New 50,000 Point Signup Bonus for Citi Executive American AAdvantage Mastercard

There’s a new, better offer for the Citi American Airlines Executive Card which offers 40,000 miles after $3000 in spend within 3 months and another 10,000 miles after $10,000 spend within 12 months.

Hat tip for the offer goes to Million Mile Secrets, though I’ve seen others write about this new offer without attribution.

Now, 50,000 miles after $10,000 spend is certainly not better than the signup bonus that’s available on the regular Citi co-branded card (also 50,000 miles, lower spend requirement, and fee waived the first year instead of a $450 annual fee).

So this isn’t your first choice credit card just for the bonus miles. However,

  • For folks who have recently had a Citibank American Airlines credit card, this is another bonus option, even without putting $10,000 on the card for the full bonus the annual fee is worth it for 40,000 bonus miles.

  • If you do not have an American Express Platinum card (in my view the best way to get lounge access for most people who are not predominantly United flyers and who need lounge access for frequently than can be obtained via the Skyguide Executive Privilege Club), then this card is probably the best way to obtain Admiral’s Club access.

  • $10,000 in spend is a lot for the full bonus, but it’s a non-issue for American flyers who want to use this card for elite qualifying miles as $40,000 spend in a year is required for 10,000 elite qualifying miles to be earned, so the $10k spend requirement is entirely subsumed.

This is not my link, not a referral link, it’s interesting because it’s the best available offer I’ve seen for this card yet. Previously I had seen only a 25,000 mile signup bonus so seeing a bigger top-line number is attractive. It’s one I’ll consider, but the lounge access offers no allure unfortunately because I do already have an American Express Platinum card, access via British Airways Gold status, and also plenty of Business ExtrAA points which could easily be redeemed for lounge access. So it’s mostly a play for the bonus points (even though I have a seven figure AAdvantage balance already) and potentially a play for the elite qualifying miles if next year’s travel dips.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. My wife and I both received ours in the mail today – 40k/$3k offered to us when we financed a new home purchase through Citi recently.

  2. The title refers to a 50,000 “point” signup bonus, but it’s just miles. Point makes me think of 50,000 “elite qualifying points,” i.e. instant Platinum.

  3. points and miles are generic interchangeable terms

    and i think i clearly explain what’s required generate elite credit with this card

  4. OT, but related…

    Called to cancel my citi aadvantage platinum visa today. I am sticking with UA, have not been using AA or this card. So did not want to pay the $85 / annual fee.

    They waived the fee so I kept the card ($85 statement credit).

    Also offered 1000 bonus miles per month for each month I spend $1000 on the card for the next 16 billing cycles. Max possible 16,000 bonus miles.

    Unlikely I will spend $1K / month on this card, but I kept it since they waived the annual fee…

  5. Gary, aren’t you supposed to earn and burn miles? And you’re sitting on at least a million AA miles. How’d you get that many and how long did that take?

  6. @JBG – I *do* earn and burn. I burn a ton. i redeemed for a couple first class tickets to the Maldives in February, plus points for hotel. I have a November first class award trip to Asia plus points for hotel. I have another international trip on points (plus points for hotel) in December. And in February. Believe me i don’t ignore the burning side of the equation!

    I just earn lots of miles from flying, from credit card bonuses, from spend (reimbursable business expenses), BankDirect checking, promotions (go big or go home whenever possible!) etc…

  7. Had to call in – got a nice lady but “oh, this is for 25k. Call CS after you receive the card….” I have a pic of the offer if anyone needs it.

  8. At $450 for say 40,000 miles this is about 1.1 cents per mile. Which doesn’t seem like a slam dunk to me if you don’t value the other benefits of having the card (lounge access etc). What am I missing? Seems like unless you only consider using AA miles for US-European travel or farther, an AA Mile is only worth about 1 cent/mile at best. Which given the restrictions etc suggests you should keep your cash in your pocket…

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