CitiBusiness® AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard® Review

Best for: The business traveler loyal to American Airlines and looking to be rewarded double miles for travel expenses and business purchases.  

For the business owner who loves to travel on American Airlines, the CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Mastercard offers a way to earn double airline miles on travel and business expenses. In addition to earning you double rewards miles, you’ll also get discounts on travel and in-flight amenities, which can add up to substantial savings for a busy entrepreneur traveling across the globe.

When you’re not earning double points on featured categories, you can still earn single AAdvantage miles for every dollar you spend on all other purchases. And if you end up spending $30,000 within your cardmember year, you can receive a companion certificate for domestic travel.

No matter the size of your business, if you’re a loyal American Airlines traveler, this card is worth considering because of its generous sign-up bonus, and its waived annual fee in the first 12 months.

The basics 

• APR: 17.49% to 26.49% variable APR for purchases; 26.74% for cash advances.
• Annual Fee: $99, but waived for the first 12 months.
• Reward Rates:  Earn two miles for every $1 spent with cable and satellite providers, telecommunications merchants, car rentals, gas stations and American Airlines purchases; earn one mile for every $1 spent on other purchases.
• Intro Offer: Earn 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $4,000 in the first four months of opening your account.

Standout features 

• No foreign transaction fees make the CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Mastercard an ideal card to use for business travels abroad.
• Your first checked bag is free for you and up to four companions traveling on the same American Airlines domestic itineraries flight.
• You’ll have access to Group 5 preferred boarding for you and up to four companions traveling on the same American Airlines reservation.
• Save 25% on eligible inflight purchases of food and beverages when you use your card. 
• Save 25% on inflight Wi-Fi purchases on American Airlines flights when you use your card.
• If you spend $30,000 or more in eligible purchases within a cardmember year, you can earn a domestic economy fare American Airlines Companion Certificate worth $99.
• Cardmembers get 24/7 access to a personal business assistant that can help with travel, hotel and dining arrangements.

Best way to use this card 

As a savvy business owner, the first thing you want to do is grab that sign up bonus of 65,000 American Airlines miles. Use your card for all your business expenses to make sure you spend $4,000 in the first four months of opening your account.

You’ll also want to switch your business cable or satellite bills to be paid through this card as that would help you maximize the rewards in the telecommunications category. Also, don’t forget to do the same with any purchases and services related to that category because they qualify for double points as well; that includes telephones, fax machines, pagers, and cell phone services.

Accelerate your earning power, and get to the sign-up bonus faster, by adding employees or business partners to the account as authorized users. They can help you earn double miles because it will count for each card.

In a nutshell 

The CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Mastercard is for the dedicated American Airlines business traveler who likes to be rewarded double miles for business purchases and travel expenses.  Plus, with travel benefits like your first checked bag free, preferred boarding, no foreign transaction fee, and 25% savings on food, beverage and Wi-Fi, this business travel card makes it easy to earn points.  You can also add employees and business partners as authorized users to help earn miles on the card, and everyone can benefit from the American Airlines cardmember travel perks.

However, if you don’t often travel on American Airlines or make enough purchases in the double-point categories for this card, you can save money and reap more rewards with other business credit card, such as the Chase Ink Business Unlimited and the Chase Ink Business Cash, which offer 0% introductory APR and no annual fees, will also let you redeem points for other things like, cash, hotel stays, travel on other airlines or a statement credit.