Know If You Qualify: An Easy Guide to Citi American Airlines Card Application Rules

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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 24 month “brand” rules can be confusing.

Sometimes even when a rule seems clear cut, there are exceptions.  That’s definitely the case with the application rules for the Citi American Airlines cards.

So let’s tackle the Citi American Airlines 24-month rules to fully understand which cards are affected, what the terms are, and what you can do to set themselves up for success long term.

Citi American Airlines Personal and Business Card Application Rules

There are personal Citi American Airlines cards and a business card.

Citi American Airlines World Elite Personal Cards With an Annual Fee

Apply Here:   Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard®

Read our review of the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select Card

If you’ve opened or closed the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® in the past 24 months, you would NOT be eligible for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard® sign-up bonus.  Or vice versa.

The terms on the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card say:

Bonus miles are not available if you have had any Citi^® / AAdvantage^® card (other than an AAdvantage MileUp^℠ or CitiBusiness^® / AAdvantage^® card) opened or closed in the past 24 months.

So you’re still eligible for the bonus on the Citi AAdvantage Executive or Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select if you’ve opened or closed the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard® or American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card in the same time frame.

Citi American Airlines Small Business Card

Apply Here:   CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard®

Read our review of the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select Card

For those thinking of opening the CitiBusiness Platinum Select card, you won’t qualify if you’ve opened or closed a CitiBusiness AAdvantage card in the past 24 months or if you currently have the card.  From the terms:

This card is not available if the business already has a CitiBusiness^® / AAdvantage^® Platinum Select^® World Mastercard^® account. Bonus miles and any additional special offer not available if you have had any CitiBusiness^® / AAdvantage^® account opened or closed in the past 24 months.

The terms for the CitiBusiness Platinum Select don’t exclude folks who have opened or closed a personal Citi AAdvantage card in the past 24 months.

Citi American Airlines No-Annual-Fee Card

Apply Here:   American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card

Read our review of the Citi American Airlines MileUp Card

Lastly, lots of folks are interested in the Citi American Airlines MileUp Card.  You won’t qualify if you’ve opened or closed the AAdvantage MileUp card in the past 24 months.  Terms below:

Statement credit and American Airlines AAdvantage^® bonus miles are not available if you have had an AAdvantage MileUp^℠ card opened or closed in the past 24 months.

Anyone can open the Citi American Airlines MileUp Card as long as they haven’t opened or closed a MileUp card in the past 24 months.  Given the card is relatively new, this means pretty much anyone would be eligible!  And opening the MileUp card won’t disqualify you from earning the bonus on any of the other Citi AA cards, either.

So…What Does All of That Actually Mean?

To put it simply:

• You can qualify for a personal Citi World Elite AAdvantage card even if you’ve opened or closed the business or MileUp cards in the past 24 months
• You’re eligible for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select card even if you’ve opened or closed a personal version in the past 24 months
• You’re able to receive the Citi American Airlines MileUp card as long as it’s been 24 months since you’ve opened or closed your previous MileUp card
• An AAdvantage product change will NOT restart the clock, as long as you keep the same account number

No Annual Fee and 2X on Groceries:  Citi American Airlines MileUp Card

We especially like the relaxed terms for the Citi American Airlines MileUp Card because it’s a great no-annual-fee airline credit card with a solid welcome bonus.

The Citi American Airlines MileUp card earns double American Airlines miles (2X) per $1 spent with American Airlines and at grocery stores and 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases.

Additionally, you can earn a 10,000 American Airlines mile bonus and a $50 statement credit after you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Team member Jason only used 7,500 American Airlines miles to book a one-way flight around Thanksgiving.  Over the holidays, this flight would typically cost $200+, so the bonus is a nice haul for a no-annual-fee card.

Bottom Line

Citi has established clear cut rules for applying and receiving bonuses on their American Airlines credit cards, and they’re easy to understand!

In general, you won’t qualify for the bonus on a particular card, if you’ve opened or closed that card in the past 24 months.  And you won’t qualify for either World Elite personal card bonuses if you’ve opened or closed either World Elite personal cards in the past 24 months.

For example, opening the Citi American Airlines MileUp Card has no effect on qualifying for the other AAdvantage cards and will NOT reset the clock if you want to apply for the other cards later.

Check out these posts to learn more about American Airlines miles:

• Our full guide to using American Airlines miles
• Best ways to redeem American Airlines miles
• Our guide to the American Airlines award chart
• All the ways to earn American Airlines miles
• How to set up an American Airlines account
• Our American Airlines elite status review
• Do American Airlines miles expire?