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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?
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.