Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard review: Get a free checked bag and priority boarding

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As the largest airline in the world by market share, American Airlines opens up a world of travel opportunities to its customers. Despite recent setbacks to its loyalty program, AAdvantage miles can still be incredibly valuable, whether you want to use them to fly on American itself or one of its many partner airlines, such as JetBlue, British Airways, Japan Airlines and Qantas.

If you're looking to boost your AAdvantage balance, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is an excellent way to do so. The card is offering a welcome bonus of 50,000 bonus miles after spending $2,500 within three months of account opening. And with the card's $99 annual fee waived the first year, it's an easy opportunity to dip your toe into the AAdvantage program and see if this card is a good fit long-term. 

Below, CNBC Select breaks down everything you need to know about the Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard, from its rewards to its additional benefits and fees.

• Welcome bonus
• Benefits and perks
• How to earn and redeem AAdvantage miles
• Rates and fees
• Card comparison
• Is the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard right for you?
• Bottom line

The Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select offers a generous sign-up bonus of 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $2,500 in purchases within the first three months of card membership.

Before applying for this card, remember that Citi restricts approvals for co-branded American Airlines credit cards. You won't be eligible for another bonus if you've received a sign-up bonus from this card in the last 48 months. However, you are eligible for this bonus even if you recently applied for a different American Airlines card, such as the higher-end Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®.

The Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select is packed with travel benefits that can help cardholders save money and improve their travel experience when flying American Airlines. Chief among them is the ability to earn one Loyalty Point for every dollar spent on the card. 

Loyalty Points determine your elite status with American Airlines. Earning status used to be determined by the number of miles or segments flown. Nowadays, you can earn status through various activities that include flying, using American's shopping portal and credit card spending, to name a few. AAdvantage elite status starts at 40,000 Loyalty Points for Gold and reaches 200,000 for top-tier Executive Platinum.

Even if you don't earn status, you can enjoy elite-style benefits with the card, including:

• First checked bag free: You and up to four companions on the same reservation will receive your first checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries (normally $30).
• Preferred boarding: You and your companions can board with Group 5.
• Savings on in-flight purchases: Receive a 25% discount on in-flight food and beverage purchases when you use your credit card to pay.

Plus, the card's annual flight discount can provide value beyond the $99 annual fee. If you can manage $20,000 in credit card spending per membership year, you'll get a $125 flight discount valid on American Airlines tickets. It's a nice spending incentive to the card's already solid earn rates on everyday purchases. 

Lastly, using your card abroad won't incur those pesky foreign transaction fees, which can add up quite a bit, with some cards charging around 3%. 

Earning

The Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select offers elevated rewards in several common spending categories. Here's a look at how many miles the card earns in various categories:

• 2X miles per dollar at restaurants and gas stations.
• 2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases.
• 1X mile on all other purchases. 

As mentioned above, you'll also earn 1X Loyalty Points toward elite status on all purchases.

Redeeming

American Airlines recently scrapped its traditional frequent flyer award chart in favor of dynamic pricing without a specified mileage cap for American-operated flights. However, the program maintains several "sweet spot" awards to help you maximize your rewards.

According to American, one-way tickets within the contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada start at 7,500 miles in economy, though we've seen some flights for as low as 6,000 miles.

If you want to travel abroad, you can book a trip to the Middle East in Qatar Airways' famous Qsuite business class seat for just 70,000 miles each way. Or, if the last few years of travel restrictions have you pining for a trip to Asia, it will be the same number of miles to fly Japan Airlines or Cathay Pacific business class to destinations like Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand or Vietnam.

If you want a trip abroad with a shorter flight, you can book round-trip economy tickets to Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean for just 35,000 miles each. And if you're looking for bargain award flights to Europe, you can get there in the off-season for as few as 45,000 AAdvantage miles round-trip.

Regardless of your travel goals, the card's welcome bonus from this card will go quite a long way in getting you there. In addition to American Airlines flights, you can redeem AAdvantage miles for flights on the following Oneworld and non-alliance partners:

• Air Tahiti Nui
• Alaska Airlines
• British Airways
• Cape Air
• Cathay Pacific
• China Southern Airlines
• Etihad Airways
• Fiji Airways
• Finnair
• GOL Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Iberia
• IndiGo
• Japan Airlines
• JetBlue
• Malaysia Airlines
• Qantas
• Qatar Airways
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian Airlines
• Silver Airways
• SriLankan Airlines

The Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select has a $99 annual fee, which is waived for the first year. The card charges no foreign transaction fees and carries a 20.99%- 29.99% variable purchase APR.

Chase Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard vs. AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard

The closest competitor to the Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select is the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard. The Aviator Red card has a $99 annual fee, which isn't waived the first year. The card has a higher welcome bonus at a much lower spending requirement: 70,000 miles after the first purchase and paying the $99 annual fee within the first 90 days. 

The Aviator Red card earns 2 miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 mile everywhere else. The card's earning rate is much more limited than what the Citi card offers as it doesn't offer bonuses for spending at restaurants and gas stations. 

Like the Citi card, this card offers 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases, a free checked bag, and preferred boarding for up to four companions. Instead of a flight voucher, cardholders who spend $20,000 yearly receive a companion certificate to book a second traveler's flight for just $99 plus taxes. 

One significant advantage of the Aviator Red card is that it provides travel accident insurance, trip cancellation and interruption coverage, baggage delay insurance and auto rental collision damage waiver. The card also offers 0% APR for 15 months on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening, 20.99% - 29.99% variable thereafter. 

The Aviator Red card is better if you want a card with travel protections and a 0% APR offer during the first year. However, the Citi AAdvantage Platinum card comes out ahead if you want a bigger welcome bonus and higher ongoing rewards.

Chase Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard vs. Capital One Venture

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees) might be an odd choice to compare against the Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select. After all, Capital One miles don't transfer to American Airlines. However, you can use your Venture miles to pay for American flights at a fixed rate of one cent per mile. You can book any flight without worrying about award inventory or dynamic pricing. You can also transfer Venture miles to British Airways Executive Club, and then book American Airlines flights from there.

The Venture Card currently offers a generous welcome bonus similar to the AAdvantage Platinum card: 75,000 miles after $4,000 spent within three months of account opening. You can redeem this bonus for $750 worth of flights or transfer them to over a dozen airlines and hotels for a potentially higher value.

The Venture card has a $95 annual fee and earns 2 miles per dollar on all spending, making it ideal if most of your spending falls outside of the dining, gas and American Airlines categories that earn 2X rewards with the AAdvantage Platinum card (see rates and fees). In addition, you'll earn 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and get premium perks like two free lounge visits per year and Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application credit every four years.

The Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select is best for travelers who wish to earn miles and receive perks with American Airlines. This card offers a variety of benefits, such as a free checked bag, priority boarding and elevated rewards in select spending categories. The ability to earn an annual flight voucher makes the card even more rewarding, helping cover the annual $95 annual fee. 

Since the annual fee is waived the first year, this is an excellent opportunity to test-drive the card. You'll get a generous welcome bonus and valuable perks if you fly with American Airlines. You'll either decide it's worth holding onto long-term or that an alternate card might be a better fit. Either way, it won't cost you anything except a credit inquiry. 

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard offers a generous welcome bonus for an airline credit card. If you want to boost your AAdvantage balance and add a card to your wallet with practical travel benefits, this card could be an excellent fit. Even if you're just an occasional traveler, but usually check a bag, this card will quickly pay for itself. With no annual fee during the first year and a sign-up bonus that can potentially take you around the world, it's certainly worth looking into.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best credit cards.

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