Citi to offer bonus miles in 2020 for those opening a digital savings account
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Citi is a TPG advertising partner
Citigroup announced Monday that it plans to offer a high-interest online savings account to American Airlines co-branded credit card holders in early 2020.
According to CNBC, to encourage cardholders to enroll in "Citi Miles Ahead," the issuer will offer up to 50,000 bonus miles as a welcome bonus and a 25% boost on miles earned through the card (capped at $50,000). Based on current TPG valuations, that welcome bonus will be worth $700.
The new digital savings account will be exclusive to customers who both don't have a physical branch in their area and who also have either the American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card card, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®, the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® or the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®.
The information for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum card and CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
In the past, Citi has run account promotions using either AA miles or ThankYou points as enticements. Earlier this year, the bank offered 40,000 bonus AAdvantage miles when cardholders opened up certain types of bank accounts with Citi. In order to be eligible for that offer (which expired at the end of July), cardholders had to be new-to-Citibank banking customers and had to deposit and retain $15,000 in their account for 60 days.
Since the new savings account promotion hasn't officially launched yet, information like the minimum bank deposit required to enroll has yet to be announced. However, if you're looking for 50,000 AAdvantage bonus miles now, the Citi / AAdvantage Executive card is offering exactly that after $5,000 in spending in the first 3 months for new cardholders.
The Citi Miles Ahead account will likely be similar to the existing Citi Accelerate account, minus the lower interest rate and slightly higher welcome bonus. Citi has yet to announce what the exact interest rate will be, but the 2% interest rate offered on the Citi Accelerate online savings account may hint at what we should expect. The bank also uses its state-by-state footprint to determine where the Citi Accelerate account is offered, so we may see the same pattern for this new offering.
TPG featured card
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 5X miles | Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
| 2X miles | Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day |
Pros
- Stellar welcome offer of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year upon account opening.
- You'll earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, which means you won't have to worry about memorizing bonus categories
- Rewards are versatile and can be redeemed for a statement credit or transferred to Capital One’s transfer partners
Cons
- Highest bonus-earning categories only on travel booked via Capital One Travel
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app