Citi AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card Review

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® credit card Review

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® credit card is an airline credit card that offers a huge number of benefits like no foreign transaction fee, first free checked bag, preferred boarding, 50,000 bonus miles sign up offer, increased miles rewards, and more. At the same time, you will have to pay a $99 annual fee after the first year of using the credit card and the variable purchase APR will be 21.24% - 29.99%.

If you are traveling a few times a year at least, Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® credit card is a great option to think of. But even if you are not traveling by plane regularly - the Citi AAdvantage card benefits may seem attractive to you since earned miles do not expire.

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: pros and cons

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: rewards system in a nutshell

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® credit card rewards system is very straightforward. A cardholder will have an opportunity to get 2 miles for every $1 spent on restaurants, gas stations, and eligible American Airline purchases.

Every other purchase will give you 1 mile per $1 spent which is common for most airline credit cards. So, if you are regularly filling up your gas tank before going to a restaurant - The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® credit card will bring you extra miles that you can redeem later in many different ways.

What are these ways? Well, you will be able to use your miles to:

• Get an award trip to more than 1,000 destinations all over the world;
• Upgrade your seats (for Business and First Class upgrades);
• Rent a car;
• Pay for the hotel, etc.

Just choose the most preferable way of redeeming and use your miles during your journeys or work trips. Additionally, every 1 mile earned is a 1 loyalty point which may help you to earn an AAdvantage loyalty status faster.

Unfortunately, you can’t redeem your miles as cash back. If the ways of redeeming rewards are not sufficient for you - you'd be better off considering cash back credit cards that will let you earn cash rewards.

Who can benefit from getting the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® credit card?

The main audience that can benefit from getting the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® credit card are those who fly with American regularly. Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® credit card offers a huge number of traveling perks like preferred boarding, free first checked bag, etc. With the addition of no foreign transaction fee, this credit card is an ideal option for avid American Airlines travelers.

If you already have an American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Mastercard® and feel like the travel perks are not enough for you and you want to have more - Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® credit card is a great option to upgrade. Even though you will have to pay a $99 annual fee after the first year of using the credit card - the benefits will likely be worth it.

With the help of Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®, you can earn loyalty points faster thanks to the double miles at restaurants, gas stations, and eligible American Airlines purchases.

To get the lowest tier AAdvantage status - AAdvantage Gold® - you have to earn 30,000 loyalty points (1 point - 1 mile). This status gives you numerous traveling perks like complimentary upgrades on American Airlines, a 24-hour upgrade window, a 40% status mileage bonus, etc.

So, if you are already a lucky owner of AAdvantage status and don’t spend much money at gas stations and restaurants - you would likely want another credit card. Frequent American Airlines travelers may consider Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®. It has the highest possible benefits among the Citi® / AAdvantage® credit cards line (like Admirals Club® membership, 4 miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, etc.). An annual fee of $450 should not scare you. The benefits that you may get will outweigh the cost if flying a few times per month.

Are there any other benefits?

There are still some perks that Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® credit card has that we haven’t mentioned yet. Take a closer look at them below:

• No mileage cap. You can earn miles without any limits, and spend them whenever you want.
• $125 flight discount. Get a $125 discount after spending $20,000+ during the card membership year and renewing your card.
• 25% savings on American Airlines in-flight purchases. Every purchase you make on board a plane will cost 25% less (except for Wi-Fi service).

AAdvantage loyalty program. Earn and spend miles with American Airlines and its partners (those are: Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, etc.).

Conclusion

To sum up, Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® credit card is a good airline credit card not only for regular travelers but also for those who travel with American Airlines or its partners occasionally and spend a lot on gas stations and restaurants. There is no cap on earning miles and they do not expire.

Travel benefits and perks like first free checked bag, preferred boarding, etc. that Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® offers will be enough for almost everyone who prefers traveling with American Airlines or its partners. If you don’t have an AAdvantage loyalty status yet, and spend some money at gas stations and restaurants - Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is a great airline credit card for you. You can have access to such perks as priority boarding, a free first checked bag, etc., and earn miles that will overweigh the annual fee.

However, there are still some drawbacks that you should keep in mind before applying for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® credit card: there are no intro APR period, no lounge access, and a relatively high variable APR of 21.24% - 29.99%. But we would still recommend considering Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® which may become an interesting addition to your rewards credit cards or a main airline credit card in your wallet.