The Tale Of 2 Offers – AA’s 50,000 Mile Offer & 40,000 Mile + $100 Offer

It is becoming increasingly popular for credit card issuers (and their co-brands) to offer a variety of sign-up bonuses to their customers. For most people, the offer with more miles/points is always going to be the offer we gravitate to. However, it is nice to have options and a variety of bonuses – especially when one of the bonuses comes with cash back!

The Tale Of 2 Offers

AAdvantage Platinum 50,000 Mile Offer

After yesterday’s late-by-a-few-minutes post published about the never ending “Limited-Time Offer” on the AA Executive AAdvantage card, AA launched another “limited-time” offer on a card that has already had that bonus for quite a while – the 50,000 miles on the Citi AAdvantage Platinum card. While AA normally advertised it as 30,000 miles on their website, it was always available at another link for 50,000 miles.

This offer is available for both business and personal cards and are pretty decent, easy ways to pick up a lot of valuable AA miles. Here is what the personal card offers for benefits:

• 50,000 miles after spending $3,000 in 3 months
• No foreign transaction fees on purchases
• Your first checked bag is free for you and up to 4 traveling companions on domestic itineraries
• Group 1 Boarding on domestic flights
• 25% savings on eligible in-flight purchases
• Earn 10% of your redeemed AAdvantage^® miles back
• Earn double miles on eligible American Airlines purchases
• $95 annual fee (waived the first year)
• AAdvantage Platinum Select Personal Application Link

Here is what the business card offers for benefits:

• 50,000 miles after spending $3,000 in 3 months
• No foreign transaction fees on purchases
• First checked bag free on domestic itineraries
• Group 1 boarding on domestic itineraries
• 2 AAdvantage^® miles for every $1 you spend on eligible American Airlines purchases and on purchases at telecommunications merchants and car rental merchants – and, after 11/15/15, at gas stations
• Fly using fewer AAdvantage^® miles with Reduced Mileage Awards
• 25% savings on eligible in-flight purchases
• Earn an American Airlines Companion Certificate (after spending $30,000 in a year)
• AAdvantage Platinum Select Business Application Link

AAdvantage Platinum 40,000 Mile + $100 Offer

– AAdvantage Platinum Personal Application Link

– AAdvantage Platinum Business Application Link

Both card offers have exactly the same benefits and details as the above 50,000 mile offers – except for the bonus.

But, now they have made that 50,000 mile bonus official – for both the personal and the business card. For me, I was more interested in seeing the offer that was made to customers who were checking out on a reservation. That is always the best way to ensure that you are seeing the best/different available offers on a particular card.

$100 Statement Credit – With A Twist

In the past, that card was available for 30,000 miles and $100 statement credit. I figured with the increase on the public AA card offer that this would go up as well – and it did! It now sits at 40,000 miles and $100 statement credit after spending $3,000 in 3 months. However, the statement credit is tied to your spending on American Airlines. You will receive $1 back for every $1 spent at American Airlines within the first 12 months – up to the $100.

So, that offer is really only for someone to think about if they are actually going to be spending money on AA (not just redeeming for awards – though the credits would work on taxes and fees paid). In fact, for most people, that offer is really the inferior offer as the 50,000 mile one gives you 10,000 more AA miles while not requiring any spending at AA to get the full sign-up bonus.

Still it is nice to have options. If you have a healthy AA mileage balance right now and you were looking to add this card to your wallet – for the nice benefits of getting 10% rebate on miles spent each year and access to the reduced mileage awards – the 40,000 miles + $100 offer may work out for you.

Summary

At the end of the day, earning miles and points is all about helping you to get to travel more/better for less. If getting a $100 statement credit helps you to achieve what might not have been possible otherwise (like paying the taxes/fees on a particular AA award or paying for an award change fee), then it is nice to have that offer there.

But, for everyone else, I would still go for the 50,000 mile offer. It is definitely something I would trade all day long – a $100 credit for 10,000 AA miles.