Link: Learn more about the Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®
American Airlines has a solid portfolio of co-branded credit cards. In this post, I’d like to take a look at the Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®, which is American’s only Citi business card. This is an especially good time to apply, given the welcome offer that’s currently available.
This card boasts an excellent welcome offer with the annual fee waived for the first 12 months. On top of that, the card offers useful perks, plus can help you earn AAdvantage elite status, so there are lots of reasons to get this card. I even applied for the card some time back, and added it to my card portfolio.
Citi AAdvantage Business Card welcome bonus & fee basics
The Citi AAdvantage Business Card is American’s primary co-branded business card. To start, let’s cover the welcome bonus, eligibility rules, annual fee, and more.
Welcome bonus of 75,000 AAdvantage miles
The Citi AAdvantage Business Card is offering a limited time welcome bonus of 75,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $5,000 within the first five months.
The minimum spending requirement is reasonable, given that you have five months to complete it. Personally, I value AAdvantage miles at ~1.5 cents each, so to me, those 75,000 miles are worth around $1,125.
American AAdvantage credit card eligibility rules
If you’re applying for the Citi AAdvantage Business Card, there are some restrictions to be aware of, as you’d expect. First, there are Citi’s general application rules, which include that you can only be approved for one Citi credit card every eight days, and at most two Citi credit cards every 65 days.
On top of that, there’s also the 48-month rule on this card, which means you can’t receive the bonus on this card if you’ve received a bonus on this exact card in the past 48 months. However, you are eligible for the bonus even if you’ve received bonuses on any other American Airlines credit cards.
$99 annual fee, waived for the first 12 months
The Citi AAdvantage Business Card has a $99 annual fee, though it’s waived for the first 12 months. This is a great way to “try” the card before you have to really pay an annual fee on it. You can also add authorized users to the card at no extra cost, which is useful if you have any employees you want to add.
Citi AAdvantage Business Card rewards structure
The Citi AAdvantage Business Card has a limited number of bonus categories that cardmembers can take advantage of, and on top of that, spending can also count toward elite status. Let’s talk about how that works.
Earn 1-2x AAdvantage miles on spending
When it comes to actually spending money on the Citi AAdvantage Business Card, there are some categories eligible for bonus miles:
- Earn 2x AAdvantage miles on eligible American Airlines purchases
- Earn 2x AAdvantage miles on telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants, and gas stations
- Earn 1x AAdvantage miles on all other purchases
Those are some potentially useful bonus categories, though there are also other cards offering bonuses in those categories.
Earn 1x Loyalty Points per eligible dollar spent
Nowadays elite status in the AAdvantage program can be earned with Loyalty Points, which is the currency that determines your status. AAdvantage elite status requirements are as follows:
Spending money on AAdvantage credit cards earns you Loyalty Points, as you earn one Loyalty Point per dollar spent. This means your spending on the card can help you earn elite status (all the way up to Executive Platinum), and it can also help you earn Loyalty Point Rewards, allowing you to select from perks like systemwide upgrades, bonus miles, and more.
One quirk to be aware of is that spending from authorized users will count toward their own total of Loyalty Points, rather than toward the Loyalty Points total of the primary cardmember. This is one of the few cards that directly rewards authorized users in that way (at the expense of the primary cardmember). However, some people have had an interesting “double dip” opportunity there, in recent times.
No foreign transaction fees
The Citi AAdvantage Business Card has no foreign transaction fees, so this can be a good option for purchases you make abroad.
Citi AAdvantage Business Card benefits & perks
In addition to the great welcome bonus and the ability to earn elite status with spending, there are some other reasons to get the Citi AAdvantage Business Card, which may justify the annual fee for some small businesses. Let’s go over the benefits and perks you should be aware of with this card.
First checked bag free on American Airlines
Primary cardmembers on the Citi AAdvantage Business Card receive a first checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for themselves and up to four companions traveling on the same reservation. There’s no need to actually pay for the ticket with the card, you just have to make sure it’s linked to your AAdvantage account.
American ordinarily charge $35-40 for the first checked bag, so that’s a $70-80 value per person roundtrip (and if you had four companions all checking a bag, that would be a value of $350-400).
Preferred boarding on American Airlines
Primary cardmembers on the Citi AAdvantage Business Card receive preferred boarding on American Airlines flights. Having this card allows you to board with Group 5 on American Airlines flights, which should help to ensure that you can board while there’s still room in the overhead bins. This applies globally, and there’s no need to pay for the ticket with the card, as long as you’re the primary cardmember with your AAdvantage account linked.
25% inflight savings on American Airlines purchases
Those with the Citi AAdvantage Business Card receive 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines flights when paying with the card. You’ll pay the full amount in advance, and then you’ll receive a statement credit for 25% of that amount. If you fly American with any frequency and make inflight purchases, this could save you a bit of money.
American Airlines companion certificate with spending
You can receive a domestic main cabin companion certificate when you spend a minimum of $30,000 in purchases on the Citi AAdvantage Business Card in a cardmember year, and when you renew your card. Personally, this isn’t something that I’d take advantage of unless you were going to spend that much anyway, since there are better cards on which you can spend that much money.
When it comes time to redeem the companion certificate, there are some restrictions to be aware of:
- It’s only valid for travel within the lower 48 states
- It’s only valid for a roundtrip ticket in economy
- You have to book your ticket through American Airlines Meeting Services, so it can’t be booked online
- The certificate is valid for one year from the date of issue
- You have to pay $99 plus taxes and fees when redeeming it
- The companion booked with this certificate isn’t eligible for mileage accrual or upgrades
American AAdvantage Business program benefits
AAdvantage Business is American’s free small business rewards program:
- AAdvantage Business offers the individual traveler one bonus Loyalty Point per dollar spent on eligible airfare (that’s not a redeemable mile, but just a Loyalty Point toward earning elite status)
- AAdvantage Business offers the business one AAdvantage redeemable mile per dollar spent on eligible airfare (which can be transferred to an individual member)
As you can see, it’s a nice way to rack up additional rewards for money you’d spend with American anyway. There’s a card benefit in here as well, though. Usually to be able to redeem through this program, you need at least five unique travelers who have credited flights to the AAdvantage Business account, totaling at least $5,000 in revenue over the course of a year.
However, if you have the Citi AAdvantage Business Card, the AAdvantage Business program minimum is waived, so there’s no minimum spending or minimum number of travelers. That can help you be rewarded much more easily with the program.
Is the Citi AAdvantage Business Card worth it?
There’s a lot of merit to applying for the Citi AAdvantage Business Card. For one, the card is offering a generous welcome bonus with the annual fee waived for the first year. Furthermore, the benefits for having the card, including a first checked bag free, preferred boarding, and inflight savings, could more than justify the annual fee after the first year for many, especially if you’re an occasional American flyer.
As far as spending on the card goes, this is a card I’d primarily consider for those purposes if you’re pursuing elite status with American AAdvantage. Nowadays a lot of people are spending their way toward status, given how American has evolved its loyalty program.
However, if you’re not going for elite status, this isn’t the credit card that I’d recommend using for your everyday business spending. That’s because there are so many other cards that are more rewarding for everyday spending.
Bottom line
The Citi AAdvantage Business Card is offering an excellent welcome bonus with the annual fee waived for the first year. 75,000 miles is a great bonus, and is a reason to pick up this card and see how it works out for your small business. The card also offers perks like a first checked bag free and preferred boarding, which some people might get value out of.
On top of that, spending on American Airlines credit cards can help you earn status, as you earn one Loyalty Point per dollar spent. For some people, that could be enough reason to put some spending on this card.
If you want to learn more about the Citi AAdvantage Business Card, follow this link.
