We are an independent publisher. Our reporters create honest, accurate, and objective content to help you make decisions. To support our work, we are paid for providing advertising services. Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Next” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. The compensation we receive and other factors, such as your location, may impact what ads and links appear on our site, and how, where, and in what order ads and links appear. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, our site does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We strive to keep our information accurate and up-to-date, but some information may not be current. So, your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms on this site. And the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.

This page may include: credit card ads that we may be paid for (“advertiser listing”); and general information about credit card products (“editorial content”). Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Apply Now” button or “Learn More” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. When you click on that hyperlink or button, you may be directed to the credit card issuer’s website where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer. Each advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its ad offer details, but we attempt to verify those offer details. We have partnerships with advertisers such as Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo and Discover. We also include editorial content to educate consumers about financial products and services. Some of that content may also contain ads, including links to advertisers’ sites, and we may be paid on those ads or links.

For more information, please see How we make money.

Know if you qualify: An easy guide to Citi American Airlines card application rules

  • Joseph Hostetler

    • Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.

    Citi is an MMS advertising partner.

    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.

    With Citi American Airlines cards, you can easily earn enough American Airlines miles for a free round-trip coach saver ticket to the tropics – So it pays to know the application rules. (Photo by Joseph Hostetler/Million Mle Secrets)

    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:

    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® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® currently comes with 50,000 miles after you spend $2,500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. It has a $99 annual fee that’s waived for the first 12 months. The card’s terms say:

     American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® account in the past 48 months.

    In other words, you’re not eligible for another bonus on this card for 48 months — but you’re still eligible for the bonus on all other Citi cards, such as the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®, Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® or American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card in the same time frame.

    The information for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum and CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

    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 a Citi American Airlines card bonus (personal or business) as long as you’ve not received a new account bonus for the same card in the past 48 months.

    You can subscribe to our newsletter for more of the intricacies of miles and points, and advice for a powerful long-term credit card strategy.

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)