Most individuals will recognize this black credit card as just the "American Airlines" card. Even though you get a mile per dollar spent with the card, it's actually a Citibank card and there are two versions (that I know of)- the Mastercard and the American Express versions. The card, and the concept behind it, is ordinary in the sense that there are many other cards out there that offer airlines mileage (or credit towards gas purchases, or a percentage back, etc.) but decent in that, if you subscribe to American Airlines email literature, they constantly send you promotions and offers related to your card. Usually they're promotions for getting extra miles. You can look at this as essentially spam or as a good variety of ways to get American Airlines miles both with your card and without it. The promos are usually things that one might consider buying anyway, such as 500 or 1,000 extra miles for buying flowers from a certain retailer during Valentine's Day week. At any rate, if your goal is to simply get as many American Airlines miles as possible, you can't fault them for lack of offers. The card itself, however, doesn't have the greatest interest rate (which is typical of rewards cards) plus the real annoyance is the $50 annual fee. In other words, it obviously doesn't make sense to get a card like this if you're not going to use it very often. The higher rates don't bother me personally since I tend to not carry a balance, but with the annual fee you're essentially paying for the opportunity to get miles with your purchases, so I use this card when I have to (or really want to) buy big ticket items such as a TV or something. Like many credit cards in general citibank also charges you 3% for purchases in foreign currencies so I don't recommend this card for international travel.

jamers41

Fullerton, CA

This is a great back-up card.  On the plus side there is no annual fee; on the negative side it only earns 1 mile for each $2 spent.  However, since it costs nothing to carry, its provides a useful benefit and piece of mind

NYCReviewer

New York, NY

This card is perfect for a college student, just getting their credit started.  This card has no annual fee (the only AAdvantage card to offer that).  However, you only earn 1 mile for every 2 dollars spent.  So you earn a lot less miles.  Plus, you get a lot less bonus miles when you initially register than the other cards.  You also get a lot less of a credit limit on this card than if you apply for the others.  If you already have established credit or want more miles from your card go for the Gold or Platinum AAdvantage cards, otherwise this card is good for you.

shmikey88

Prospect Heights, IL