Deals We Like mentions that Citi is now offering a 100k signup bonus and a $200 statement credit (for spending $10k in 3 months) for the AAdvantage World Elite Mastercard. This card has a $450 annual fee but includes an Admirals Club membership.
Historically, I’ve used my American Express Platinum card for AA and US lounge access, justifying the card’s $450 fee to myself with the $200 annual statement credit and the lounge access. With Amex cardholders losing access on March 22nd, I’m looking for alternatives. While AA considerably expanded its lounge access policies on JFK-LAX/SFO in the fall of 2012, my upgrades don’t always clear on American and I don’t always fly on nonstops from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
At the moment, I’m pondering how the Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage card can offer a 10% rebate on AA redemptions (up to 10k per year) but the World Elite card cannot.