Yesterday Citi launched the new American Airlines MileUp credit card. My first impressions of the card weren’t good, but it’s probably better than I gave it credit for initially. Let’s take a look at the card again:
- No annual fee
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 2x miles per $1 spent on American Airline purchases and at grocery stores
- 1x mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Sign up bonus of 10,000 American Airlines miles and a $50 statement credit after $500 in spend within the first three months
- “Statement credit and American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have had an AAdvantage MileUpSM card opened or closed in the past 24 months.”
Why It’s Better On Second Look
There are two main reasons this card is better than I initially thought.
- Normally if you open or close a Citi American Airlines personal card you’re not eligible for the bonus for another 24 months. In this case the MilesUp is being treated as it’s own “family” or brand and opening/closing this card does not affect your eligibility on other Citi American Airlines cards. The bonus isn’t huge at only 10,000 miles + $50 but that brings me to my next point.
- The card earns 2x miles per $1 spent at grocery stores. There are cards that earn at a high rate, but they are capped on how much you can spend. The best uncapped offer is 3% cash back and some people will value American Airline miles at over 1.5¢
Our Verdict
I still don’t think this card is great by any means, but it is useful in a few situations and some readers will find it worth signing up for.