Citi AAdvantage Business Card Authorized User Rewards Quirk

Link: Apply now for the Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®

The Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® (review) is the co-branded Citi and American Airlines business card. The card offers several valuable perks, and also has an excellent welcome bonus at the moment, making it an ideal time to apply.

However, when it comes to actually spending money on the card, there’s one thing that works very differently than on many other business credit cards. I want to discuss that in a bit more detail in this post, as it’s something that causes confusion.

How this card largely rewards authorized users

On a vast majority of personal and small business credit cards, the primary cardmember is fully rewarded for the spending of authorized users. So just as the primary cardmember is on the hook for paying the bill, they also benefit by earning the rewards.

That’s not always the case, as some corporate cards do incentivize the individual employees, but it’s rare on small business cards. Now, I imagine that many people who are authorized users on business cards wish they were earning the rewards for their own spending.

That’s why there’s an interesting detail of the Citi AAdvantage Business Card that’s worth being aware of, as it also ties into the AAdvantage Business program, which is American’s small business rewards program. On the Citi AAdvantage Business Card:

• Redeemable AAdvantage miles earned from an authorized user’s card will be allocated to the AAdvantage Business account, which the primary cardmember has control over (and can then allocate however they’d like)
• Loyalty Points earned by authorized users are posted to the AAdvantage account of the authorized user, and not to the AAdvantage account of the primary cardmember

One of the main reasons that people spend on American credit cards is to be able to earn Loyalty Points, as this is the metric by which you earn elite status. It’s possible to earn elite status exclusively through credit card spending.

So if you’re a primary cardmember on this card, be aware that the spending of authorized users generally won’t help you qualify for elite status. What’s noteworthy is that this policy only applies on Citi’s co-branded AAdvantage business card. Meanwhile on Barclays’ co-branded AAdvantage business card, the primary cardmember is rewarded for authorized user spending (though that card portfolio will eventually be eliminated).

People will have conflicting takes on this

It goes without saying that if you’re a small business owner and like to be rewarded for the spending of your employees, this rewards structure isn’t good, and provides a strong incentive to use another card.

After all, one of the main reasons to spend on American’s co-branded cards is for the Loyalty Points, and that’s not something you’re benefiting from here. You’re on the hook for the expenses, but aren’t receiving the rewards.

However, there are also some small business owners who like their employees to be rewarded for their spending, and it’s something that isn’t uncommon on corporate accounts. In that sense, the card offers a lot of flexibility — your authorized users not only earn Loyalty Points, but you can then allocate the redeemable AAdvantage miles to whichever account you’d like, directly from the central AAdvantage Business account. You could even use this as part of some sort of an incentive program for your business.

Personally I think most people won’t be a fan of this policy, so it’s worth being aware of this, as this is the only co-branded airline credit card in the United States I know of that allocates rewards in this way.

Double dip with limited time card promotion

It’s worth noting that while the above reflects the standard policy, some people with the Citi AAdvantage Business Card are eligible for a limited time offer. Eligible cardmembers can essentially double dip — not only does the authorized user earn one Loyalty Point per dollar spent, but the primary cardmember also earns one Loyalty Point per dollar spent.

Now, this is technically only available to select accounts, so you’ll need to check your email to see if you’re eligible for this. We first saw this launched for June 1 through December 31, 2024. But I’ve now received an email that this will be available January 1 through December 31, 2025, so that’s a pretty significant extension.

Honestly, this is a pretty lucrative promotion. For example, if you have an authorized user who spends $200K on a card, both the primary cardmember and authorized user would receive 200,000 Loyalty Points, enough for Executive Platinum.

Again, it’s possible not everyone is eligible for this, but I believe the offer is at least pretty widely targeted, as I’ve received several reports from readers indicating that they’re eligible.

Bottom line

The Citi AAdvantage Business Card takes an unusual approach to rewarding authorized users. Authorized user spending earns Loyalty Points for the authorized user, rather than the primary cardmember. Meanwhile the AAdvantage miles earned from spending go to the central AAdvantage Business account, and can then be allocated to the AAdvantage account of any employee (or the business owner), as desired.

However, there is a limited time promotion that many are eligible for, which essentially allows people to double dip, and earn Loyalty Points both for the authorized user and primary cardmember. I think that’s something that might interest many.

What do you make of the authorized user rewards structure on this card?