American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Card
- Best for: Occasional American Airlines flyers who travel with only a carry-on and want miles without an annual fee
- What Sets It Apart: Citi’s only American Airlines card with no annual fee; double miles at grocery stores
- Cost: $0 annual fee; 19.74% to 29.74% variable interest rate; 3% foreign transaction fee
- Features: 15,000 bonus miles and a $100 statement credit after $500 in purchases in 3 months; 2 miles per $1 at grocery stores and on American Airlines purchases; 1 mile per $1 on everything else; 1 Loyalty Point per $1; 25% back on inflight food and drinks
- Pros: No annual fee; welcome offer worth about $310; free authorized user cards
- Cons: No free checked bag, preferred boarding, or lounge access; 1 mile per $1 on most purchases; no double miles at superstores or warehouse clubs; 3% foreign transaction fee
Get the Citi AAdvantage MileUp Card if you want American Airlines miles at grocery stores and on American purchases without paying an annual fee. If you check a bag on two or more round trips a year, pick Citi’s AAdvantage Platinum Select card instead for its free first checked bag.
The MileUp is Citi’s only American Airlines card with no annual fee, built for occasional American flyers. Frequent Miler, which compared cash and award prices on about 8.85 million American Airlines searches, values AAdvantage miles at about 1.4 cents each when you redeem them for flights.
Key Features
- No annual fee
- 15,000 bonus miles and a $100 statement credit after $500 in purchases in the first 3 months
- 2 miles per $1 on eligible American Airlines purchases and at grocery stores, 1 mile per $1 on everything else
- 1 Loyalty Point per $1 spent in every category, counting toward AAdvantage elite status
- 19.74% to 29.74% variable interest rate (APR) on balances you carry
Pros
- Welcome offer worth about $310, counting the miles at 1.4 cents each
- At 1.4 cents a mile, about 2.8 cents back per $1 at grocery stores, more than the 2 cents a 2% cash back card pays
- 25% back on food and drinks you buy with the card on domestic American flights
- Free authorized user cards whose purchases earn you miles
Cons
- No free checked bag, preferred boarding, companion fare, or lounge access
- Only 1 mile per $1 on other purchases, about 1.4 cents back, less than the 2 cents a 2% cash back card pays
- No double miles at superstores or warehouse clubs
- Slow progress toward status, since AAdvantage Gold, the lowest elite tier, takes 40,000 Loyalty Points, or $40,000 of spending on the card alone
- 3% fee on foreign purchases
The MileUp is worth opening if you fly American a few times a year with only a carry-on and put your grocery spending on it. If you check a bag on two round trips a year and pay American’s $45 online fee each way, the AAdvantage Platinum Select’s free first bag on domestic flights saves $180, $81 more than its $99 annual fee.
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