Citi AAdvantage MileUp Review: No Fee, but No Free Bags
The Bottom Line
4.3
This is a decent card if you want to earn AAdvantage miles without paying a fee. Still, frequent travelers and those looking to maximize rewards should look elsewhere.
Rates, fees and offers
Rates, fees and offers
Annual fee
$0
Rewards rate
1x-2x
Bonus offer
Earn 15,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after making $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
Intro APR
0% intro APR on balance transfers for 15 months
Ongoing APR
APR: 20.24%-29.24% Variable APR
Cash Advance APR: 29.49%, Variable
Penalty APR: Up to 29.99%, Variable
Balance transfer fee
5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum.
Foreign transaction fee
3%
More details from Citibank
More details from Citibank
- Earn 15,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after making $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
- 0% Intro APR for 15 months from date of account opening for balance transfers only. After that the variable APR will be 20.24% - 29.24%, based on your creditworthiness. Balance transfers must be completed within 4 months of account opening.
- Balance transfer fee of either $5 or 5% of the amount of each credit card balance transfer, whichever is greater. Balance Transfers must be completed within 4 months of account opening.
- No Annual Fee
- Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for each $1 spent at grocery stores, including grocery delivery services
- Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
- Save 25% on inflight food and beverage purchases when you use your card on American Airlines flights
Pros and Cons
Pros
No annual fee
Bonus categories
Cons
No free checked bags
Rewards have limited flexibility
Foreign transaction fee
Detailed Review
The $0-annual-fee American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® is an intriguing possibility for annual-fee-averse households who fly only occasionally. It offers elevated rewards on eligible American Airlines purchases and grocery purchases. Plus, it helps you earn points toward elite status, a rarity for airline cards with no annual fee.
But if you fly American Airlines several times a year — or if you're seeking a card that offers more lucrative rewards or major travel perks — there are better options.
American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®: Basics
Card type: Airline.
Annual fee: $0.
Sign-up bonus: Earn 15,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after making $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
Rewards:
2 AAdvantage miles for each $1 spent at grocery stores, including grocery delivery services.
2 AAdvantage miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases.
1 AAdvantage mile for every $1 spent on other purchases.
NerdWallet values American miles at 1.6 cents each. This is drawn from real-world data on hundreds of economy routes, so it's not a maximized value. In other words, you should aim for award redemptions that offer 1.6 cents or more in value from your American miles.
Interest rate: 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 15 months, and then the ongoing APR of 20.24%-29.24% Variable APR.
Foreign transaction fee: 3%.
Other perks:
Receive 25% savings on in-flight food and beverage purchases when you use your card on American Airlines flights.
You can earn points toward AAdvantage loyalty status when you make purchases with your card.
Compare to Other Cards
Benefits and Perks
Annual fee of $0
With most airline cards, you have to consider whether the value of your rewards will outweigh the cost of holding the card. But since the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® doesn't have an annual fee, rewards you earn are pure gains, as long as you don't rack up interest charges by carrying a balance.
Bonus rewards on grocery spending
Many airline credit cards offer 1 mile per dollar on everything except on airline spending. The American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® gets you 2 miles per dollar spent on grocery shopping, including grocery delivery services. If you spend a lot on such purchases, this bonus category could be valuable.
In-flight savings
The American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® offers 25% savings on in-flight food and beverage purchases. That can make splurging on snacks in the air a little more affordable.
Earn status through credit card spending
In 2022, American Airlines revamped the process to earn elite status. Following this change, you're able to earn points toward AAdvantage status when you make purchases with your American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®. For every dollar you spend, you'll earn 1 loyalty point.
You’ll need at least 40,000 loyalty points to earn the airline’s lowest tier, AAdvantage Gold® and at least 200,000 to earn the highest tier, AAdvantage Executive Platinum®.
To learn more about elite status in the frequent flyer program, see NerdWallet's complete guide to the American Airlines AAdvantage program.
How it compares with other American Airlines cards
Among American Airlines credit cards, the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® is the most basic. It comes with the fewest benefits — and an annual fee of $0. If you're looking to earn miles with American Airlines but want more premium benefits, consider going with one of the other cards. For more analysis, read NerdWallet's comparison of American Airlines credit cards.
Here's how the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® stacks up with its sister cards on key benefits.
• 2 AAdvantage miles for each $1 spent at grocery stores, including grocery delivery services, and on eligible American Airlines purchases. • 1 mile for every $1 spent on other purchases. | |
• 2 AAdvantage miles for every $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants and on eligible American Airlines purchases. • 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases. • First checked bag free for cardholder and up to 4 traveling companions on your reservation. | |
•10 miles per $1 spent on eligible car rentals and hotels booked through AA. • 4 miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases (up to $150,000 per calendar year; 5 miles per $1 spent thereafter). • 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases. • First checked bag free for cardholder and up to 8 traveling companions on your reservation. • Admirals Club airport lounge membership and access for up to 2 guests or immediate family members traveling with the cardholder. | |
• 2 AAdvantage miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases. • 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases. • First checked bag free for cardholder and up to 4 traveling companions on your reservation. |
Drawbacks and Considerations
Dearth of airline perks
A reason to get a co-branded airline card is for money-saving extras, such as a free checked bag, or perks, like priority check-in or priority boarding. Often, what you'll save on baggage fees — typically $40 each way for each checked bag — compensates for paying an annual fee. But the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® doesn't come with those extras.
Mediocre sign-up bonus
Even if you're completely opposed to annual fees, there are better bonuses to be had. For example, the Wells Fargo Autograph® Card has a $0 annual fee and offers this sign-up bonus: Earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months - that's a $200 cash redemption value.
With this card, you'll also earn an unlimited 3 points per dollar on:
Restaurants.
Travel and transit.
Gas and EV stations.
Popular streaming services.
Select phone plans.
All other purchases earn 1 point per dollar.
Limited flexibility
Usually, the best redemption options for AAdvantage miles are award flights and seat upgrades on American and its Oneworld partners. But if those choices are too limited for you, you’re better off getting a card with more flexible rewards. Cash-back credit cards, for example, offer rewards that can be used to cover any cost you want.
Consider the Citi Double Cash® Card, which earns 2% cash back on everything — 1% back when you make a purchase and another 1% back as you pay for it. The card charges an annual fee of $0.
Foreign transaction fees
If you use the miles you earn with the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® to book a trip abroad, you may want to leave the card itself at home. Otherwise, you'll be paying an extra 3% on everything you buy with it. Many travel credit cards don't charge foreign transaction fees.
See NerdWallet's roundup to determine whether this is the best credit card to apply for, given your circumstances.
How To Decide If It's Right For You
Given its $0 annual fee and its earnings rate on flights and groceries, the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® may be tempting to casual or infrequent travelers looking for a low-cost way to rack up AAdvantage miles. But other fee-free cards may prove more lucrative.
And if you travel round-trip more than once a year on American Airlines and typically check a bag, you'll likely get greater value from a card that offers airline perks in exchange for an annual fee.
This card earns bonus rewards in a variety of popular spending categories, including dining and travel. You can transfer points on a 1:1 basis to about a dozen airline and hotel programs, or you can use them to book travel through Chase, potentially at a higher value. However, you won't get any airline-specific perks. Annual fee: $95.
Looking For Something Else?
Methodology
NerdWallet reviews credit cards with an eye toward both the quantitative and qualitative features of a card. Quantitative features are those that boil down to dollars and cents, such as fees, interest rates, rewards (including earning rates and redemption values) and the cash value of benefits and perks. Qualitative factors are those that affect how easy or difficult it is for a typical cardholder to get good value from the card. They include such things as the ease of application, simplicity of the rewards structure, the likelihood of using certain features, and whether a card is well-suited to everyday use or is best reserved for specific purchases. Our star ratings serve as a general gauge of how each card compares with others in its class, but star ratings are intended to be just one consideration when a consumer is choosing a credit card. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.
About the authors
Gregory Karp
Senior Writer
