Citibank offers a number of credit cards that reward frequent American Airlines flyers with Reduced Mileage Award airline tickets. Typically, domestic award tickets cost between 25,000 and 64,000 American Airlines miles (round-trip) for AAdvantage program members. As a perk for being a qualified Citi Card member, you can fly on American Airlines flights in the continental United States for 5,000 to 7,5000 less than standard award rates.
To qualify for Citi Card Reduced Mileage Awards, you must be an AAdvantage frequent flyer member. Membership is free and can be completed on the American Airlines website. Additionally, you have to be an active cardholder of one of the five eligible miles-reward cards that Citibank offers: the Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard®, the Citi Select® / AAdvantage® American Express® Card, the Citi® Gold® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard®, the Citi® / AAdvantage® American Express® Card or the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Card.
Citi Card Reduced Mileage Award tickets are available for coach tickets (17,500 or 20,000 miles round-trip as of 2009, depending on which card you have) or for business/first class tickets (42,500 or 45,000 miles round-trip as of 2009, depending on your card).
Destinations are listed on the Citibank website and change every three months, but they include cities like Atlanta, New York, Peoria, Houston and Santa Barbara. Only certain cities are available from January through March, April through June, July through September, and October through December, based on availability. Award destination cities are grouped by geological region: the East Coast, Midwest, Southeast, Southwest and West Coast.
Book your travel by choosing a city, taking note of the corresponding award code on the reduced mileage chart and calling (800) 882-8880 to book travel or ask questions about awards. Tickets cannot be purchased online and the award codes are only good over the phone. Your Citi Card membership must be active and you must use the corresponding card to pay for your ticket.
There is a $20 booking fee for Reduced Mileage Award tickets and travel is limited to direct flights within the 48 contiguous states. Award travel can be used on American Airlines flights or any of its partners, including American Eagle and AmericanConnection.
