CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard Review: A Big Bonus for Business Owners

Citi and American Airlines offer an affordable airline credit card for business owners with the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®. Coming in at a low annual fee, this card earns miles on purchases, offers a free checked bag and priority boarding, and has a top-tier sign-up bonus. Find out if it's a winner for your business in this c-offer-name-citbusiness-platinum-select-end-sc review.

Top perks

65,000 bonus miles

You'll earn this bonus after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first four months of account opening. That's a lot of miles for a reasonable minimum spending requirement, making this one of the best sign-up bonuses of any airline credit card. Note that you won't be eligible if you've already opened this card and received its sign-up bonus within the previous 48 months.

Earn up to 2 miles per $1

The sCitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® earns 2 miles per $1 on purchases with:

• American Airlines
• Telecommunications merchants
• Cable and satellite providers
• Car rental merchants
• Gas stations

On other eligible purchases, it earns 1 mile per $1. If you have moderate-to-high business spending, you can quickly earn enough miles for free American Airlines flights.

One free checked bag

On domestic flights with American Airlines, you and up to four companions on the same reservation will each get one free checked bag. American Airlines would otherwise charge $30 for your first checked bag, so even if you're traveling solo, this perk can save you $60 on a round trip.

Preferred boarding

You and up to four companions on your reservation will be able to board with Group 5. This group boards after priority boarding but before economy boarding. When you're bringing a carry-on, boarding a little earlier could make it easier to find space in the overhead compartments.

Earn an American Airlines companion certificate

If you make at least $30,000 in eligible purchases during your card membership year and you keep the card open for at least 45 days after your annual fee posts, you'll receive an American Airlines companion certificate. A companion certificate entitles you to purchase a round-trip domestic economy ticket for someone traveling with you at a cost of $99 plus taxes and fees. Depending on the itinerary, you could save over $300.

25% savings on eligible in-flight purchases

You'll save 25% on in-flight purchases of food, beverages, and internet made with your CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®. Airline credit cards that offer in-flight discounts often exclude internet because it's offered by a third-party merchant, but this card is an exception to the rule.

Annual fee waiver

Although this card charges a $99 annual fee, that fee is waived for the first year.

No foreign transaction fees

You won't need to pay more if you use your credit card while traveling abroad.

Read more: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards

What could be improved

Lounge access

You won't get any airport lounge access through this card. Given the card's reasonable annual fee, it's understandable that it doesn't offer a full American Airlines Admirals Club membership. But there are airline cards in the same annual fee range that at least offer a couple of day passes.

Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit

It has become increasingly common for travel rewards credit cards to cover your membership fee with either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, both of which can cut down how long you wait in airport security lines. The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® doesn't have this benefit, though.

Learn more: Best Rewards Credit Cards

To apply for CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®, you should have a FICO® Score of 670 or higher. Applicants usually need good credit to qualify for this card.

Since you'll be applying for a business credit card, you also need a business. Small businesses, side hustles, and sole proprietorships will all qualify.

The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® offers enough valuable perks to make the $99 annual fee worth it, but only for the airline's frequent flyers who can take advantage of those benefits.

A free checked bag can save you $60 each round trip, and you'll save even more if you also have travel companions with their own luggage to check. If you spend at least $30,000 and get an American Airlines companion certificate, you can redeem that certificate and get much more than $99 in value.

There's also the value of the miles you earn using this card. AAdvantage® miles are generally worth $0.01 to $0.015, depending on how you use them. Using the lower end of that range, this card's sign-up bonus will likely be worth at least $650.

Read more: Best Citi Credit Cards

The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® is a perfect fit if you have a business and you fly multiple times per year with American Airlines. It's an especially smart choice if you live near the Dallas/Fort Worth airport or any of the airline's other hubs, since you'll have plenty of opportunities to book flights with American Airlines and redeem your miles.

Ideally, you should plan to spend at least $2,500 per month ($30,000 per year) in purchases with this card. That way, you'll earn more than enough miles to outweigh the cost of the annual fee, and you'll get a companion pass.

Our credit card methodology

At The Motley Fool Ascent, we rate credit cards on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). Our rating criteria includes rewards rates, welcome bonuses, fees, and perks like travel credits and 0% intro APR offers to evaluate our ratings.

We combine these factors with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best card recommendations. Learn more about how The Ascent rates credit cards.