American Raises Citi Platinum Select Fee To $150—Adds Walmart+ Benefit And Travel Protections

American Airlines and Citi are raising the annual fee on their primary consumer AAdvantage card from $99 to $150, adding Walmart+, a $100 inflight credit, more double miles categories and travel insurance. Existing cardmembers get the new benefits January 24, 2027. For someone who already pays for Walmart+, this is easily a better deal. And Walmart+ comes with either Paramount+ Essential or Peacock Premium. But the most significant difference could be restoring travel coverage that can reimburse up to $500 per person during a covered delay even when the cash charge for the ticket was just $5.60 in security taxes on an AAdvantage ticket redemption. I don’t think this card refresh gives a strong reason to move spend over to the product, however. What’s Being Added For The Higher Annual Fee The fee increases $51. That’s 52%. New accounts still have no annual fee for the first 12 months. The fee goes into effect with card renewals starting January 24, 2027. Complimentary annual Walmart+ membership. This is for the primary cardmember and has a $98 retail price. Delivery benefits, fuel savings and the included streaming benefit are valuable. Up to $100 annually in statement credits for inflight purchases. Food, beverages and Wi-Fi qualify. Admirals Club purchases don’t. Up to $120 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years. That’s useful if you don’t already have more application fee credits than people to use them for. 50% off an annual FOX One subscription. Existing subscribers can qualify. Travel protections. Trip delay, trip cancellation and interruption, lost baggage, and rental car coverage are being added. I asked about the new $120 Walmart+/Sam’s Club Plus bundle, including the $22 upgrade offered to existing annual Walmart+ subscribers. American says that offer is separate and doesn’t apply to this card-sponsored membership. More Bonus Categories, But Still Just 2 Miles On American Flights Here’s the new earning structure: Purchases Miles Per Dollar Change Eligible AAdvantage Hotels and AAdvantage Cars bookings through their respective sites 3 New Eligible American Airlines purchases 2 Unchanged Restaurants and gas stations 2 Unchanged Electric vehicle charging, select streaming services, eligible rides and rail purchases 2 New Other eligible purchases 1 Unchanged The card earns one Loyalty Point per dollar of eligible spending. The hotel and car rental rates encourage you to book through American’s channels as well as pay with Citi. The annual American Airlines flight discount rises from $125 to $150 after $20,000 in purchases during your cardmembership year and renewal of the card. American tells me that reaching the $20,000 threshold before January 24 earns the old $125 discount. Reaching it after January 24 earns $150. The additional $25 is only another 0.125% return on that $20,000. At face value, the $150 discount is 0.75% back in restricted airfare value. The Old Inflight Rebate Goes Away American confirmed that the existing 25% rebate on inflight food and beverages is being removed. The new $100 credit replaces it. If you spend $100 a year on eligible food and drinks, you currently get $25 back. Under the new benefit you’d get $100 back. That’s $75 more, or $24 more after the annual fee increase. It isn’t $100 in incremental value for paying another $51. At $400 in eligible food and beverage spending, the old rebate and new credit both return $100. Above that, the old rebate was more generous. Wi-Fi is an expansion for this consumer card, though, so the comparison depends on what you actually buy. The practical problem is using the credit. American now offers free Wi-Fi on most domestic flights and select international flights. Drinks are already included in Main Cabin Extra and premium cabins. Executive Platinum members receive complimentary eligible food and drinks in coach. American has been improving food for sale and introducing preorders, which should help. Still, this credit will be worth more to an occasional coach passenger buying food for a family than to many of the airline’s best customers. Award Tickets Are Included In Added Trip Coverage I asked American specifically about award tickets. Some card protections are limited by the amount charged, which can make a benefit better in theory than reality if your maximum payout equals the actual cash outlay. American confirms that the card’s new trip delay coverage isn’t capped at the small cash amount charged for an award ticket, but trip cancellation is limited. Trip delay: A delay of at least six hours can qualify for reimbursement of reasonable, necessary expenses up to $500 per covered traveler, per trip. Covered expenses include lodging, meals, ground transportation other than rental cars, and personal or business necessities. At least part of the fare must be purchased using the card or AAdvantage miles. Covered delay causes: American lists delays or cancellations, overbooking, lost or stolen passports, money or travel documents, and severe weather, natural disasters, previously unannounced strikes, quarantine or hijacking. Trip cancellation and interruption: At least part of the trip must be paid with the card and/or AAdvantage miles. Coverage is limited to the lesser of $5,000 per trip or the actual amount paid using the card and/or miles, and is secondary to refunds or other reimbursement. Lost baggage: Up to $3,000 per covered traveler per trip, with a $10,000 total limit for all covered travelers. New York residents have a $2,000 per-bag limit. Partial payment with the card and/or AAdvantage miles can qualify. This is secondary to airline or other reimbursement. Rental cars: Up to $75,000 for covered damage, limited to repair costs or the car’s cash value, whichever is less. Rentals can run up to 31 consecutive days. Pay the full rental cost with the card and/or AAdvantage miles and decline the rental company’s collision loss/damage coverage. The benefit is secondary in the U.S. and primary outside the U.S. For a family of four covered travelers, the trip delay limit can mean up to $2,000 in eligible expenses across the family. The Existing Reasons To Have The Card Remain The primary cardmember and up to four companions on the same reservation still receive a first checked bag free on eligible domestic American Airlines itineraries, along with preferred boarding. There are still no foreign transaction fees. The card also retains 10% off eligible American Airlines Vacations packages and up to $180 annually in Turo credits, at $30 per eligible trip. There are no Admirals Club passes and no new discount on award redemptions. American And Citi Want More Than Another Card In Your Drawer I’ve reported that the new American–Citi arrangement has been described to me as a joint venture. The economics go beyond American selling miles to a bank. A closer financial partnership gives the airline more reason to care about acquiring cardmembers, keeping them and getting them to spend. The Executive card was just refreshed, with its annual fee rising from $595 to $695, more credits and additional Loyalty Point bonuses. I thought that improved the card’s value for me. The status bonuses don’t require spending on the Executive card. I guess the mass consumer Platinum Select card is better for some with Walmart+ and travel protections, and that could be worth $51 more. The card can be worth holding for checked bag fee waivers and avoiding boarding last and having your carry-on bags gate checked. If you’re spending for status, that can make sense. But I don’t find anything exciting about this card’s refresh. At roughly the same annual fee, competitors offer: United Explorer is $150 after the first year, earns 3 miles per dollar on eligible United purchases, and includes two annual United Club passes plus at least 10% off United award flights and better saver availability, and to my surprise it hasn’t just meant an increase in pricing for everyone else. Delta Gold is also $150 after the first year. It offers 15% off Delta-operated awards and a $200 flight credit after $10,000 in calendar-year spending. In contrast to United they seemed to boost award rates without the card when the discount was introduced. American doesn’t provide redemption benefits to cardholders. Earning 2x on its own tickets doesn’t impress. And the coupons that come with the card don’t match United either. Meanwhile the $95 annual fee Citi Strata Premier® Card (See rates and fees.) earns 3 points per dollar on airfare, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, gas and electric vehicle charging. Its points transfer to American. Those transfers don’t earn Loyalty Points, but someone primarily interested in redeemable miles can earn them faster in major categories at lower cost. Topics on this page