Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard Credit Card Review

Who Is the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Platinum Select^® World Elite Mastercard^® Good For?

If you’re looking for a co-branded American Airlines card that’s relatively low on fees and high on perks, the Platinum Select card is probably a great fit for you.

For just $99 a year, you’ll receive a decent sign-up bonus of at least 50,000 miles, earn a $125 American Airlines Flight Discount and save up to 7,500 miles on select flights with American’s Reduced Mileage awards. You’ll also get a free checked bag, preferred boarding and in-flight discounts on American flights.

If you often fly on American, this could be the right card for you.

Sign-Up Bonuses:

This card’s standard bonus is for 30,000 miles, but a 50,000-mile offer usually comes up more than once a year for several months at a time. Occasionally American will throw in a couple Admirals Club passes, too.

The spend required to earn the bonus miles can vary significantly, with the 30,000-mile offer typically requiring only a $1,000 spend and the 50,000-mile offer between $2,000 and $3,000. You usually have three months to reach the minimum spend.

Points Earned:

• 2 miles per dollar spent on American Airlines
• 1 mile per dollar on everything else
• plus, 2x miles in other categories like restaurants or gas stations, that may change from time to time.

What Do Your Miles Get You?

American Airlines miles can easily be redeemed online for flights on American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Qantas Airways and other oneworld alliance members and partner airlines.

Though American charges a late booking fee and relatively hefty change fees, it has pretty reliable availability booking in advance or close-in (except for big holiday seasons like Christmas) and incredibly low off-peak award rates internationally, so your American Airlines miles can be more valuable than those of other domestic carriers.

Usage Perks:

• First checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines flights for the cardholder and up to four companions on the same reservation
• Preferred boarding on American Airlines-operated flights for the cardholder and up to four companions on the same reservation
• 25 percent off in-flight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines
• Access to a monthly selection of awards discounted at 3,750 miles each way

Usage Quirks:

• Miles expire in 24 months, which is standard for many programs. However, primary AAdvantage® credit cardmembers will not be subject to the 24-month qualifying activity period for as long as their card account is open.

How Far Do Your Points Dollars Go?

When you use off-peak awards to destinations in Eastern Asia, such as Japan, you’ll pay starting from 70,000 miles roundtrip. If you bought that same flight in cash, you’d pay somewhere from $1,328.

You can get even better value if you use miles for high-end cabins on award-winning partner airlines, such as Cathay Pacific which regularly comes in right behind Singapore Airlines’ famous suites in lists of the top first class cabins. For just 160,000 miles roundtrip, you can get nearly 40 hours in the lap of luxury on a flight that typically costs $18,835 roundtrip. That’s a 14 cents per mile value for your AAdvantage miles.

With monthly special awards at 7,500 miles off per roundtrip you can get to select U.S. destinations for 17,500 miles rather than 25,000. At that rate, a $425 round-trip flight from Detroit to San Francisco would get you a 2.4 cents per mile value.