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Not one to ever want to let a good deal go to waste, I made an 11th hour attempt to secure yet another American Airlines Citi Executive card. I was informed by a fellow travel hacker and reader of this blog, Andy, that this amazing deal (which has been going on for more than a few months now) was close to coming to an end. I applied for my third card late Wednesday night, and spoke to the customer service rep early Thursday morning.
Just like that, I was approved with a credit line of $5,000! Thanks to my many mortgages and bills, I was able to clear my second Citi Executive card earlier this month, in just two month’s time. I completed the minimum spend on my first Citi Executive card earlier this year.
For those who aren’t familiar with the Citi Executive card, the deal is as follows:
- Earn 100,000 American Airline miles for spending $10,000 in 3 months.
- There is a $450 annual fee. However, this promo will net you a $200 statement credit.
As I learned from Frequent Traveler University (FTU) in late April, this particular card is churnable (you can have more than one), and I even met a few people who were working on clearing their fourth card!
In general, it’s usually not so easy to apply for and get approval for the same credit card, over and over again. However, there seemed to be no problem with this card, and I still have active accounts open for the previous two cards.
From FTU, I heard that you can sign up for one… wait around 7 days before applying for a second card… wait another 65 days or so before you can get approval for a third card. In my own case, I waited about 50-60 days between the second and third cards.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to clear the minimum spend on this latest card rather quickly again; I am optimistic I have the systems in place to allow me to do so in only a month or two, again. 🙂
I currently have 330,140 points in my AA account:
With the current AA awards chart, adding an additional 100,000 miles will qualify me for THREE first class round-trip flights from the U.S. to Asia (405,000 miles). Sweet!
Here’s the link I used to find the deal. As of this writing, it looks like the link is still working… If you haven’t signed up for this killer deal yet, now might be your last chance!
I’ll see you on first class! 🙂
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s a great deal, especially with the promo rate on the annual fee. Looks like you are racking up those points quite quickly. I don’t spend nearly enough to warrant getting a City Executive card right now, but things might change in the future. How are you able to pay your mortgage with a credit card? My lender won’t allow me lol.
Liquid,
I use Bluebird to pay for the mortgages. The credit card buys the gift card to load onto Bluebird.
http://www.fifighter.com/travel/travel-hacking/2014/05/how-to-load-debit-gift-cards-at-walmart-visa-simon-mall-etc/
Cheers!
Based on your previous articles, I built up some miles via Visa gift cards to take a FL trip, almost free. Of course there are booking fees, and bag fees, but the flights will be’free’.
Eric,
Congrats on the trip, that’s awesome!
Good job FIF. I’m just wrapping up spending on my 2nd citi exec. Wife just got her 2nd in the mail. Hopefully this deal will last long enough for even more churns in the future.
FlyerM,
Good stuff! Yeah, I’m not trying to be too greedy… One more round and I will be a very happy camper.
Clearing 2 was already more than I expected…
All the best!
Without Walmarts in NYC, I hesitate to grab one of these higher spend cards right now. But wow, 330k in AA miles is AMAZING! I have generated 120k in United miles so far. You are killing it right now!
Dave,
I hear you… It’s difficult to manufacture spend without going the Walmart route.
Nice job on the United points! I used most of my points up on my trip next month 🙂
Take care!
Great travel hack! I would totally do it if I was more sure that I would be able to spend $10K in three months. As it stands, I don’t have enough bills to run up $10K in three months. And I wouldn’t want to spend just for the sake of spending. Thanks for sharing anyhow. Happy travels! 🙂 AFFJ
AFFJ,
You can try manufacturing spend if you can locate a Walmart close-by… Then again, it’s kind of hit and miss these days, so might not be worth the hassle.
There are plenty of other good deals that don’t require $10k spend, so not all is lost.
Take care!
Great post !! What method do you use to put all your mortgages into your spending requirement ?
Ton,
I use Bluebird to pay for the mortgages.
http://www.fifighter.com/travel/travel-hacking/2014/05/how-to-load-debit-gift-cards-at-walmart-visa-simon-mall-etc/
Take care!
I’m also interested in this card but I want to know how you make spend for it!
John,
I manufacture spend using gift cards.
http://www.fifighter.com/travel/travel-hacking/2014/05/how-to-load-debit-gift-cards-at-walmart-visa-simon-mall-etc/
Cheers!
(6-28-14) Offer still good, even though application page states nothing about benefits. I applied this morning at 2 am (on line) and called today. Agent confirmed 100,000 mi, after $10,000 spend in 3 mo., $450 fee non waived, $200 statement credit, Admirals Club membership. Doubt it will last much longer.
Liz,
Sweet! Glad you got in on the deal! 🙂
Best wishes!
Ok, finally convinced me to give travel hacking a try.
4 first class tickets cross county for the family for Christmas is my goal.
Need to figure out how to put $8k of monthly mortgage payments onto this card.
thx!
AJ,
Manufacture spend is probably the easiest way to do it… For mortgages, I use Bluebird:
http://www.fifighter.com/travel/travel-hacking/2014/05/how-to-load-debit-gift-cards-at-walmart-visa-simon-mall-etc/
Take care!
What are you doing now that Wal-marts and Bluebird machine will no long load VISA giftcards? I’ve read where many people are now stuck with thousands in gift cards that they cannot load.
Suzanne,
Yeah, I’ve read about that as well… kind of hit and miss, really. Some stores around me won’t take it, but a few do…
If possible, keep trying to locate one that does… Otherwise, Amazon Payments, Evolve, or Serve are other options.
Best of luck!
I got this card in early June and I’m 75% through my spending requirement! I got the $200 credit instantly applied to my account. There are also a few posts on Flytalk about people who’ve called in and called additional points (as they won’t waive the $250 fee) added to their card to keep it open to further reduce the annual fee. I just used this last Friday to get me into the US Airways Club while waiting for a connecting flight in Phoenix!
P.S. - I used your article on funding the Bluebird account to get to the spending requirement and even though my local CVS allows me to purchase the Visa debits Walmart has shut down any Bancorp cards to fund via kiosk or cashier. Just happened last weekend after I loaded up $2k onto debits. Someone else told me that you can use the debits to buy a money order to get the cash back into my account but not to make a habit of it or my bank could flag me as suspicious. I’m going to put up a more detailed post about my experience once I figure it out!
Refinerr,
That’s a bummer! Hmm, maybe try another Walmart store? I haven’t tried in about two weeks, but the last time I was there, it was still working…
It’s very much hit or miss… that is, unless corporate killed in completely, like what they did with Vanilla Reloads at CVS… To my knowledge, it still works, but not at every store.
Money orders can work too… I’ve notice that’s also hit or miss…
Good luck!
I think it’s completely killed as far as So Cal goes. We tried all stores within Orange County and it’s a no go. Also Walmart isn’t allowing any money orders purchased with debit cards. I tried Ralphs, CVS and Rite Aid and they also do not allow MOs to be purchased with anything but cash. I’m in the process of trying to offload using Amazon payments. Since I rent from my condo owner I can’t use Evolve either =(
That’s a total bummer! 🙁
I just tried this past weekend in the bay and it is still alive, so I will try and work this as much as possible before it probably, eventually, disappears as well…
How about money orders at the post office? Never tried myself but just an idea to help offload the debit gift cards…
I just learned about this but I can’t find anywhere with a 100,000 mile bonus. Did this expire?
WannaFly,
I think the link still works (as of this writing):
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1511082-up-100k-miles-citi-executive-aadvantage-offers-read-wiki-before-posting-48.html
You can apply and confirm with a customer service rep afterward. They will let you know if you qualify for the 100k or not. Last I tried, it was working.
Cheers!
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