The other day I wrote about the credit card offer in the mail that I did NOT want to see. That necessitated a call into Citibank customer service, and while I was in the “calling banks” zone, I figured I would call on a SEPARATE Citibank card. On my Cit AA World Business Mastercard, the annual fee is coming due, so I called in and asked about possible retention offers.
Citi AAdvantage retention offers
Here were the Citi AAdvantage retention offers that I was given
- Spend $3000 in the next 3 months, get a $95 statement credit. This would offset the annual
- Make just one $50 purchase in the next month, get a $50 statement credit
- Get 10,000 bonus miles if I spend $5000 in the next 6 months (no statement credit)
- Over the next 16 billing cycles, if I spend $2500, I’ll earn 2500 bonus miles per cycle.
- Over the next 16 billing cycles, if I spend $1000 I earn 1000 bonus miles per cycle.
Of course there is a 6th option – just close the card. 
I do like the Citi AAdvantage cards, because they give a 10% rebate on miles, and they have access to the Citi AAdvantage Reduced Mileage awards, which is just about the cheapest you can get cross-country flights.
But, my wife and I both already have personal versions of the card so we don’t necessarily need it. $40,000 in spending for 120,000 miles (EDIT: user error – it’s actually only 80,000 miles) sounds tempting, but I’d rather use that to sign up for new cards and meet spending bonuses.
Which offer (if any) would you guys take?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at
Does 5 offer a statement credit? If yes could be a decent offer to keep it open (this is what I get on my personal AA cards). If no statement credit, I would personally close it especially since you have the personal versions.
No – only the first 2 gave statement credits. I’m kind of leaning towards closing it like you suggested.
I’d take the 120k for 40k spend in a minute, but can’t figure out the math. 2500+2500 bonus=5000. 5000×16 months=80000. I must be missing something.
Hmm maybe you’re right – I was calculating $2500 * 3 instead of just *2. So it’s 80K with 40K spend.
I was offered #5 some time ago, but it was combined with a $95 statement credit with no obligation. That one has been good for filling gaps between churns. I also can’t work out the 120k for $40k.
If I had a reason to want to keep the card, I would take 1, 4, or 5, depending on how much I thought I would spend on it (which would mostly depend on how much AA spending I expected). But since you already have the personal card, none of these is that compelling on its own. I would just close it.
It’s interesting that #5 doesn’t come with a statement credit. I’ve twice gotten that offer when I called to close one of my personal AA cards, but both times it also included the $95 statement credit, so I accepted it.
Thanks. This article inspired me to call, and now I’m 15,000 miles richer, once they post.
Awesome! Glad it helped!
Get the cash, then close the card? Cold, I know…
Close and churn!
I’d take the statement credit and keep the card. It’s free, so why close it? Who knows if you’ll need it next year? I just kept a biz card… Spend 100, get $95 statement credit (it has a $95 fee). I tend to get retention bonuses on all my Citicards, but the “spend xxx for 16 months” can be cumbersome over the course of time.