Compare the Features and Benefits of Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite MasterCard and
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite MasterCard is the perfect card for travelers that even periodically fly American. For a $99 annual fee (waived the first year), cardholders and travelers on the same reservation enjoy preferred boarding, a free checked bag on American Airlines flights, and 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases.

Cardholders earn 2x American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles at restaurants and gas stations and on eligible American Airlines purchases. All other eligible purchases earn 1x AAdvantage® miles per eligible dollar spent.

Each dollar spent on an American Airlines credit card earns 1 Loyalty Point. That means cardholders can earn elite status in the AAdvantage program just by spending on the AAdvantage® Platinum Select card. For example, you can earn AAdvantage® Gold elite status with just $40,000 in purchases on the card in a year.

Note that the sign up bonus and spending category bonuses count as American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles. That means you won’t earn Loyalty Points on these AAdvantage® bonus miles. As an example, if you spend $5,000 at gas stations in a year, although you’ll earn 10,000 AAdvantage® miles on these purchases, it will only count as 5,000 Loyalty Points.

American Airlines currently charges $40 for a first checked bag on domestic itineraries. Considering you and up to four travel companions can check a bag for free, this one credit card perk can save you up to $400 per round-trip flight. The catch is that this perk only is offered on domestic flights. Unfortunately, cardholders can’t check a bag for free on American Airlines international flights.

💳 This card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Chase often runs transfer bonuses where you can get even more points when you transfer to airline or hotel partners at designated times. Transfer bonuses are awesome. Get 20%, 30%, 40% or more bonus miles when you transfer points at the right times. But they are easy to miss!

You can see all past Transfer Bonuses from Chase Ultimate Rewards here.

Even better? Get notified when a new transfer bonus comes out and again before it ends (either or both, your choice). Sign up for free alerts right here. 🔔

We consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred® the best starter travel rewards credit card available today. For a modest $95 annual fee, you’ll earn bonus points in several categories, get up to a $50 statement credit for hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel℠, plus get a slew of travel protections.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card earns bonus points on travel purchases, dining, online grocery shopping, and select streaming services. Plus you’ll earn an annual Ultimate Rewards bonus of 10% of the prior year’s spending. Although the credit card doesn’t earn bonus points on other purchases, you can pair the card with other Chase credit cards to boost your Chase Ultimate Rewards earning rate.

Chase Ultimate Rewards points have a cash value of 1 cent each. But, you can get more value when you redeem points for travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards (1.25 cents), through Chase Pay Yourself Back, or when you transfer points to airline and hotel partners.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® card justifies its annual fee year after year by providing the best set of travel protections on a card with under a $100 annual fee. Your car rentals will be automatically covered against theft and damage when you use your card and primary coverage (secondary for New York residence with their own vehicle insurance) means your own insurance won’t have to get involved. You’ll be protected against weather delays, lost luggage, and trip interruptions or outright cancellations.

Additionally, you’ll get benefits from several partners. For example, earn 5 points per dollar on Lyft rides through September 2027. Plus, you can get lower service fees when you use DoorDash by enrolling to get one complimentary year of DashPass through December 2027.