CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® Review

When it comes to flying and credit cards, people have their preferences. In fact, many people stay very loyal to the brands that they enjoy. Well, two companies in both industries have responded to this rush of loyalty.

Introducing the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select card. This credit card is meant for businesses that loyally use American Airlines, hence the AAdvantage portion. If you’re an American Airlines lover, this might be the business credit card for you. Keep reading to find out more.

CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Free Checked Bag: When you use this card on American Airlines flights, you get a free checked bag with each flight. This is a $30 savings on every flight.
• Preferred Boarding: As a cardholder, you also get preferred boarding on your American Airlines flights.
• Double Miles on Qualified Purchases: Watch the miles add up when you make purchases that qualify! We’ll cover these in detail later on.
• Companion Certificate: Every year that you use the card for $30,000 in purchases, you receive a Companion Certificate. This allows an additional person to fly with you for just $99. The flight must be domestic, and they have to fly economy. You’re also liable for the taxes.

Cons:

• Annual Fee: While annual fees are common, it’s surprising to see that this card has one. However, the annual fee is waived for the first year. After that, it’s $99 a year.
• Requires a High Credit Score: This card isn’t for everyone. To qualify for this card, you have to have at least a 720 credit score. That prevents a good portion of people from qualifying for the card.

As you can see, this card is really made for the people who are flying American Airlines consistently. Nearly all of the benefits are meant for redemption with American Airlines. That’s to be expected, though. It is a partnered credit card, after all!

CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® Review

• Annual Fee: $99
• Foreign Transaction Fee: $0
• Regular APR: 15.99% – 24.99% Variable
• Rewards: Rewards are numerous for this card. On top of the miles that you can earn, you also get several different perks from American Airlines. As the card is meant to be used by American Airlines loyalists, this is a huge positive.
• Sign-Up Bonus: The sign-up bonus for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage card is huge. Cardholders can earn 65,000 American Airlines bonus miles after spending $4,000 in the first 4 months of holding the card. When it comes to cards that offer miles, that’s a huge bonus.

This card is designed for businesses that require a large amount of travel. For businesses that exclusively use American Airlines, the CitiBusiness AAdvantage card is the only credit card they should be considering.

CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® Rewards

Rewards are the most important part of any business credit card these days. If you’re focused on earning miles for your business and prefer American Airlines, you’ll like these rewards.

Earning Rewards

Earning rewards with the CitiBusiness AAdvantage card happens in one of three ways. Take a look at all three ways to earn miles using the credit card:

• Earn 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
• Earn 2 miles per dollar spent at telecommunication merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental agencies, and gas stations
• Earn 1 mile per dollar on every other purchase made using the card

As you can see, all of the purchases will add up. While there are preferred purchases for the card, all purchases earn rewards.

Redeeming Rewards

The rewards for this card can only be redeemed by making purchases with American Airlines. There isn’t any flexibility with this card.

As such, if you plan on trying to redeem rewards with any other airline, you’ll need to find a different card.

CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® Features and Benefits

When you sign up for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage card, there are several different features and benefits you’ll be receiving. Some of the most popular ones have already been listed and detailed. They include:

• A low annual fee
• Preferred boarding for American Airlines flights
• A free checked bag for each flight
• Double miles on select purchases

In addition to these, however, there are plenty of less talked about benefits. They include:

• A personal business assistant
• Inflight savings on both food and the internet

Of course, all of these features entirely depend upon the cardholder using American Airlines as their preferred form of travel.

That being said, if you have no strong preferences for your airline provider, then it may be worth making the switch to this card regardless.

How Does the CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® Compare to Other Business Cards?

#1. CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® vs. Chase Ink Business Preferred® Card

The Chase Ink Business Preferred® Card is better for individuals who need a fully dedicated business travel card.

This card earns 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 of travel and business purchases. However, you have to weigh your options.

However, if you are a dedicated American Airlines customer, you’ll want the CitiBusiness AAdvantage card.

It provides several great benefits through the airline that you can’t get anywhere else. Just be sure that you’re going to stick with American Airlines. When you get this card, you’re locked into the AAdvantage plan for your travel options.

#2. Capital One Spark Cash for Business vs. CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®

If you’re looking for the benefits of a card that earns a lot of points, you don’t have to choose one that provides airline miles. Some cards offer cash back instead.

One of these cards is the Capital One Spark Cash for Business card. The Capital One Spark Cash card provides a great cash back plan.

When you make purchases with the Capital One Spark Cash card, you earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases you make.

This can add up over time, and the cash can be applied to your credit card balance, or it can be mailed to you in the form of a check.

What’s more is that this card has no annual fee, and the APR is low. You can use this card and get a good amount of your money back quickly.

#3. CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® vs. Brex Credit Card

When it comes to business cards, you have to remember that not all businesses are the same. There are different credit card options for different kinds of businesses.

While the CitiBusiness card is well-suited for businesses of all sizes, the Brex credit card is better for a well-funded start-up.

The reason behind this is the nature of the limits attached to the Brex card. They tend to be anywhere from 10 to 20 times higher than traditional cards. Along with this, you get cash back on everything, with some bonuses being up to 7 times the regular rate.

The process for qualifying for a Brex card is a little different, too. You don’t go through the standard credit check process.

Instead, the only qualification is linking the card to a bank account with at least $50,000. If you’re looking to go with an alternative card made for modern businesses, Brex is a good choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Miles Does the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select Card Earn?

The amount of miles the CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® earns depends on the purchases being made with it. When you make purchases for American Airlines travel, you earn 2 miles per dollar spent. The same can be said for making telecommunications, cable, satellite, car rentals, and fuel purchases. Every other purchase using the card provides 1 mile per dollar spent. No matter what you’re spending on, you’re still earning miles.

What Is the Annual Fee for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select Credit Card?

The annual fee for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage card is $99. The first year’s fee is waived, though, saving you some money upfront.

What Credit Score Is Needed to Qualify for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select Credit Card?

The minimum credit score to qualify for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select credit card is 720. This is a very high minimum credit score, so this card can be considered somewhat exclusive.

Bottom Line: CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® Review

If you’re a dedicated American Airlines customer, then the only card you should be considering for your business is the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select card.

This card provides all the benefits of a business travel card. You earn miles for every purchase that you make, with some purchases qualifying for double miles.

The card gives you so much more than that, though. When you book travel with American Airlines, you get all of the perks that come with being in the AAdvantage club.

This makes the card more than worth it for American Airlines loyalists. In fact, CitiBusiness offers another tier to this card that provides lounge access as well. Consider looking into that card if you want to live a life of airline luxury with your favorite airline provider!