Help Me Build Credit has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Help Me Build Credit and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone.
Author - Sam
Updated: April 16, 2024 | Credit Card Review The card_name offers elite travel benefits, including priority check in and boarding for you and 8 companions, Global Entry or TSA Precheck, and more!
- Credit: Good credit needed
- Max cards: Citi will only approve you for one personal card every 8 days, and only 2 Citi personal cards within 65 days
- American Airlines AAdvantage Bonus Miles are not available if you have received a New Account Bonus for a Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive account in the past 48 months
- Credit bureau: Citi will usually pull your Experian credit report, sometimes Equifax, and sometimes Experian and Equifax (depending on your state, search your state in our credit card database)
- If you freeze your Experian credit report you can sometimes request the reconsideration department to pull your Equifax credit report
- Combining same-day credit inquiries: Credit inquiries for all Personal Citi cards will be combined; also, credit inquiries for all Business Citi cards will be combined. Credit inquiries for Personal and Business card applications will not be combined. Note, you cannot get approved for more than one Citi personal card within 8 days (Combining credit inquiries will only make a difference when declined for your first try and you want to try a new one)
- Application status: You can check your application status here or call 1 888 201 4523
- Reconsideration: If declined you can call 1 800 695 5171 to be reconsidered
Quickest way to get my card: American Airline Citi cards will be available online immediately after you get approved. Citi physical credit cards cannot be expedited and will arrive after 7-10 business days
- Downgrade options: The Citi AAdvantage Executive Club card ($450) can be downgraded to the Citi AAdvantage ($99), Citi Rewards ($0), Citi Double Cash ($0), Citi AA MileUp ($0), Citi Costco ($0), or to the Citi AT&T Access ($0), New! Citi Custom Cash ($0).
Approval Monitor (submitted by HelpMeBuildCredit users)
Credit limit range $7,700-$33,000
Avg. Credit limit$20,648
Disclosure: These results are based on information submitted by HelpMeBuildCredit users. Credit card approval results are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. Neither HelpMeBuildCredit nor the bank advertiser's take any responsibility on the accuracy of the information.
HelpMeBuildCredit credit ranges are a variation of FICO®️ Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application
Worldwide primary coverage on rentals outside the U.S. and secondary coverage within the U.S. Coverage is for rentals up to 31 days. Max $75,000 per car.
Get up to $120 in credits on Avis and Budget car rentals each calendar year.
Get up to a $10 credit statement each month on Grubhub purchases.
Get up to a $10 Lyft credit after your first 3 rides each month.
Get two additional years to your original manufacturer’s warranty time. (Will only cover if the original warranty is for 5 years or less). Max $10,000 per item.
Get a 7,500 AAdvantage miles discount on select round-trip destinations. Login in to your Citi account to get your discount code. Plus, get a 10% discount on AA vacation packages.
First checked bag free for you and up to 8 companions on domestic American Airlines flights.
Get up to a $100 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check every 4 years.
Receive 25% back on inflight purchases of food and drinks.
Get up to $3,000 per person per trip (max $2,000 for N.Y. residents) for lost stolen, or damaged luggage. Max $10,000 per trip.
Complimentary access to any of the 50 worldwide Admiral Clubs lounges for you and up to 2 travel companions. Your authorized users will also receive complimentary access.
Get priority check-in (in the first-class lane), exclusive airport screening (where available), and priority boarding, for you and up to 8 companions.
Get refunded if your purchase is damaged or stolen, up to 90 days from the date of purchase. Max $10,000 per claim, $50,000 per year.
Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $5,000 per trip for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
If your flight is delayed for 6+ hours, you can claim up to $500 per trip to cover expenses like meals, lodging, toiletries, medication, and other personal use items.
Receive 10,000 AAdvantage Elite Miles (EQMs) after $40,000 spent within a calendar year to quicker meet AA Elite Status requirements.
Get a bonus 10,000 Loyalty Points after reaching 50,000 Loyalty Points in a status qualification year. Plus, earn an additional 10,000 Loyalty Points after reaching 90,000 Loyalty Points in the same status qualification year.
The points can be used at approximately 1 penny per point to book award flights with one of the following American Airlines AAdvantage airline partners:
- American Airlines
- Alaska Airlines
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Finnair
- Iberia
- Japan Airlines
- Malaysia Airlines
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Air Maroc
- Royal Jordanian Airlines
- S7 Airlines
- SriLankan Airlines
You can book award flights using your American Airline miles with American Airlines and its partners here.
To book award flights with the following American Airline partners call 1-800-433-7300:
- China Southern
- GOL
Web specials
American Airlines Web Specials can be terrific – if you’re lucky enough to get it on the days you want. These specials, unfortunately, aren’t published, so even if you’re flexible about your dates and the destination, there is no way to browse them. You have to start a search and see what happens. Here are some past examples of AA Web Specials.
- New York to LA: 5,000 in Economy
- U.S. to Australia: 10,000 miles in Economy
- U.S. to Brazil: 47,000 in Business
Web Specials are fully cancellable, however, since you can’t easily find and browse these awards, their value and appeal are limited.
American International Business Class
American doesn’t have many long-haul international routes – Turkish or Emirates it ain’t, and their premium-class cabins are not especially luxurious. However, they serve the purpose, so if (a huge if!) you can find award space at the MileSavers levels, grab your seat quickly or at least put it on hold for five days (free) while you’re contemplating whether or not to take the plunge.
Here are all or at least the vast majority of current American long-haul international destinations.
South America
- Argentina: Buenos Aires
- Brazil: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro
- Chile: Santiago
- Uruguay: Montevideo (seasonal)
Europe
- France: Paris
- Germany: Frankfurt, Munich
- Greece: Athens (seasonal)
- Ireland: Dublin
- Italy: Milan, Rome; Venice (seasonal)
- Netherlands: Amsterdam
- Portugal: Lisbon (seasonal)
- Spain: Barcelona, Madrid
- Switzerland: Zürich
- UK: London
Middle East
- Israel: Tel Aviv
- Qatar: Doha (starts 6.4.22)
Asia
- China: Beijing, Shanghai
- India: Delhi
- Japan: Tokyo (NRT and HND)
- South Korea: Seoul
- Oceania
- Australia: Sydney
- New Zealand: Christchurch; Auckland (seasonal)
American sweet spots
“Luxury” routes to the Middle East, Asia and Australia
The miles redemptions below are per one-way travel.
| Business | First | |
| Continental U.S. to | ||
| Middle East | 70,000 per way | 115,000 per way |
| Indian Subcontinent | 70,000 per way | 115,000 per way |
| Africa | 75,000 per way | 120,000 per way |
| Asia Region 1 | 60,000 per way | 80,000 per way |
| Asia Region 2 | 70,000 per way | 110,000 per way |
| South Pacific | 80,000 per way | 110,000 per way |
NB: AA Routing Rule
American Airlines has a very annoying routing rule: when you travel between two regions you typically can’t transit through a third one.
What it means, for example, is that you can’t travel from the U.S. to Africa via Asia or vice versa. However, AA does offer some “third region” exceptions. You can fly to:
- Asia 2 via Asia 1
- Africa via Europe, Middle East
- Indian subcontinent via Europe, Middle East
- Indian subcontinent via Hong Kong – on Cathay Pacific only!
So even though American routing rules are quite rigid, you still have some leeway.
AA miles on Cathay Pacific for ultra-long hauls to Asia 2 and India (70,000 miles in business )
Cathay Pacific has great Business and First Class seats, and redeeming AAdvantage miles on the Hong Kong carrier is usually cheaper than using Cathay Pacific miles. A flight in Business Class from anywhere in the U.S. to Hong Kong, as well as anywhere in South East Asia and India via Hong Kong runs at 70,000 miles (110,000 in Business Class).
AA miles on Qantas Airways to Australia and New Zealand (80,000 in business)
Qantas premium seats to Australia and New Zealand / Oceania (via Australia) will cost you 80,000 miles in Business and 110,000 miles in First. Finding award space is extremely hard, though.
AA miles on Qatar Airways and Etihad to the Middle East and Africa (75,000 miles in business)
Qatar has terrific Business Class Q-suites with doors between the U.S. and Doha, and is one of the few airlines that makes quite a substantial number of Business Class seats available to partners. Even better, you can fly anywhere in Africa via Doha for 75,000 miles (just 5,000 miles more than a flight to Doha).
Etihad has solid Business Class too, especially so-called Business Studios on A380. And while Etihad did ground A380, it’s just announced it’s going to bring it back, at least temporarily. If that happens, you might still have a chance to fly in First Apartment, which I believe is the best First Class seat in the world. It’s true that 110,000 miles is not a cheap experience.
AA miles for Intra-Europe flights (22,000 miles in business)
You can fly anywhere in Europe (including the western part of Russia) for 12,500 miles in Economy or 22,500 miles in Business. And while you might think that Europe is small, that’s not always the case. The distance between Reykjavik and Moscow is about 2,300 miles, while the distance between Tenerife and Istanbul is 2,700 miles. And American has four European partners: British Airways, Iberia, Finnair and S7, and you can mix the carriers to get where you need to go.
