Is your credit good enough for the Citi / AAdvantage card?

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The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is a solid option for American Airlines travelers looking for their first checked bag free on domestic flights. Sure, it may seem counterintuitive to apply for an airline credit card during a time when many of us aren’t flying due to coronavirus concerns. But although you can’t take advantage of many of the card’s benefits while you aren’t flying, you can spend toward Million Miler status and build up your AAdvantage mileage balance for when you’re ready to travel again.

If you’re considering applying for the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select, you may be uncertain whether you have a high enough credit score to be approved. Let’s look at what it takes to get approved for this travel rewards credit card.

Credit score required for the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select

Citi doesn’t publish specific credit scores needed to be accepted for its cards. After all, your credit score is just one of many considerations issuers take into account when deciding whether to approve a consumer for a card.

But you’ll generally need an excellent credit score of at least 760 to be approved for a rewards credit card like the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard. That said, it’s possible to get approved with a lower score if other aspects of your credit portfolio look appealing to the issuer.

What is the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select?

The Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select is a cobranded American Airlines credit card issued by Citi. This cobranded airline credit card can easily be worth its $99 annual fee even if you only fly American Airlines domestically a few times each year. This is because by simply having this card you and up to four companions traveling with you on the same reservation get your first checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries.

You’ll also earn two AAdvantage miles per dollar spent at gas stations, restaurants and on eligible American Airlines purchases.

How many card accounts can I have open?

Citi seemingly doesn’t limit the overall number of credit cards you can have open. However Citi does seem to have a maximum credit line that it is willing to extend across all of your Citi cards. So, if you have at least one other Citi credit card and aren’t approved for a new card, you may want to call Citi’s reconsideration line to see if shifting some credit from one of your current cards will allow you to open the new card.

Who is eligible for a sign-up bonus?

You won’t be eligible to earn a sign-up bonus on the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select if you’ve received a sign-up bonus for the card within the last 48 months. Specifically, the pricing and information section on the application page for this card notes:

American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles can be earned by new Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® card cardmembers approved through this offer. 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.

How to check your credit score

There are many ways to check your credit score for free. For example, many credit cards let you check your FICO score for no charge. It’s a good idea to track your score’s progress over time, especially if you’re working to improve your credit score.

But it’s important to realize that you don’t have just one credit score. Instead, there are different calculation methods, such as FICO Score and VantageScore, and different credit reporting agencies, such as TransUnion and Experian. Your credit score will vary based on the calculation method and credit reporting agency that is used.

Factors that affect your credit score

Once you know your credit score range, you may be wondering what factors affect your credit score. There are a few formulas for calculating your credit score, but none of the exact calculations are public. This being said, FICO is relatively transparent about the different factors they assess and how much weight each is given:

• Payment history (35%): Whether you’ve paid past credit accounts on time.
• Amounts owed (30%): The relative size of your current debt and the ratio of your current debt to your available credit.
• Length of credit history (15%): How long your credit accounts have been established (including the age of your oldest account, the age of your newest account and an average age of all your accounts), how long certain credit accounts have been established and how long it has been since you used certain accounts.
• New credit (10%): How many new accounts have you opened recently.
• Credit mix (10%): How many different types of credit accounts you have, such credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, finance company accounts and mortgage loans.

What to do if you get rejected

If your application is rejected, you’ll get a letter in the mail that states why Citi turned down your application. Depending on the reasons given for the rejection, you may want to use this information to improve your credit score before applying again. Or, if you believe you can provide additional information that might lead to approval of your application, you can call Citi’s reconsideration line at 1-800-695-5171 and make your case.

If you decide to call the reconsideration line, you’ll want to explain that you recently applied for the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard, were surprised to see that your application was rejected and ask to speak to someone about getting that decision reconsidered. Once the agent pulls up your application, be prepared to present a compelling argument for why Citi should approve your application.

How long to wait before applying again

It’s best to avoid applying again for a Citi card until you’ve addressed the reasons Citi gave for rejecting you. But, if you want to apply again or apply for a different Citi card, the consensus is that you can only apply for one Citi card (personal or business) every eight days and no more than two cards in a 65-day window.

Do you get lounge access?

No, you do not get lounge access as a cardholder of the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select.

If you’re looking for Admirals Club access when flying American Airlines, you should consider the $450 annual fee Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®. The Citi / AAdvantage Executive card provides full membership access privileges to Admirals Club lounges for the primary cardholder and access privileges to American Airlines Admirals Club lounges for authorized users, which can make it a better value than purchasing an Admirals Club membership. You can also spend between 55,000 and 65,000 AAdvantage miles (depending on your status) to pay for an annual membership.

Do you get a free checked bag?

As a cardholder of the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select, you and up to four companions traveling with you on the same reservation will each get a first checked bag free on domestic itineraries that are marketed by American Airlines and operated by American Airlines or American Eagle.

To take advantage of this benefit, your credit card account must be open at least seven days before travel and the reservation must include the primary credit card member’s American Airlines AAdvantage number at least seven days before travel. Overweight and oversize fees still apply, and if you close your account, you’ll lose this benefit.

What is the best American Airlines credit card?

There are several consumer American Airlines credit cards, some issued by Citi and some issued by Barclays, which are currently open for applications. Here’s a quick summary of these cards.

The information for the AAdvantage Aviator Red has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bottom line

There’s no single best credit card for American Airlines flyers. Instead, the best card for you depends on what you’re looking for in a card.

From example, the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select and AAdvantage Aviator Red are both good options for American Airlines travelers who fly with the airline frequently enough to get at least $99 of value from the card’s checked bag allowance on domestic American Airlines itineraries. These cards have different earning rates and benefits, so you just have to decide which card’s benefits you prefer.

The Citi / AAdvantage Executive card is a good choice for more frequent American Airlines flyers who are looking for Admirals Club access when flying with American.

Apply here for the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard