Claire Dickey is a product editor for Bankrate, CreditCards.com and To Her Credit. Before joining Bankrate, Claire worked as a copywriter for brands within the telecommunications…
Nouri Zarrugh is a writer and editor for CreditCards.com and Bankrate.com, focusing on product news, guides and reviews. His areas of expertise include credit card strategy,…
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for . The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.
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Bottom line
The Platinum Select World Elite card offers an ample sign-up bonus, no annual fee for the first 12 months ($99 thereafter) and great yearly bonuses that add to your mileage pool. But if you’re looking for a less restrictive and more flexible card, this card may not be your best match.
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
Rewards rate
2X–2X
Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants. Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases.
Annual fee
$99, waived for first 12 months
Intro offer
50,000 miles
Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
Regular APR
17.49% - 26.49% (Variable)
Recommended Credit Score
Good to Excellent
(670 - 850)
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a
person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for.
However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any
financial product.
Citi is an advertising partner
Editor’s note: Some of the offers on this page may be expired. Check out our Best Credit Cards page for the most up-to-date offers for our favorite credit cards.
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® overview
The Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard is the middle tier of three consumer credit cards offered in partnership between Citi and American Airlines.
As a middle-tier card, the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard has a less robust rewards program than its sibling, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (no longer available through our site). But its significantly lower annual fee of $99 (waived for the first 12 months) and substantial welcome bonus make it a great pick for those who aren’t constantly flying but are looking to diversify their loyalty portfolio.
A deeper look into the current card offer
Quick highlights
Rewards rate:Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants. Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases.
Welcome offer: Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
Annual fee: $99, waived for first 12 months
Regular APR: 17.49% – 26.49% (Variable)
If you do most of your flying on American Airlines, the Platinum Select World Elite card should be in your wallet. You’ll get great deals with reduced mileage awards and 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases. But if you value travel flexibility over free checked luggage, there are travel rewards cards available that can allow you to use rewards any way you like.
With the Platinum Select World Elite card, you’ll earn 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar at gas stations, restaurants and on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 mile per dollar on everything else.
With a variable APR of 17.49 percent to 26.49 percent, this card offers a 50,000-AAdvantage-mile sign-up bonus when you spend $2,500 in the first three months of account opening. Extra perks include a free checked bag with domestic flights, preferred boarding and a 25% savings on inflight food, beverages and Wi-Fi purchased with your card on American Airlines flights. You can even earn a $125 American Airlines flight discount each year after spending $20,000 and renewing your card.
One of the coolest perks of this card is that you’ll receive access to the American Airlines reduced mileage awards program. With the MileSAAver discount, you’ll receive up to a 7,500-mile, round-trip discount for flights over 500 miles.
How much are the rewards worth?
According to The Points Guy’s most recent valuations, AAdvantage miles are worth around 1.4 cents, meaning the sign-up bonus is worth around $700—enough to easily cover two round-trip domestic flights.
The $99 annual fee, waived for the first 12 months, can easily be made up by using the free checked bag benefit (which offers one free checked bag per flight) four times. Furthermore, you can earn a $125 flight discount each year you renew your card and spend $20,000—also covering your annual fee.
How to use this card
To get the most out of the card, be sure to fully use its 2 miles per dollar on eligible American Airlines purchases, gas stations and restaurants (which is a slightly higher rate than similar cards). In general, it’s pretty easy to use this card, and you’re rewarded simply for using it on a regular basis. (Note: Make sure to redeem seats at the lowest MileSAAver level to get the most bang for your buck.)
Bankrate’s Take: Is the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® worth it?
If you’re an American Airlines loyalist but don’t fly much, this card should be the perfect happy medium for your lifestyle. The Platinum Select World Elite card offers valuable perks like no foreign transaction fees and reduced mileage awards throughout the year.
Plus, the sign-up bonus (50,000 miles after spending $2,500 in the first three months) is worth enough miles to essentially get you a free round-trip domestic ticket.
One thing to be aware of is this card’s lack of flexibility. There are blackout dates on some rewards flights, MileSAAver awards are capacity-controlled and AAnytime awards for flights as low as 20,000 miles each way are quite expensive.
The information about the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® and Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.
Claire Dickey is a product editor for Bankrate, CreditCards.com and To Her Credit. Before joining Bankrate, Claire worked as a copywriter for brands within the telecommunications industry as well as a hybrid marketing and content writer.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. The offers that appear on this site are from companies from which Bankrate.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and the likelihood of applicants' credit approval also impact how and where products appear on this site. Bankrate.com does not include the entire universe of available financial or credit offers. Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.
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