We’ll be the first to admit, there are quite a few sets of rules to follow when you’re applying for the best travel credit cards. Policies like the Amex once per lifetime per card welcome bonus restriction, the Chase 5/24 rule, and the Citi 48-month American Airlines card rules can be confusing.
Sometimes, even when a rule seems clear cut, there are exceptions. Fortunately, Citi has simplified their application rules for American Airlines credit cards. Let’s tackle the Citi American Airlines 48-month rules to fully understand which cards are affected, what the terms are, and what you can do to set yourself up for long-term success.
Citi American Airlines personal and business card application rules
Citi’s American Airlines card application rules have changed. Once upon a time, you weren’t able to receive more than one personal credit card welcome bonus in a 24-month period. Here’s how it went:
- If you opened a Citi American Airlines personal card, you’d again become eligible for another personal card bonus after 24 months
- If you canceled a Citi American Airlines personal card, you’d have to wait another 24 months before becoming eligible once again
A little confusing, yeah? Now the rules are simpler: If you’ve received the welcome bonus on that card in the past 48 months, you’re not eligible for that bonus again. For example, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® terms say:
American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive account in the past 48 months.
So you’re still eligible for the bonus on all other Citi cards, such as the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard® or American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card in the same time frame. And in 48 months, you’ll once again become eligible for the Citi AAdvantage Executive bonus.
Bottom line
Citi has established clear cut rules for applying and receiving bonuses on their American Airlines credit cards. To put it simply, you can qualify for any Citi American Airlines card (personal or business) as long as you’ve not opened that particular card in the past 48 months.
This means you can try out all the Citi American Airlines cards while earning their bonuses, and apply for the cards again in 48 months if you think you’ll receive value from another card!
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How about for a second corporation I own? Corporation #1 received the bonus in the last 24 months.
Corporation #2 never had any Citi Cards. It holds a different federal tax id, but I’m the principal on both corporations.
Chase allowed both corps to receive the bonuses because it treats each corp as separate entities, and they don’t tie business card to personal cards.
Citi tells me they do tie the cards to my SS# and my AA number, so corp #2 would not be allowed to earn the bonus.
Does anyone know if this really is correct (they seemed to be guessing) and if not, how/where do I verify this?
I did just that and haven’t received a SUB yet, after spending 4k of course :/ Seemed odd. I was told by an agent since both cards (really…corporations) were under my name I’m not eligible. I’ll wait a few until my next statement hits but right now nothing has posted.
Can you please update me?
And what is a “sub”?
Sorry, just saw your reply. And the 65k sign-up-bonus. My next statement hits in 2 weeks, but I’m not hopeful
What are the rules for the American Airlines cards from Barclays Bank?
CITI changed the time from 24 months to 48 months.
I don’t have any Citi AA cards. Can I apply for Citi AAdvantage MileUp, Citi AAdvantage Platinum and the
Citi AAdvantage Executive and get the sign up bonus from each one? Asking for a friend. 🙂