Small business owners who fly American Airlines should look twice at this credit card offer for 70,000 AAdvantage miles after qualifying purchases

• The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard® is Citi's co-branded American Airlines credit card for small-business owners.
• It has a $99 annual fee that's waived the first year*, and includes benefits like a free checked bag on domestic itineraries, preferred boarding, and 25% savings on in-flight food and beverages when you use your card on American Airlines flights. It also earns 2x miles on select business expenses and on eligible American Airlines purchases.
• Right now, it's offering new cardholders 70,000 AAdvantage® miles after they spend $4,000 in the first four months the account is open.
• You don't need a formal business to qualify for a small-business credit card; if you have a side gig freelancing or selling items, you could be eligible to apply. And business credit cards are a great way to separate personal and work-related expenses.
• Read more personal finance coverage.

If you travel frequently enough to have a favorite airline and you want to enjoy some benefits when you fly, an airline credit card can be a great choice thanks to perks like preferred boarding, a free checked bag on domestic itineraries, and in-flight savings on food and beverages.

Most airlines offer both consumer and small-business versions of their credit cards, and the small-business version of an American Airlines credit card is worth an extra-close look right now due to a lucrative sign-up bonus. Currently, you can earn 70,000 AAdvantage® miles with the CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Mastercard after you spend $4,000 in the first four months of account opening.

Keep in mind that we're focusing on the rewards and perks that make these credit cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which will far outweigh the value of any points or miles. It's important to practice financial discipline when using credit cards by paying your balances in full each month, making payments on time, and only spending what you can afford to pay back.

Read more: The best small business credit cards to open in 2019

Offer details

The current sign-up offer of 70,000 AAdvantage miles is higher than the standard new-cardholder bonus - we've seen offers of 40,000 to 60,000 miles in the recent past, so now is an ideal time to sign up if you're looking to boost your stash of AAdvantage miles for an upcoming vacation or for holiday travel.

According to The Points Guy's valuations, 70,000 AAdvantage miles are worth $980. You could get more or less value than that depending on how you choose to redeem your miles, though - the general rule is that the more a flight costs in cash, the more value you'll get from each mile when you choose to book an award flight instead (provided that the flight doesn't cost an astronomical number of miles).

We don't know when this limited-time offer will end, so we recommend applying sooner than later if you're interested.

CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select card details

The CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select card has a $99 annual fee that's waived the first year*, which makes it a moderately priced option in American Airlines' credit card lineup (the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard has a higher annual fee and comes with benefits like Admirals Club airport lounge membership). The CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum card also has no foreign transaction fees*.

American Airlines benefits

Cardholders will enjoy the following benefits when traveling on American:

• First checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries (for you and up to four travel companions on the same reservation)
• Preferred boarding
• 25% savings on in-flight Wi-Fi purchases when you pay with your card
• 25% savings on in-flight food and beverage purchases when you pay with your card

You can also earn a companion certificate for domestic travel on American Airlines after you spend at least $30,000 on the card in a cardmembership year and renew your card. (Your account must remain open for at least 45 days after your account anniversary.)

The companion certificate lets you bring along a friend or family member for $99 plus taxes and fees. You shouldn't spend more than you normally would just to get this perk, but if your business would already charge more than $30,000 to a card in an account year, this is a nice bonus.

Read more: American vs. Delta vs. United - we compared the 3 most popular airline credit cards

Earning miles

One nice feature for small-business owners is that the CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum card earns 2x AAdvantage miles not only on eligible American Airlines purchases, but also on purchases made with cable and satellite providers, at select telecommunications merchants, on car rentals, and at gas stations (and 1 AAdvantage mile per dollar on everything else). So, especially if you don't have any other business credit cards that earn bonus rewards on these categories, the card is a good choice for earning bonus miles on a wide variety of expenses.

Who can get a business credit card?

It's logical to assume that business credit cards are reserved for business users, and while this is true, the fact is that you might qualify as a "business user" without realizing it.

If you're a freelancer, you could qualify for a business credit card, as you're self-employed. Even if you have a full-time job, if you have any side gigs for additional income, that could qualify you. You don't necessarily need an employer identification number to get a business credit card - your Social Security number could be acceptable if you make it clear in your application that you're the sole proprietor.

Bottom line

If you can qualify for a business credit card and American is your airline of choice, the CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select is worth considering - especially now that it's offering an elevated welcome offer. Again, the 70,000 AAdvantage mile bonus offer won't last forever, so don't wait too long to apply if you're interested.

Click here to learn more about the CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select card.

*For additional pricing information, click here.

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Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.