Whoever said shopping around doesn’t save money was wrong. “Just browsing” can do a lot of good and apparently that extends to credit card deals as well. While searching for flights we recently found an offer that was certainly news to us – and really a no brainer. The Citi American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum Card seems to have a widely available offer out, with a waived annual fee and a huge fee credit, not to mention a stack of miles!
While browsing AA.com and pulling up a ticket, we did a double take. A $683 ticket was showing as $483 with the Citi AAdvantage Platinum card next to it. This indeed was not a $50 fee credit, or even a $100 fee credit, but $200 towards any American Airlines purchase in the first year. Best of all, we weren’t logged in and the offer was easy to reproduce! In fact – there’s a link. In addition to the $200 fee credit, 40,000 bonus miles are on offer when spending just $2,000 withiin the first three months.
Annual Fee Waived
Much to our surprise, the annual fee was waived here as well. This means you’re getting $200 off any American Airlines ticket, and 40,000 miles with no cost in the first year. That’s nearly enough to fly business class to Europe one way and certainly enough for an upgrade or a nice round trip in the USA. Of course, as with all cards, there’s no obligation to keep the card after the first year when the annual fee would be due – but if you’re a loyal American Airlines flyer, you might want to.
We get nothing for sharing this card deal. It just seems like a great opportunity to earn a bunch of free travel with no out of pocket cost, other than buying stuff you already would anyway. This card is a winner on other levels as well, such as priority boarding and free checked bag. These benefits allow you to book “basic economy” tickets and still enjoy an experience thats far from basic. With a waived annual fee and $200 almost instantly saved on travel, there’s not a lot to lose!
Pair With…
Pair the no feel Citi card with the $95 non waived Barclay’s Aviator Red complete with 50,000 miles on your first purchase and 10% of miles back when you redeem them – and you’ve got 95,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles and $200 towards an American ticket for a total out of pocket cost of $95. 95,000 miles can take you a long way, and after a few months of spending, 100,000 will take you even further. This is a tremendous pairing.
does this card get you waived baggage fees on american flights?
This card waives baggage fees for *domestic* flights only (they include Canada in this). Makes it far less worthwhile to me, as free international bags are going away (Int’l is usually the only time I check a bag).
BTW Citi has the worst customer service of any financial service company I’ve ever dealt with. AND ruled in a vendors favor when I disputed a charge (luckily the vendor finally gave me a refund months later as there was no doubt they made a mistake). I’ve never had a credit card company side against me in a legitimate dispute. Amex even lost money once in a dispute to keep me as a customer.
Citi also charged a late fee when I hadn’t received my first statement, and instead of just saying no we won’t refund it, claimed they would, and then didn’t, and I ended up with a second $30 late fee for not paying the first one. $60 fee for a payment I made in full that was 1 day late. And if I don’t pay it and close the account, they reserve the right to charge me $30 / month indefinitely. Even though they have been paid in full with interest on the purchase.
My last call to them they told me they would not honor the word of a Citi employee on a prior call, even though they listened to the recorded call. If you cannot trust the word of your bank, you should not bank with them. Just a word of warning–Go Barclay’s if you want a AA credit card!