Which American Airlines Credit Card should you get? Citi AAdvantage Bronze, Gold or World Mastercard? Find out here.

In this article, I am going to compare the three American Airlines credit card that is issued by Citibank. There are more American Airlines credit card than other airline cards. They each have slightly different features and we will explain their differences and help you decide which card is right for you. At the end, we will also suggest an alternative to earning AAdvantage miles.

American Airlines AAdvantage Credit Card Comparison

	Citi® Gold AAdvantage Visa Signature Card	Citi® AAdvantage American Express Card	Citi® Platinum Select AAdvantage Visa Signature Card	Citi® ExecutiveSM AAdvantage® World Elite MasterCard	CitiBUsiness® AAdvantage® Visa Card
Miles Formula	1 Mile = $1.00	1 Mile = $1.00	2 Mile = $1.00	2 Mile = $1.00	2 Mile = $1.00
Bonus Miles	30,000 After $750 Spending within 4 months $50 Statement Credit For 1st Ticket Purchase within 12 months	30,000 After $750 Spending within 4 months $50 Statement Credit For 1st Ticket Purchase within 12 months	30,000 After $750 Spending within 4 months Additional 10,000 Miles After Spending $6,000 within 6 months $100 Statement Credit For 1st Ticket Purchase within 12 months	25,000 After $1,000 Spending within 4 months 10,000 Elite Qualifying Miles if you spend $40,000 a year	30,000 After $750 Spending within 4 months Additional 10,000 Miles After Spending $6,000 within 6 months $100 Statement Credit For 1st Ticket Purchase within 12 months
Annual Fee	$50	$50	$85	$450	$75
Anniversary Bonus	Reduced Mileage Award - 7,500 miles	Reduced Mileage Award - 7,500 miles	Reduced Mileage Award - 7,500 miles	Reduced Mileage Award - 7,500 miles	n.a.
Caps on Miles	60,000 - unless elite member	60,000 - unless elite member	100,000 - unless elite member	No Caps	150,000 - unless elite member

Which AAdvantage Card If You Are Not A Churner - Citi probably has the most number of different versions of the AAdvantage cards compared to other airline cards. They have a gold version, an Amex version (which has the same features as the gold), two Platinum Select Versions (Visa and MasterCard), an Elite version and a business version. If you are not someone who churns airline cards, then you have to choose carefully which card to have.

I would actually avoid both the Gold and Amex versions because you have to pay a $50 annual fee and you also cannot earn double miles. The Platinum version offers the best value because you can earn double miles. And right now, there is a 40,000 bonus miles for new cardholders if you meet their spending criteria.

The Elite version is interesting because if you spend $40,000 a year, you could earn 10,000 EQMs. You can also access their Admiral Lounge with the card and bring up to two guest. Just how much is the 10,000 EQMs valuable to you really depends on how much you fly? As a guide, you need 25,000 EQMs for Gold status, 50,000 for Platinum status and 100,000 for Executive Platinum status. Getting the 10,000 EQMs as anniversary bonus may edge you closer to the nearest elite status.

The decision to whether to choose the Platinum Select version or the Elite version will depend on how much you value the EQMs and the free lounge access. And if the extra annual fee ($450 versus $85) is worth it. Only you can answer this question.

The business version has almost identical features as the Platinum Select version and will suit the small business owners who fly American Airlines.

Also Consider the Starwood Preferred Guest Card - Another card to consider getting to supplement your AAdvantage is the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express. If you are a business owner, the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express Open is an even better card.

The are several reasons for considering the Starwood card. Firstly, the Starwood preferred Guest Program allows you to exchange starwood points for Aadvantage miles at a one for one ratio. Secondly, Starwood will give you 5,000 bonus aadvantage miles when you choose to exchange 20,000 points! That means you only need to earn 20,000 points to get an additional 5,000 miles! You can also earn double points at Starwood Hotels. Secondly, American Airlines in the the process of reorganizing itself in the chapter 11 bankruptcy process. The very likely outcome is that they will emerge a much healthier company after shedding long term cost (just like United, Continental and Delta) have in recent years. However, there is always that risk that they have to be liquidated (it depends on the bankruptcy judge and not on what American Airlines tell you). If you have a lot of AA miles, it is a good idea to use them. And if are not really a super frequent flier of AA, then perhaps the Starwood card offers great safety since they have over 30 airline partners which you can transfer your points to (mostly on one for one ratio).