Disclosure: I don’t get any commission or payment from Citibank or anyone else for this post or for the links in this post.
Update (April 8, 2013): You can no longer get 2 Citi AA cards at the SAME time, buy you can still get up to 130,000 American Airlines miles.
Citi AAdvantage
Emily and I have earned over 1.5 million miles by applying for Citi AAdvantage credit cards which has let us have a lot of Big Travel with Small Money.
The highlights include traveling to India on British Airways first class and flying Emily to London for a romantic weekend.
You can earn lots of American Airlines miles too!
You used to be able to earn 75,000 miles for each card by using the 2-browser trick which was one of my first blog posts. Lots of readers individually earned 150,000 or 225,000 American Airlines miles and together earned millions of AAdvantage miles by applying for these Citi AAdvantage cards.
This was my most popular post (508 comments and 60 Facebook likes) and I was very happy to read everyone’s success stories. Folks used their miles to visit terminally ill family members, plan honeymoons, and surprise their partners. Your wonderful stories kept me motivated to continue blogging!
Even though the Citi AAdvantage 75,000 mile credit cards are no longer working, there are still working links for 50,000 mile Citi AAdvantage cards.
So I’ve modified my earlier 2-browser trick post for the current offer below.
Note: The links below do NOT show you the terms of the offer on the application. But based on the comments and my personal experience, you do get the 50,000 miles if you’re approved for the card.
Citi American Airlines Bonus Miles Offer
- Citi American Airlines personal Visa with 50,000 miles after spending $2,500 within 4 months
- Citi American Airlines personal GOLD MasterCard with 30,000 miles after spending $750 within 4 months
- Citi American Airlines Business Visa with 50,000 miles after spending $2,500 within 4 months
The current Citi AAdvantage offer is for 50,000 miles per card. If you get both the personal and business versions you will have enough miles for 4 roundtrip tickets within the US in economy class.
Or a one-way trip to Asia on Cathay Pacific in First Class (one of the world’s best airlines), or a return trip in Business Class to South America and still have some miles left over!
If you’ve never applied for a Citi AAdvantage Credit Card, you CAN get up to 130,000 AAdvantage miles, worth at least $1,300 if you conservatively value AA miles at 1 cent per mile.
If you don’t have an AAdvantage account, sign-up for one here, before you apply for the Citi AAdvantage Credit Cards.
Citi AAdvantage 50,000 Mile Bonus Offer – Existing Cardholder
Citi also generally lets you get the bonus again on personal AAdvantage cards 18 to 20+ months since your last application (regardless of whether you cancelled or still have a AAdvantage Visa or AMEX).
For example, if your last successful application and approval for AAdvantage cards was in January 2010 you should be able to reapply and get the sign on bonus again since it is more than 20 months since you were last approved for the personal Citi American Airlines card.
There are 3 Citi American Airlines cards which you can get. As discussed the general Citi rules apply which mean that you can’t get more than 2 cards within a 65 day period. And you have to wait at least 2 to 3 days in between the first and second card.
Citi AAdvantage 50,000 Mile Card Features
- 2 AAdvantage miles per $1 on AA travel. You earn 2 AAdvantage miles per $1 spent on American Airlines travel for the 1st year and 1 mile after that. This is better than the previous deals where you would earn only 1 mile per $ spent on American Airlines, but is below the standard for most airline loyalty cards which let you earn at least 2 miles per $ spent on air travel with the co-branded airline.
- 3% Foreign Exchange Fee. There is a 3% foreign transaction fee, so don’t use this overseas.
- 1st Year Annual Fee Waived. The $85 annual fee for the personal card and $75 fee for the business card is waived for the 1st year.
5 Tips to get the most AAdvantage miles through this offer:
1) Your goal should be to get all 3 Citi AAdvantage cards (Personal Visa, Personal GOLD MasterCard, and Business Visa) for a total of 130,000 AAdvantage miles.
2) However, you CANNOT apply for 2 cards simultaneously. If you do apply for all 2 cards at the same time, you will be denied the second card. But you can apply for a second (different card) after 2 or 3 days and get approved as long as you don’t have more than 2 applications within 65 days.
3) The 50,000 mile bonus is only for first time cardholders. One bonus for first time personal cardholders, and another bonus for first time business cards holders.
4) Here’s how to get all 3 cards and up to 130,000 AAdvantage miles:
Here’s how I would get all 3 cards over 65 to 95 days if it has been 18+ months from when you were last approved for a Citi American Airlines card or if you never had a Citi American Airlines card:
- Day 1: Apply for the Citi American Airlines personal Visa with 50,000 miles after spending $2,500 within 4 months
- Day 3 or 4: Apply for the Citi American Airlines personal GOLD MasterCard with 30,000 miles after spending $750 within 4 months. You may have to call in to get approved.
- Day 65 or later: Apply for the Citi American Airlines Business Visa with 50,000 miles after spending $2,500 within 4 months
- If you are concerned about completing the minimum spend, I’ve listed more than 40 ways to help complete the minimum spending requirements. You only have one chance at applying for both the cards together, so don’t let the minimum spending prevent you from applying for both cards at the same time.
- After 65 days apply for the Citi Business Card and earn another 50,000 miles after spending $2,500 within 4 months. If you apply earlier than 65 days your application will be automatically denied because Citibank likes to see 60+ days gap after a personal application and 90+ days after a business card application.
- Here is a later post on the 3 ways you may qualify for a business credit card, and tips on how to fill out a business credit card application form.
If you get a letter declining the second application, you could write a letter to the Citi Executive reconsideration department asking them to reconsider your application.
The 2 browser trick usually works, but understand that there are no guarantees and that your mileage may vary (YMMV)!
5) Wait for your card to arrive and confirm the minimum spend required to earn the 50,000 miles when you call to activate your card.
Oh, and the first year annual fee is waived on both the personal ($85) and the business card ($75) so you are getting these miles for free!
Bottom Line: This is an AWESOME deal and you should move quickly since there’s no guarantee how much longer these deals will last.
You can do a LOT with 130,000 AAdvantage miles – including 5 US domestic economy trips on American Airlines, or First Class flights on some of the world’s finest airlines such as Cathay Pacific, Jet Airways, and British Airways by redeeming through American Airlines for their One World Alliance partners.
* If you liked this post, why don’t you join the 1,500+ readers who have signed-up to receive free blog posts via email (only 1 email per day!) or in a RSS reader …because then you’ll never miss another credit card tip.



I have earned and redeemed millions of airline miles and hotel points to travel the world for free.   Now I'm blogging to help more people do the same!  






Applied for the AA business 50,000 miles/$150 statement credit/2 club passes link over the weekend and got approved.
Just Applied the AA business card, no instant approval. should I call or just sit tight? Thanks
@webazoid
did you have to provide anything additional to show that you had a business? I currently only have amex gold biz and wanted to get this as well but only use my SS# for business sign ups and currently there is no revenue for the business.
@liw5215 – I’d call since they may need extra information.
question is the 50K Citi Business credit card still alive? I would like to apply for it this coming week. Thanks for your help.
Thanks for the tip Daraius. I just applied using the 2 browser trick (never flown on AA before, but you and your wife inspired me to give it a go). I might sign my wife up as well!
One quick question- I didn’t see any reference to the 50K bonus on the application page. Was there any reference to this when you applied?
Finally, any idea on what I can do with 100K AA miles? My wife and I like the premium cabin and are willing to work a bit to bank miles using your methods (we are currently building our united miles balance for a trip to Asia (in F) using United and Sapphire sign-up bonuses).
Any ideas on what to use these miles on would be greatly appreciated.
Best to you and Emily,
Fred
@jeff – I believe it is still working.
@Fred – You can confirm the 50K sign-up bonus when you activate the cards. Here’s a post on what you can do with the miles and series on booking tickets with AA miles. You can use AA miles for a 1-way trip to Asia and use United miles for the return or vice versa. AA partners with Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines.
Hey Daraius, thanks for all the tips.
Quick question: do you get the $100 statement on each card (AMEX and Visa)?
So could I feasibly get something small and buy it with Visa, get $100 credit, then buy something else small with AMEX and get $100 credit on that card?
Also, do you know if this website counts as buying something from AA
http://store.crsmithmuseum.org/store/
I got there from AA’s site -> Products and Gifts ->Airline Museum Gift Shop
Thanks!
@govindadas – Unfortunately purchases from the museum store do not count. Yes, you can get the statement credit on both the AMEX and VISA by buying a gift card from AA online or a purchase from AA.
Pingback: Beginners Guide Part 2: Do Not Underestimate the Importance of Timing | Travel Summary
Just received my $100 statement credit for making a purchase at American Airlines. I bought a $50 AA Gift Card. Thanks again Daraius.
Thanks for the awesome tips and tricks on this site!
I used the two browser trick for both me and my husband. He received immediate approval but mine was not immediate. Called today and asked just about the Visa card as was instructed, but the customer service rep could see both applications and asked me about both. I was really nervous this would mean I wouldn’t get the miles on both cards since she was asking about both, but it turns out the miles bonus showed up on both cards and we were approved! Should be getting the cards next week. I’ll verify them again at that point, but so far it looks like it worked.
hi thanks for the info.
if you get a 1099 for 100,000 miles, how much do you expect the amount to be?
i got my citi visa back in May, now 4 months later i applied for the citi AMEX and got a denial based on 1 reason: “the offer is for 1st time Citi AA card member only, our record indicated you already have…”. I seemed to remember somewhere you said this is not one they would reconsider?
thanks.
I had a citi AA visa back in May, I just got an denail for Citi AA Amex(40k miles, $3k in4 mo, $200 credit…) , letter listed only 1 reason: “The offer…for 1st time card member…you aleardy have a City AA…”. Is there still chance to call reconsideration line? I seem to read somewhere this is not a case where it might work.
I applied for the Citi AA Amex and Visa. The Amex got approved but not the Visa. I waited for a while and the Visa application was declined because “I had closed out a Visa card back in February” and it’s still showing up on their ‘list’, it needs to be off the list before I can be approved for that card, they did not mention anything about being an “existing member” with the Citi AA Amex card that I was approved for. If I wait a few more months and try to apply for the Citi AA Visa card, do you think I’d be denied again? I’m hoping the few month wait will be enough time for the old Visa card to be removed from their ‘list’.
@wade @Lindsay - Congrats and thanks for sharing!
@David – Citi hasn’t issued 1099s for miles earned from credit cards. They’ve only issued them for miles earned from debit cards or bank accounts.
@David @Dj – Unfortunately, you have to apply for both at the same time or wait 18+ months since your last personal application to get approved for the Citi AA cards again.
@Brandon – Unfortunately, you have the AMEX, so the 18+ month clock will start ticking from when you got approved for the AMEX.
Just FYI, i confirmed the AA business mastercard spending of $3000 (within 4 months) starts the date Citi approved the card which i believe we all have the assumption of clock ticks the date you applied. YMMV. you may want to confirm with Citi when you activate the card. Thanks.
I just called to cancel these of the 11 month mark. They tried very hard to convert me to a different card, but I didn’t want one. One of the agents told me that I would lose my American airlines miles after canceling. I’m pretty sure this is not true – I looked at American airlines website and it says that they expire only after 18 months of inactivity.
Related question- have you seen the offer to earn a 25% bonus by transferring AA miles to a friend or family? So I could transfer to my brother, earn the 25% bonus, and then he could transfer back and earn the 25% bonus. Would this count as a redeeming activity to keep my miles active?
@Ethan – You won’t lost the miles already in your account. Transferring miles will extend your account, but there are easier ways to do it – buy something cheap through their shopping mall, take part in their dining program, credit a car rental or hotel stay to AA, etc.
Is anyone still getting the 50k offer or is it only 40k these days? I just got a targeted mail offer for 40k, but would prefer to get the 50! Wish I hadn’t missed the boat on the 75k offers…
I has a Citi AAdvantage personal Mastercard that I got in Dec 2011
I cancelled this card in Sept 2012.
I applied for the Citi AAdvantage personal Visa yesterday and got a message saying that more processing is needed. I called and was told that I am not eligible as I already has a card earlier.
1. Do I need to wait 18 months from my initial application (Dec 2011) before applying again?
2. Can I apply for a Citi AAdvantage Business card now?
3. I f I do not enter my AAdvantage number in the application then does that improve my chances of getting approved?
Thanks
Amit
@Azriel – Based on the comments it appears that the 50K offer is still working, but as always, your miles may vary.
@Cyclotron - It is 18+ months since your initial application. You can usually apply for 2 Citi personal cards within a 65 day period, so I’d wait at least 65 days or to be safe ~3 months before applying for the AA business card. Citi appears to track by SSN, so not putting your AA number in the application may not help.
I have the Citi Platinum Select / AAdvantage World MasterCard, is that effectively the same as having one of the visa cards? In other words, I can apply for the business visa, but not the two personal visa cards?
@Justin - I believe so, unless your MasterCard is at least 18+ months old.
Does the AMEX card also have a $100 statement credit if you buy something from AA?
Do you know if buying something from http://www.aa.com/i18n/productsGifts/giftShop.jsp would work?
Thanks
Will applying for the Citi Hilton cards now mess up my plan to get more Citi AAdvantage cards after it has been 18 months (August 2013) since applying for them (which was in February 2012)? In other words, does the 18-20 month rule apply to any and all Citi cards or just that particular type of Citi card?
@Govinda das – Buying from the museum shop doesn’t count, but you could buy a gift card. I believe that some versions of the AMEX also have the $100 statement credit.
@Dan – The 18+ rule appears to apply only to the Citi AA cards. However, you can’t apply for more than 2 Citi personal cards within 65 day window.
@Govinda das – Yes I can confirm that the Amex Citi AA card also offers the $100 statement credit. I just received a credit on my statement last week after purchasing a $50 AA gift cards.
Hi Daraius,
You have an absolutely amazing site here – I just found it and already managed to get Gold status on my HHonors account!!!
However, many of your tips are for US residents only, for example the Citi cards need to have a social security number. Also, quite a few of the cards charge a fee for international transactions.
Any ideas for those of your fans who do not live in the US of A??
Thanks in advance,
Debi
@Debi Z – Thanks for dropping by. Unfortunately, many of the miles and points offers are for folks with US social security numbers. There are other sites like Rewards Canada or Miles from Blighty which focus on other countries, but they don’t have the mega credit card sign-up bonuses which we have in the US.
I applied the two cards using two browsers, but somehow I got two AA AMEX card instead of one visa one amex. Then I found out, when I was doing this again for my wife, what happened was after clicking ‘submit’ for the visa application the second page came out becoming amex card. Could this because that I am filling in information on another browser for AMEX? I don’t know. But I had to reload the visa application page again for my wife before submitting for both visa and amex applications. After all, I got two amex cards approved and she got one visa and one amex.
I called the reconsideration line and they won’t change one of my amex card to visa, which I wanted since not all places accept amex.
One afterthoughts now is I should have waited to meet minimum spending limit for my cards before applying for my wife.
Thanks for the tips posted on this website.
The same issue just happened to me. Used the two browser trick but ended up with two AA Amex cards. Does anyone have any idea if I will still get the 50k miles on both cards?
@craig @Aaron - If you receive both cards, you almost certainly will get both bonuses. You can confirm the sign-on bonus when you call to activate the card.
Can I apply for two citi Hilton cards less than 18 months since applying for the two citi AA cards?
@Dan – Yes you should be able to. The 18+ month rule is only for the Citi AA cards. Citi will allow 2 personal apps within 65 days, so you can get the Citi Hilton cards or Thank You cards more frequently.
Hi Daraius,
In reference to @Ethan’s question about expiring points, so does my points expire after I close the account in 18 months? And are you saying that I don’t need to keep the aa credit card to keep points from expiring by making purchase on their site with another credit card eg chase? Btw, I got eh aadvantage select amex through your link, is it supposed to have 1 companion flight? Or is that only on the personal visa card?
Hi Daraius,
In reference to @ Ethan’s question, if I cancel my aa credit card, to keep the points from expiring in 18 months I can make purchase through their site with another credit card eg chase? Btw, I got two aa card through your link The Amex doesn’t seem to have companion ticket. Is it supposed to? Or is it only on the Visa personal? Thanks
@leslie – If you cancel the card, but the miles are in your account, you won’t lose them as long as you have some AA activity every 18 months. You can buy something from their airline shopping mall, take part in their dining program, redeem an award or buy miles to keep them alive. I believe the AMEX card has the companion pass as well, but it expires in November.
Daraius, A few days ago I saw a citicard advertised for either 75,000 or 100,00o FF miles (or points) with a spend of $10,000 within 4 months. Have you seen this card I am talking about? If so could you steer me to where it is. I cannot find it now. Thanks, Willie. Also what is the best deal with the most FF miles for American Airlines going right now? Are there anymore 75,000 mile cards left for AA, or 50,000 miles??? Thanks.
@willie – I haven’t seen this card from Citi, but would love to know more if you can find it! The best offer for AA miles is the 50K offer, but that hasn’t been working since the morning.
Daraius, I just completed the refinancing of my house and I am ready to resume credit application. Unfortunately, this AA 50K is not available. Can I do the 50K business one first and do the personal later? Thanks.
@Richard – Yes, you should be able to do the business 1st and 2 personal cards later on.
I applied and was approved for both myself and my husband for the 2 personal cards in early May. Today I included the business version in my app-o-rama and got instantly approved! Yeah! I will confirm the signup bonuses when I receive the card and call to activate. My husband’s next app-o-rama is about a month away so we’ll include the business card for him at that time. That’s 300,000 AA miles total. Thanks so much, Darius!!
the amex link is throwing some kind of error for me. is anyone else having the same problem?
@dyhppy, yes, I also see the Amex link down. My wait of 18 months since my last application on Citi AA personal is finally over, and the link doesn’t work any more… Daraius, any idea why?
@AJM – You’re welcome!
@dyhppy @best_daddy – The links died last week, but I updated the Visa with another offer. You could try for 2 Visa cards, or there is another American Airlines MasterCard for 40,000 miles. I’ll wait a few days before removing the link to the MasterCard.
So should I try the 2 browser method for 2 Visa’s now, or wait to see if the AmEx link starts working again? Are you referring to 2 different Visa’s, or do I open the same Visa offer in 2 different browsers and apply for the same card at the same time??
Hey D. Hope you are doing good. It’s been a while since I visited this place. With all the help of this thread, I got my 100K miles (plus some more for spending). I was planning to book an award flight to India but no awards in next 6 months. Only 1 way here n there. That made me wonder about following:
1. Is it hard to book international flights using AAdvantage awards?
2. Is there a way, we can MERGE the aadvantage miles to other programs?
So the best citicard out there for the most miles is down to a 40,000 mile offer? Or, is there a better offer for American Airlines? Thanks.
@BB - I doubt the AMEX will work again, but have other options in tomorrow’s post. You could try for 2 Visas as well.
@Seemit - There certainly are awards within the next 6 months to India! You can’t merge American Airlines miles to other programs, but you can redeem on their airline partners. You can contact an award booking service to get seats to India or see this post for more –> http://millionmilesecrets.com/2012/02/04/american-airlines-award-travel/#more-8811
@willie - The 50K Visa link in this post still works and I’ll list a few more options in tomorrow’s post.
Pingback: American Airlines 50,000 Miles | Million Mile Secrets
OMG! I just applied for a visa and amex tonight — and DID NOT read the comments above about the links being dead. I did not get instantly approved for both because of my address so I had to call. The visa line said that he could not see the 50k offer although the annual fee was waived. I was worried. Then I called the amex line and did get approved. I also confirmed that I will be getting 40k after 2k spend in 4 months, 10k after 5k spend in 12 months, and 100 statement credit. With that info, I decided to call back the visa line just to make sure. Sure enough, got the same thing. 40k, etc. Thanks Daraius!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also did the same thing Eroica did. Applied then read. I had used your post in May to do this for my husband and get the 100,000 miles.
I just applied for the AMEX and the VISA personal cards with the two browser trick and was approved. Both links worked. Does this mean I should be on the look out to spend $2000 in four months on both and expect only 40,000 mile bonuses or 50,000 bonuses?
Sorry – a little confused on what the links get me after this many months (and obviously thought it was still for 50,000 when I applied).
Hi Landk! Glad it’s not just me.
I had read this post too awhile back. Last night was like a roller coaster ride. I went from thinking I was going to get 100k points for the original requirements. And then to thinking oh no, the links are dead. I’m just getting the card and wasted the credit score pull for nothing. Then when I verified with the reps, confirmed that I’m getting 40k for 2k spend and 10k after 5k spend total. In total, I have to spend 10k for 100k points. Wow. That was real stupid of me. I read the Oct 12 post regarding this, and wanted to cry. I could’ve applied for the 50k with 2500 spend on 2 visas or the 3500 spend for 2 cards to get 90k points. Sadly, my applications have been approved and I will have to wait for the cards then call customer service to get them changed to the other cards — hopefully I can change the visa to the 50k after 2500 spend in 4 months and the amex to 40k after 1k spend.
Landk you should expect 40k points on each card for 2k spend in 4 months. Then you get the additional 10k after 5k total spend in 12 months on each card.
Hello,
I just got a citi aa amex and visa from your link. Do you think I can apply for the citi aa master card? Rep said I can get the business card over the phone and it hasn’t been 65 days but i decline cuz it only offer 30000 miles.
thanks
@landk – It depends on which version of the offer you got. You can always confirm the terms when you call to activate the card.
@Eroica – You won’t be able to change the offer to a different version. However, you don’t have to chase the last 10K miles on the card if the spending requirement is too high. Do what makes sense for you!
@leslie – I believe that you can’t apply for more than 2 Citi personal cards within 65 days.
Hi a co worker had refereed me to this website. He had been approved for two of the cards. Here is my situation my credit score is fair. I have two credit cards that i got through a trade line which boost my credit ratings. one of the cards is a citi plat. m/c with a $5000 limit that was open in jan 2012. knowing my situation Would you advise that I sign up? and if so which two cards?
Looking to Boost my credit score!!!
@CarloB – I’d suggest creditboards or other websites for information on improving your credit score. If your last Citi AA card was in 2012, you likely won’t get the bonus for the Citi AA cards until 18+ months from Jan 2012.
Just tried applying for my wife. Didn’t work out to be approved immediately. Tried calling the reconsideration ine above and was told it was a nonworking number.The number we were given on our applications was 1-866-606-2787
@Royce - Thanks for letting me know. I updated the reconsideration number in the post. Here’s a link to calling the reconsideration line with a few more telephone numbers.
Thanks Million. I did hire a pro to take care and improve my credit. That jumped from 100 points since Nov 2011. I should be more specific. The Citi Mastercard Plat select has been a member since 2009. I was just added as a user to boost my credit and that was Jan 2012. So in my credit it look like I’ve had this card since 2009 and current in all my payments. i am gonna try to get the two cards and see if i get the bonus for the citi cards. Thank You
Are the links to the AA Business card still active? I’m hoping to take advantage of that once I’m at 65 days.
@wade – I believe they still work.
Curious..I see I can get 50k on the 3 cards over time, about 65+ days. Can I get other bonuses if I read correctly? MC/VISA/AMEX? Looks like I can get 300K or 400K if I work it right. Just have to space out which credit bureau gets pulled over several months? I’m new to this.
@Jfish – Unfortunately, you can’t get another personal AA card unless it has been 18+ months since the last approval for a personal AA card. However, you *may* be able to get the business card by cancelling it and reapplying after 3 months.
So I applied for Business card 1st. Should I wait 65 days and then try the 2 browser trick on the personal cards? Wondering if it’ll work.
@Dave - It should work!
I used this trick to get 2 AA Visa cards at the same time, can I do this again to get 2 AA Amex cards 6 months later?
@Tao – Unfortunately, you have to wait 18+ months from when you were last approved to get the AA personal cards again.
If I have the AA gold can i get these personal cards with the bonus if they are platinum level or am I an existing cardholder?
@bob - You may be able to get the sign-up bonus if it has been 18+ months since you were last approved for the Citi AA cards (in your case the Gold Citi AA card).
I just got approved for 2 Citi Personal Visa cards using your two brower trick. I got instant approval on one and had to call an 800 number on the other. My question is how will I know what the actual awards are? Do I need to confirm before I activate or will it be included when I receive the card? Thanks.
Bret
Applied for the two Hilton cards with the two-browser trick. One approved instantly. A week later I received a form letter saying my wife needs to send in a Form SS-89 and a copy of her social security card. Any advice?
@Bret – You can confirm when you call to activate the card!
@Chris – No personal experience with Citi Hilton, but in similar situation with Citi AA card, you usually get denied for already having 1 card. However, rules are a little different with Hilton, so doesn’t hurt to submit form and hope for the best!
If I have an Amex AA card, can I get the bonus on the Visa version?
This site is great! Thanks for all the information.
I did the same mistake that @Eroica and @landk did and applied for the two 50K cards (Visa and Amex) on Oct 16th and got the cards today (10/22). Confirmed the 50K offer (40K after 2K spending in 4 months and 10K after meeting 5K spend in 12 months) while activating the cards.
Quick question: I have been reading that Citi classifies Amex gift card purchases as Cash Advances. Are there any other tricks to meet Citi card minimum spend ? (Already using Amazon payments for other cards).
@bob - Not unless it has been 18+ months since you were approved for the AMEX card.
@SMan – You can try American Express Bluebird! Or pay a small fee to use it for your rent mortgage etc., just to get the sign-up bonus.
I just tried the two browser trick on the same Visa applicaton. I was instantly approved on one, Chrome, but the other (Safari) displayed an error. So, I tried Safari a second time and I got the “Application Rec’d” and this message:
Aargh! I’m afraid I blew it. What should I do if they call?
@sodajunkie – I’d call the reconsideration line as soon as possible and try to manually get approved.
Thanks for the quick response. If I call the reconsideration number, won’t they see that I’ve already been approved for the first card? What can I say to get them to reconsider that specific application?
so even if I have the Amex AA card currently for 3 years, I am still eligible for the AA bonus w 2 browsers on the visa version of the card?
Hey. Calling the 800 number confirmed I have two cards coming for the $50,000. I was surprised they didn’t even ask why I needed two. But, I’ll take it! Thanks for the help!
Great site, thanks for your info
I signed up for AA Amex and Visa (each with 50k bonus) with the two browser trick last month. Just like Craig posted on 10/4, I received two Amex cards instead of one Amex and one Visa. I have surpassed both min spends (over $3.5k on each card) within a month. One of the bonuses posted, but the other has not. What should I do?
Also, after I learn whether or not the bonus will post, is there any reason NOT to cancel one of the Amex cards? I was thinking of transferring my available credit from one card to the other (since they’re both Citi) and then canceling the other card. That way, my overall credit limit stays the same, but I’m not dragging my length of credit history down with two brand new cards. Thoughts?
Thanks in advance for your time and wisdom, I really appreciate your help
@bob – Yes, but as always, your miles may vary.
@Ahmed – If you completed the minimum spending close to when the statement closed, you should get the points in the next billing cycyle. No hard in closing a 2nd AMEX, but you could use it during the Small Business Saturday AMEX promotion.
ok Darius
I wanted to do the Oct Chrun for my wife today,
Cards
SW personal
SW Business
Amex Business 75K one the hot topic on your blog.
AA Visa (two Browser trick)
now both SW card didn’t give me approval online, so had to call reconsideration line on her behalf and got
the personal approved, then I have to call the Business reconsideration line, their system is down so will
call later,
AMEX 75K approved
AA Visa (one approved online the other said Applicaiton Received) now need help in that when i call citi
reconsideration line what do you suggest i say since they both personal card?
@adnan - I’d call Citi immediately to see if they have your application. Usually they don’t ask why you need a 2nd card, but you can always say to separate business or personal expenses etc. If they have no record of a 2nd application, call back to confirm and apply again quickly. Sometimes the 2nd application doesn’t go through.
Citi reconsideration line sucks, they told me they cant do anything, its ib a different dept, and they donr have access, i need to eait for mail response.
Sorry cell phone typing. Error
Pingback: Education of a Points Freak, Q7 – What are some good credit cards to start with? | asthejoeflies
@ Darius…. Just wanted to let you know I am great fan of your blog, also follow other blogs… its your blog that I came across first 5 months ago when I googled how spg points work.. and from that on..I couldn’t stop reading..follow all the bloggers you interview on my google reader. So once i was confident after reading for a week, i got 4 card in july
2Citi AA card 100K
British Airways 100K
Marriott 70K
and today I did for my wife
2 Citi Visa 100K , 1 card approved other pending called reconsideration, they weren’t helpful
1Amex membership Reward 75K approved
2SW Rapid Reward for CP approved
Thanks
@adnan – Thanks for reading and for your kind words! It doesn’t hurt to call Citi a few times since their reconsideration line isn’t the best and different staff have different levels of training.
Darius, you are 100% correct. The miles from both Amex AA cards posted, it just took a couple days… teaches me to be patient. Thank you for helping me get 100K miles for free
Also, thanks for the Amex Small Business tip – I’ll wait to switch over my credit from one card to the other until after Thanksgiving.
Thanks Darius, took your advise, called citi back again today, after 15 min hold and reviewing details.. approved.
@Ahmed @adnan – Glad it worked out!
Is the visa business still working? I don’t see it mentioned in the Hot Deals section
@Basil - The Visa business is still working and is currently #7 in the Hot Deals section.
What’s the best way to get the 150$ statement credit with the Business card – booking an airline ticket > 150$ through aa.com? Is any AA, American Eagle, Skywest, Alaska Air flight eligible for this credit?
Does the 150$ count toward the 3000$ min spend? Or should I spend atleast 3150 to be safe?
Thanks
You can spend the $150 on AA Gift cards, they do no expire and you’ll receive your statement credit based on that purchase. I believe the $150 also count towards the $3000 min spend, however like yourself I would allow spend $150 extra just to make certain.
Thanks Wade.
Still not sure about my answer. I have some travel planned next month. My booking a ticket through aa.com (flights could end up being a mix of AA, American Eagle and Alaska Air) is dependent on getting the $150 credit. Otherwise I would rather fly Southwest. So I was just trying to make sure that by booking through aa.com and getting the statement credit can I make my ticket nearly free (discounted by 150$).
Or does it have to be AA gift cards, baggage fee, in-flight drink etc. that people have listed in the comments ?