been taking advantage of this, and it’s why this has been the card that I’ve spent the most on over the past year.
Have you been taking advantage of this Loyalty Points double dip opportunity?