Now the welcome bonus is 60,000. The annual fee on this card is $350, which sits between AA Platinum’s $99 and AA Executive’s $595. The reimbursement benefits are said to be worth $750, but they are not especially useful. The welcome bonus is pretty decent, and it’s fine to apply just for the bonus. If you can’t use the benefits, you can downgrade to a no-annual-fee Citi card in the second year. Note that this card does not conflict with the AA Platinum card; even if you have already received the bonus on that card, it does not affect your ability to apply for this one. The only application restriction for this card is that you have not received the bonus for this card within the past 48 months (and, presumably, if you received another bonus and product-changed into this card, though I doubt anyone would do that).

This bonus is very good, so I added this card to the welcome bonus rankings.

Citi AA Globe Credit Card Introduction

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Full review

Citi AA Globe Credit Card

$750 in various statement credits, extensive AA flight benefits, and an annual companion ticket

  • Welcome bonus: 90,000 AA miles (spend $5,000 in 3 months)
  • Rewards: AA Hotel 6x; purchases on the AA website 3x; dining and food delivery 2x; rideshare and public transit 2x; all other purchases 1x
  • Redemption: Redeem for AA, Oneworld, and partner-airline award tickets, with an estimated value of about 1.5 cpp
  • Annual fee: $350
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Highlights

  • No foreign transaction fee: No Foreign Transaction Fee (FTF).

Benefit reimbursements

  • $240 Turo reimbursement: Up to $30 per rental, with a yearly cap of $240. Turo is a P2P-style car rental app where you can rent directly from car owners. You need to link your AA and Turo accounts (link).
  • $100 AA in-flight spending reimbursement: $100 of in-flight purchases can be reimbursed each calendar year, as long as you use this card for purchases on AA flights. The most worthwhile use is probably duty-free items on international flights.
  • $100 splurge reimbursement: This card’s reimbursement covers 1stDibs, hotel bookings through AA Hotels, Future Personal Training, and Live Nation. It looks like AA Hotels bookings are the only somewhat useful option.
  • $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee reimbursement: Once every four years.

AA flight benefits

  • 4 AA lounge passes: Each calendar year, you receive 4 Admirals Club Globe passes, which allow free entry to AA’s own lounges. A boarding pass is required.
  • Big-spend bonus: Spend $20,000 in a cardmembership year and get a $125 AA travel voucher.
  • AA flight benefits: Priority boarding, first checked bag free, and 25% off in-flight food purchases.
  • Earn Loyalty Points through spending: Earn 1 Loyalty Point (LP) for every $1 spent. LPs are used to qualify for elite status.
  • Flight Streak bonus: Every time you fly 4 AA-operated flights, you get 5,000 LP, with a maximum of 15,000 LP per year. Cash tickets only.
  • Free checked bag: On AA-operated flights, the first checked bag is free. Up to 8 companions can also get the first bag free.
  • Companion certificate benefit: Starting from the second year of cardmembership, you can receive one companion certificate each year. It requires two travelers on the same round-trip domestic U.S. itinerary, and the companion only has to pay $99.
  • Priority boarding: Group 5 priority boarding on AA-operated flights, also available for 8 companions.

Citi card benefits

  • Free FICO credit score: From Equifax, with historical data shown on a chart.
  • Retention offers are relatively generous: When the annual fee is due, threaten to cancel the card and you may receive some promotions.

About AA miles

AA is the world’s largest airline. It has ten hubs, so if you live in one of those hub cities, flying AA is very convenient. Award tickets can also be easier to find, especially nonstop awards. AA still keeps its own award chart and that of its partners. There are still some relatively good redemptions to be found.

My thoughts

This card’s annual fee is $350, between AA Platinum’s $99 and AA Executive’s $595. Citi probably felt the gap between those two annual fees was too large and needed a mid-tier version.

The welcome bonus on this new card is pretty good, but the regular benefits and reimbursements are hard to use. I would only recommend this for people who fly AA a lot, especially those trying to pursue elite status. For most people, you can take the welcome bonus and then downgrade to a no-annual-fee AA card or product-change to another Citi card. For example:

Application

  • The welcome bonus will be credited to your AA frequent flyer number. If you already have an AA frequent flyer number before applying, please enter it on the application. If you don’t have one, it’s recommended that you first register for an AA account on the AA website to get a frequent flyer number. If you don’t fill it in, a number will be assigned to you automatically, but you’ll need to call Citi to ask for the exact number.
  • If you have received the welcome bonus for this card within the past 48 months, you are not eligible for the bonus this time.
  • If within the past 48 months you have product-changed another card that had received a welcome bonus within the past 48 months into the AA card, then this application will not be eligible for the welcome bonus.
  • Citi application status link or call: 877-343-4118
  • 8/65/95 rule: You can apply for only one personal card every 8 days, only two personal cards every 65 days, and only one business card every 95 days. This refers to application submission limits, regardless of whether you were approved or not.
  • 24/48-month welcome bonus rule: If you have received a welcome bonus on a ThankYou Points card within the past 24 months, you will not be eligible to receive the bonus again. For AA products, the restriction is 48 months, but both rules apply only to the same card; there is no restriction across different card families.
  • You can call the reconsideration line (800-763-9795) to speed up the credit card approval process or ask a representative to review a denied credit card application again.
  • Having a Citi Checking/Gold relationship may help with your application.
  • More about applying for Citi credit cards

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