Current Citibank AAdvantage 50,000 Miles Bonus Offers

It's been a long while since I've written about the Citibank AAdvantage credit card, and that's mainly because there just hasn't been very many good offers to write about! Ever since the 75,000 mega-bonus died a slow death months after its supposed expiration date in February 2011, there's hardly been a peep from the good folks at Citibank and American Airlines.

Well, two non-targeted offers seem to have arrived in the last two months, offering a decent 50,000 AAdvantage bonus miles and a range of other benefits after the qualified spend:

• Earn 50,000 bonus AAdvantage miles after spending $3,000 within the first 4 months of cardmembership. Also receive a one-time $150 statement credit after the first eligible American Airlines purchase you make within the first 12 months of cardmembership (there is no minimum purchase amount, so you can buy a beer on your next AA flight, and you will still receive the $150 statement credit). Finally, get two Admirals Club one-day passes. The earn rate is 2 miles per dollar spent on all American Airlines purchases within the first 12 months, and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases with no date restrictions. The annual fee of $85 is waived for the first year. This offer expires February 29, 2012. Apply here.

• Earn 50,000 bonus AAdvantage miles after spending $2,500 within the first 4 months of cardmembership. The earn rate is 2 miles per dollar spent on all AA purchases within the first 12 months, and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases with no date restrictions. The annual fee of $85 is waived for the first year. There is no expiration date on this offer, but as always, these things can be pulled at any time. Also, there does not appear to be a personal American Express version of this card like most other offers from Citibank - you can only apply for the personal or business Visa. Apply here. EDIT: This offer has already expired.

I would definitely go for the first offer, as there are quite a few more benefits, and the required spend is only $500 more. However, if you are sure you cannot hit the $3,000 threshold, then the second offer is still a good option. I think in that situation, it might be worthwhile to just purchase $500 in gift cards at a grocery store you would shop at regularly anyways in order to meet the minimum spend.

One quick note: "eligible" American Airlines purchases to qualify for the $150 statement credit do not include car rentals, hotel reservations, American Airlines Vacation packages, purchases of American Airlines AAdvantage miles, duty-free purchases, and AA Cargo products and services.

You can read more about using the 2-browser trick to apply for multiple personal Citibank AAdvantage credit cards at the same time here, but the general rule nowadays is that you are only allowed to apply for a personal card once every 18 months. Some have reported being approved for another card inside the 18-month rule, so YMMV. The business card approval process is on a completely different track, and it appears that you can still do some churning. It is best to wait at least 3 months between business card applications, although even with that precaution, Citibank will sometimes request proof of your business with further documentation, so proceed with caution.