American, Citi Hike Card Fee to $150, Add Dual Elite Status Perk

American Airlines and Citi said the annual fee on the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard, the carrier's primary consumer card, is climbing from $99 to $150 — a 52% jump — with the same increase applied to the Citi AAdvantage Business card. Both cards are picking up new perks to go with the higher price, according to American and reporting from View from the Wing and One Mile at a Time. The changes take effect for existing cardmembers at renewal starting January 24, 2027.

On the personal card, the headline addition is a complimentary annual Walmart+ membership for the primary cardmember, worth $98 at retail and bundled with a choice of Paramount+ Essential or Peacock Premium streaming. Cardholders also gain up to $100 a year in statement credits for inflight food, drinks and Wi-Fi purchases — though not Admirals Club purchases — plus up to $120 every four years toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees, a 50% discount on an annual FOX One subscription, and new travel protections covering trip delays, trip cancellation and interruption, lost baggage and rental cars. The annual American Airlines flight discount earned after $20,000 in yearly spending rises from $125 to $150, though American confirmed to View from the Wing that spending which clears the $20,000 bar before the January cutoff still earns the old $125 amount.

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The earning chart is getting more categories, too, even as flights on American stay capped at 2 miles per dollar. AAdvantage Hotels and AAdvantage Cars bookings made through American's own sites now earn 3 miles per dollar, while gas stations, EV charging, select streaming services, and eligible rideshare and rail purchases earn 2 miles per dollar. Everything else remains at 1 mile per dollar, and the card still awards one Loyalty Point per dollar spent.

Business card's two-for-one status trick becomes permanent

The more consequential change, according to View from the Wing, is on the business card: American is making official what had been an unofficial, seemingly targeted perk — letting the same dollar of spending generate Loyalty Points for both the employee cardholder and the primary cardmember at once. Spend $125,000 on an employee card, and both that employee and the primary cardmember can each rack up 125,000 Loyalty Points, enough for each to qualify for Platinum Pro status. On American's personal cards, by contrast, only the person swiping the card earns status credit.

A Citi spokesperson told View from the Wing the targeting confusion traced back to legacy Barclays AAdvantage Business cardholders, who didn't have access to the dual-earning benefit because that card has been closed to new applicants for years. "We completed the migration of former Barclays business cardmembers into the Citi AAdvantage Business program this weekend, making them eligible for the Loyalty Point match promotion," the spokesperson said, meaning the perk now covers every Citi AAdvantage Business cardmember. American lists the benefit as running through December 31, 2028, though that date could be extended.

Pairing with the Executive card adds more Loyalty Points

The business card's appeal is compounded by recent changes to the separate Citi AAdvantage Executive card, which now awards 10,000 bonus Loyalty Points at each of four spending thresholds — 50,000, 90,000, 165,000 and 240,000 points — in a qualifying year. Neither the Executive card nor the no-fee MileUp card nor the premium Globe card is affected by the fee increases announced this week.

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American and Citi did not change pricing or benefits for those three cards. For holders of the Platinum Select and Business cards, the new terms arrive automatically at the January 2027 renewal date; no action is required to receive the added benefits, though cardholders who want to avoid the fee increase altogether would need to cancel before their renewal.