The Citi AAdvantage Credit Card Mailing That Rather Backfired

a row of mailboxes with a red flag

Between work and travel, I didn’t pay attention to my credits card holdings last year. I knew I needed to so I wasn’t paying extra annual fees for cards that were no longer valuable, but it never hit my priority list.

Getting a fancy envelope in the mail this weekend inviting me to upgrade to the Citi AAdvantage Executive card was the prompt I needed to at least assess my current Citi AADvantage Platinum Select card. I had a lurking suspicion I should have cancelled it when my US Airways credit card became American, but there was no time like the present.

My Admirals Club Membership is ending in February, so I was already considering re-applying for the Executive card. If this upgrade came with the first year free (saving me the $450 annual fee) or with a nice bonus points offer, I was in.

It didn’t. The multi-piece mailing extolled the many virtues of the Citi AAdvantage Executive card, comparing its benefits with those of my current card, but offered no additional incentive. Looking at the handy-dandy chart I could see at a glance I already had most of the benefits like priority boarding, free checked bags, Global Entry application credit, etc through my Executive Platinum and other elite statuses.

a white card with text and images

So now it was clear that I shouldn’t get the Executive card through this offer or any other unless it came with a particularly good bonus.

But what did catch my eye though were the benefits I’d have to give up. Benefits I’d forgotten my current card had.

  • 10% of redeemed AAdvantage miles back (max of 10K)
  • $100 American Airlines flight discount with qualifying purchases

The $100 discount isn’t as exciting as it first looked as it requires $30,000 in spending per year. But getting 10,000 AAdvantage miles back every year is definitely worth the $95 annual fee. So looks like for now I’ll be keeping that card, and feeling less guilty about not paying attention sooner.

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One Comment

  1. The 10,000 rebate doesn’t stack with the Barclaycard AA card (which offers the same rebate and if I’m right you already have this card?) I’d cancel this one or try for a good retention offer.

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