Once again Citi is cracking down and tightening up their rules regarding the time needed to earn a welcome bonus if you have had the same card before.
Earlier this month Citi added language to the personal Citi AAdvantage card about not being eligible for the bonus if you have opened or closed the same card in the past 24 months.
Via an update on this Flyertalk thread the CitiBusiness AAdvantage credit card now has the 24 month language on the application page.
Here is the language that was added to the application page for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage card:
"Bonus miles and any other special offer not available if you have had a CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World MasterCard® opened or closed in the past 24 months"
24 Month Rule Now Applies to All Citi AA Cards (Personal and Business)
The 24 month language is now seen on all personal and business versions of the Citi AAdvantage cards. This include the Gold, Platinum (personal/business), and Executive versions of the AAdvantage credit cards.
In the past these cards have been a powerful way to earn 50,000 American Airlines miles and you could earn the bonus every 18 months. It was easy to switch back and forth between the two cards earning 50,000 each time for signing up. Now to earn another bonus you will have to wait at least 24 months before applying for a new Citi AAdvantage credit card.
(Note: This new 24 month rule was applied to the personal version of the Citi Addvantage credit card earlier this month.)
Now What? Current Best Ways to Earn AA Miles
With Citi's stricter rules for earning the welcome bonus on the AA Addvantage cards it makes it a bit more difficult (or slower) to quickly earn American Airline miles. Here is a list of cards that offer a bonus of AA miles either directly or indirectly (via transferring points to miles):
Citi® / AAdvantage® Gold MasterCard®
- Application rules: 24 months
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World MasterCard®
- Application rules: 24 months
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World MasterCard®
- Application rules: 24 months
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World EliteTM MasterCard®
- Application rules: 24 months
CitiGold Checking Account
- Application rules: exact rules unknown
AMEX SPG Personal Card
- Application rules: once per lifetime
AMEX SPG Business Card
- Application rules: once per lifetime
The Bottom Line
With the 24 month rule hitting the personal version of the Citi AAdvantage earlier this month I don't think we can be surprised that the rule carried over to the business version of the card.
It's ultimately bad news, but doesn't make it impossible to rack up a lot of AA miles. You'll just need to diversify and spread out your applications between the various card products offering AA miles. There are also likely workaround methods still alive that allow you to break the 24 month rule and earn the bonus more frequently---including targeted offers and the "Elite World" upgrade loophole.
