Can You Have 2 American Airlines Credit Cards?

American Airlines offers four consumer credit cards and one business card through Citi. The airline used to have a duel partnership with Citi and Barclays, which gave cardholders more opportunities to open credit cards and earn a welcome bonus without having to worry about just one issuer's restrictions. But in late 2024, American Airlines and Citi announced an exclusive partnership, and as of October 2025, you can no longer apply for any of Barclays' American Airlines cards.

Since American flyers no longer have the flexibility of two issuers, let's take a look at Citi's policies and sign-up bonus restrictions.

Here's an overview of the cards currently available to new cardholders:

• American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®: Earn 15,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after making $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. $0 annual fee.

• Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, get a first checked bag free on domestic American flights and preferred boarding on all American flights. The annual fee is $99, waived for the first 12 months.

• Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard®: For a limited time, earn 90,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $5,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening. Plus, get a free checked bag on domestic American Airlines flights, preferred boarding, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit, and several statement credits. $350 annual fee.

• Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, enjoy an Admirals Club membership, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit, first checked bag free on domestic American flights and priority boarding on all American flights. $595 annual fee.

• CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®: Earn 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening. Plus, get a first checked bag free on domestic American flights and preferred boarding on all American flights. The annual fee is $0 intro for the first year, then $99.

» Learn more: The best airline credit cards right now

Technically, you could apply for and have all five Citi American Airlines credit cards. However, Citi places restrictions on how often you can earn a sign-up bonus and limits how many credit cards you can sign-up for in a set period of time.

Restrictions on sign-up bonuses

The four AAdvantage consumer credit cards currently available include similar sign-up bonus restriction language. Here's how the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® offer availability text reads:

American Airlines AAdvantage new cardmember bonus offer not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select account in the past 48 months or if you converted another Citi credit card account on which you earned a new account bonus in the last 48 months into a Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select account.

This means you can't get a new sign-up bonus on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® if you earned a bonus on this particular card in the past four years. You also won't be able to get the bonus if you earned a sign-up bonus on another Citi product then converted that product to the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®. That's the same with the four consumer cards.

Note, that the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® also has the 48-month restriction, but the issuer doesn't include the restriction about converted Citi cards.

Citi restrictions on card applications

In addition to card-specific sign-up bonus restrictions, Citi restricts how many cards you can be approved for in a short period of time. These unwritten rules aren't published by Citi. Instead, these rules have been compiled by those falling afoul of the rules.

First, Citi will typically deny your application for a new credit card if you've applied for a Citi credit card in the past eight days. In addition, you're likely to be denied if you submit more than two applications in a 60-day period. And, if you've applied for a CitiBusiness card recently, you'll want to wait at least 90 days before applying for another CitiBusiness card. To be on the safe side, it’s a best practice to wait for a few more days than required.

» Learn more: The best travel credit card welcome bonuses right now

If you have a small business, you can technically get all five American Airlines credit cards currently available to new cardholders. However, if you're starting from scratch, you'll need to be careful to meet all of the restrictions that Citi places on credit card applications.

You'll also want to consider whether it's worth paying the annual fee on more than one American Airlines credit card. Many cards have overlapping spending bonus categories and travel benefits. So, there are diminishing returns on getting more than one card.

However, if you're focusing on earning American Airlines miles, it could be worth pairing a few AAdvantage credit cards to maximize your earnings. One strategy may include:

• American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® for 2x earnings at grocery stores with a $0 annual fee.

• Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard® for 3x on eligible American Airlines purchases and 2x earnings at restaurants, plus up to $200 on eligible American Airlines purchases (excluding flights). This card has a $350 annual fee.

• CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® for 2x earnings on cable and satellite providers, gas stations, and telecommunications merchants; 25% savings on in-flight Wi-Fi; and the ability to spend toward a Companion Certificate, all for an annual fee of $0 intro for the first year, then $99.

» Learn more: Yes, you can have more than one credit card, but should you?

Make sure to read the offer details carefully. If you've previously held the same card, you'll need to wait at least four years from the date you last earned the sign-up bonus on that card.

You may also have trouble signing up for a card if you've recently applied for a card from the same bank. Best practice suggests that you wait at least eight days between two Citi applications.

The information related to CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.