The first big offer of 2014! 100K American miles, $200 statement credit, plus lounge access!
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how I was getting my ducks in a row to prepare for the “next big thing” on the credit card bonus front. I’m glad I did, because a fantastic offer has burst onto the scene!
You can now get 100,000 American Airlines miles on the Citi American Airlines World Elite MasterCard AND up to $200 in statement credits, plus lounge access, after spending $10,000 within 3 months.
The regular offer on this card is 60,000 miles. Last week, it was increased to 75,000 miles. While both of those offers were great, I didn’t apply because of the gigantic annual fee – $450! This fee is not waived the first year, so it is a huge consideration.
However, the terms of the new 100,000 offer above now make this card very appealing because you earn $200 in statement credits, which takes a lot of the bite out of the $450 fee.
In addition to the credit, of course you get 100,000 American miles…AND you get American lounge access. Yay!!
Here are the terms:
- Earn 100,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after making $10,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
- Earn up to $200 in statement credits for purchases within the first 12 months.
- Enjoy Admirals Club membership (regular cost for this is $475)
- Earn10,000 Elite Qualifying Miles after spending $40,000 in purchases each calendar year
- No foreign transaction fees
- Earn two AAdvantage miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, including US Airways codeshare flights booked on aa.com
- Priority Boarding and 25% savings on eligible in-flight purchases
- Your first eligible checked bag is free
- $450 Annual Fee – NOT waived the first year
The application has a space for a 6-digit agent referral code and an airport code, but I left both of these spaces blank.
At first, my stomach sank, because I got the dreaded “application received” screen:
I called the number provided and gave the rep my application number, then she put me on hold. I was prepared for a lengthy call during which I had to answer a ton of questions about why I had so many credit cards open, but she came back on the line within 30 seconds with an approval! She didn’t ask me a single question!
Before I hung up, I confirmed the terms of the offer with the rep. She laughed as she said, “This is the BEST offer I’ve ever seen for this card. I can’t believe it!”
It’s definitely the offer I was waiting for.
Are you planning to apply?
.
(HT to The Points Guy!)
Thank you so much! I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while, telling my gf that you thought a big offer would be coming out soon, and I wanted her to apply for it. Turns out, you were right!
Just had her apply for the card, and she is on the phone with Citi as we speak, probably in the same situation you were just in. Definitely worth it for 100,000 points! Thanks!
-Joe
Joe – You kept the faith! 😉 So glad!!
Great offer. Signed up this morning. As with most others, I had to call, but they promptly confirmed that I was getting the card with a $15.5k limit, and that I was getting the 100,000 miles and $200 credit. Definitely one of the best credit card sign up bonuses I’ve seen. Thanks!
Oh, and in case anyone’s wondering, yes, I already had the AAdvantage Platinum World MC, and have held it for less than a year. I know there have been some concerns given Citi’s changes in churning policies, but this definitely counts as a different product.
Thanks for the information! Do you know if there is any reason I would not get the miles if I currently have an AA Citi card, and in my husband’s case, he has both personal and business, and I am now regretting we have not put much spending on them other than the minimum spend.
Karl – Thanks for the data point!
Kate – You can definitely still get the bonus miles from this card, as it is a different card from the one you guys already have. The spend you’ve put on your current cards also won’t affect your ability to be approved for this card. Good luck!
Yeah! I got it too!
well I pulled the trigger on the 75k miles, not looking so good now.
Call Citi, and ask them if you can have the 100,000 offer instead. On a few other blogs today, people have been reporting that they were able to get the 100,000 offer instead.
that would be great, do you know the # to call, or the link to the blog? thanks
@DJ, try this number, I called 888-766-2484
Great thanks Shannon.
Shannon – Thanks for helping out!
any idea about how long this offer will be around?
Eric – I don’t have any insider info, but if you are interested in this offer, I would apply sooner rather than later. Rumor has it that the Citi site has been slammed with applicants and has even gone down a couple of times today – so judging from the popularity of the offer, I would say do it now!
I called, got a gentleman who asked several things…in the end he said after I spend $10k, send in some offer sheet (from AA) then he will take care of it. well not very straightforward, and I dont really have the sheet, but there is a ray of hope I guess.
Just print out the 100,000 offer sheet on the web. Or send a private message after you get your card, they’ll probably do it.
Hi Shannon, great! thanks again for the info!
I called Citi twice, they mentioned an offer letter in order to switch to the 100K. does anyone know how to get one or can share one? thanks!
So here is where I am VERY afraid. I am new to the miles game. We live in a very small city that does have an airport (Medford, OR) but is only serviced by United, Delta, Allegiant, and Alaskan. I have not applied for any mile offers on any other airlines because I am unsure how I will redeem them economically as we will have to connect with AA in San Fran or Portland (5 hours in opposite directions). A flight from Medford to Portland or San Fran is ridiculous. Any suggestions or is there another way I should look at this?
Tammy – You can use American Miles on Alaska Airlines, so these 100K miles could potentially be very useful, depending on where you want to go. Do you have a destination in mind?
OMG! Seriously? Oh heck, we will go anywhere. How do I found out where 100K miles will take us on Alaska? Can I combine these miles with my Alaska miles? Any suggestions on how to get 10K on the card in 3 months? That may be a big stretch for us as our monthly living expenses are low and we have no major purchases planned.
Tammy – My suggestion is to hop on the AA website and play around with destinations to get a good idea of what is possible for you. The display will show whether the flight is an Alaska flight. You can use Manufactured Spend techniques (Vanilla Reloads, Amazon Payments) to put 10K on the card in 3 months. I’m thinking of doing a post on this, or you can Google it 😉
Looking forward to a possible post on that! You are the only blog I follow. I find the others….well….pretentious and written in code. 🙂
So I just applied for the Citi card last week on the 60,000 mile promotion and saw the 75,000 mile promotion a couple days later. Now that I see this 100k promotion, I am kicking myself. I called Citi today and Was told that if I had an offer sent directly to me or with my name on it, they could honor it. Since I do not have either, he offered to give me an additional 20,000 miles. So that’s 80,000 miles when I spend $5000 in the first 3 months. Not bad, but not 100,000miles either.
Travelicious – My motto is that deals are like busses…there is always another one just around the corner. Good job on the extra 20K miles!
truly a no brainer
I am traveling to Palau Jan 19-27 and had planned on using United Miles from Medford, OR. I know that the devaluation is taking place tomorrow and unfortunately, those dates are not available for selection yet. Will it really be a lot more in mileage requirement after today? Any suggestions?
Hi Tammy – From what I understand, you can book a flight that has availability to Palau now for the current price, and then then change the date later without having to pay the new price. The trick is there has to be availability for the exact flights you had on the new dates. In other words: the same route, same carriers, and same cabin. However, please confirm that this information is correct before you book anything! I would hate for you to lose miles because I gave you incorrect info.