The American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® helps you earn both AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points without an annual fee requirement. The card rewards grocery store purchases and American Airlines spending while offering inflight savings, making it suitable for occasional flyers building toward elite status.
This credit card review will cover everything you need to know about this card to determine if you should add this card or a different card to your wallet. Let’s dive right in.
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- 2x Miles on American Airlines and at Grocery Stores
- Earns Loyalty Points Towards Elite Status
- 25% In-Flight Savings on Food and Drinks
- No Annual Fee
Welcome Bonus of Citi AAdvantage MileUp
The AAdvantage MileUp Card currently offers the following welcome bonus: bonus_miles_full
Before applying, it’s important to note the card’s eligibility restrictions. You won’t qualify for this bonus if you’ve received a welcome bonus on this specific card within the past 48 months. However, having other American Airlines credit cards won’t impact your eligibility for the MileUp card’s bonus.
Since this is a Citi-issued card, you’ll need to follow their application timing rules. These include waiting at least eight days between Citi card applications and limiting yourself to no more than two Citi cards within a 65-day period.
Earning Miles with AAdvantage MileUp
The AAdvantage MileUp Card earns miles at the following rate:
You’ll find better earning rates for everyday spending with transferable points cards that offer more flexibility in redemption options. While the 2x grocery store multiplier is unique among American Airlines cards, other cards offer 3-5x points in this category.
The main appeal here isn’t the rewards earning – it’s the ability to earn Loyalty Points toward elite status without an annual fee. For someone primarily focused on maximizing rewards on daily purchases, better options exist in the market.
No Annual Fee
The AAdvantage MileUp Card has no annual fee, making it an appealing option if you want to earn American Airlines miles without paying yearly costs. While you won’t get premium travel perks, you can still enjoy benefits like 25% savings on inflight food and beverages and double miles at grocery stores.
Authorized users can be added to the MileUp Card at no additional cost, which helps families maximize their mileage earning potential.
AAdvantage MileUp Card Benefits
The MileUp card has very few benefits. You do not get free checked bags or priority boarding unlike the American Airlines cards with annual fees.
25% In-Flight Savings– Save 25% on food and beverage purchases during American Airlines flights when you use your card.
Citi Concierge– The MileUp card has access to the Citi Concierge to assist you with your travel, shopping, dining, entertainment, and everyday needs. You can contact them at [email protected] or 1-800-508-8930.
Citi Entertainment– Citi Entertainment gets Citi cardholders special access to purchase tickets to thousands of events, including pre-sale tickets, and exclusive experiences.
Redeeming American AAdvantage Miles
American Airlines AAdvantage miles offer excellent value for savvy travelers, particularly for international premium cabin redemptions with its Oneworld partners. While domestic awards can be reasonable, the real sweet spots lie in partner airline bookings and long-haul flights. One of the best uses is flying to the Middle East or India in business class for just 70,000 miles one-way. This can get you on Qatar Airways’ renowned Qsuite or Etihad’s luxurious business class product. Another standout option is business class to Africa for 75,000 miles, accessing destinations like South Africa or Kenya via Middle Eastern hubs. Asia is another region where AAdvantage miles shine. You can fly business class to Japan or South Korea for 60,000 miles, or to destinations like Thailand or Singapore for 70,000 miles. While availability can be challenging, patience can score you seats on top-rated airlines like Japan Airlines or Cathay Pacific. For those eyeing American’s own premium cabins, dynamic pricing sometimes yields attractive rates, especially on connecting itineraries. You might find business class to Europe for 62,000 miles or even first class to Australia for 75,000 miles. AAdvantage also excels in bookings between other regions. For instance, Middle East to Asia in business class for 40,000 miles or South Pacific to Asia for the same price can offer exceptional value.
Pros and Cons
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of this card:
Pros:
No Annual Fee: Perfect for beginners or those wanting to build credit without paying annual fees while still earning American Airlines miles.
Grocery Rewards: The 2x earning rate at grocery stores sets this card apart from other American Airlines cards, offering good value for everyday spending.
In-Flight Savings: The 25% discount on food and beverage purchases during American Airlines flights provides tangible value for cardholders.
Elite Status Pathway: You can earn Loyalty Points through card spending, contributing to American Airlines elite status qualification without paying an annual fee.
Cons:
Limited Travel Benefits: Unlike premium American Airlines cards, this card lacks key travel perks like free checked bags or priority boarding.
Foreign Transaction Fees: The 3% foreign transaction fee makes this card impractical for international travel.
Basic Card Protections: The card offers minimal travel and purchase protections compared to other travel rewards cards.
Small Welcome Bonus: The welcome bonus is significantly lower than other American Airlines credit cards, offering limited initial value.
Alternatives to the MileUp Card
Now that you know about this credit card’s various benefits and pros and cons, it’s time to see its alternatives.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review) is one of the most popular travel rewards cards because it offers nice welcome bonus and extra points on travel and dining, which can be transferred to airline and hotel partners or redeemed directly for travel at a rate of 1.25 cents per point through Chase Travel℠. The Sapphire Preferred also offers great travel and purchase protections for a card with a $95 annual fee. Welcome Bonus: Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Earning Rewards: 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3x points on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2x points on all other travel purchases, and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. Card Benefits: Ability to transfer to airline and hotel partners, 25% bonus when redeeming points through Chase Travel, $50 annual hotel stay credit via Chase Travel, 10% anniversary points bonus, no foreign transaction fees, primary rental car insurance, trip delay insurance, trip cancellation insurance, baggage delay insurance, purchase protection, and extended warranty. Transfer Partners: Aer Lingus, Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways, Emirates, Air France KLM Flying Blue, Hyatt, IHG, Iberia, JetBlue, Marriott, Singapore KrisFlyer, Southwest, United, and Virgin Atlantic.
Bilt Mastercard®
The Bilt Mastercard® (review) lets you earn valuable travel rewards on rent payments without fees while offering bonus points on dining and travel purchases. This no-annual-fee card stands out for its unique rent payment feature and strong travel benefits like rental car coverage and trip protection. Earning Rewards: 5x points on Lyft; 3x points on dining; 2x points on travel purchases; 1x points on rent payments without any transaction fees up to 100,000 points per year, and 1x points on everything else. (Five transactions are required per billing cycle to earn points.) Card Benefits: No transaction fees to pay rent and earn 1x points, primary rental car insurance, cell phone protection, trip delay and trip cancellation insurance, purchase protection, and no foreign transaction fees.
Is the Citi AAdvantage MileUp Card Worth It?
The Citi AAdvantage MileUp card is a solid entry point into airline rewards with no annual fee, making it perfect if you’re new to miles and points or want a basic way to earn American Airlines miles. You’ll get decent value from the welcome bonus and ongoing perks like 25% off inflight purchases, plus the unique ability to earn 2x miles at grocery stores which isn’t offered on other American Airlines cards. The card can also help you earn elite status through spending if that’s important to you, though you’ll need to put significant spending on the card to make meaningful progress.
However, the card’s limited benefits like no free checked bags or priority boarding make it less compelling than premium American Airlines cards if you fly frequently with the airline.
For most people, I’d recommend looking at cards with annual fees that offer more substantial perks such as teh Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® , or considering a flexible rewards card that earns transferable points such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – but the MileUp can work well as a starter card or downgrade option if you want to avoid annual fees while still earning some American Airlines miles.
