Points Capital

If you carry the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select card, your annual fee is going up. American Airlines and Citi announced on October 27, 2026 that the card’s fee rises from $99 to $150 starting January 24, 2027, and the same change hits the Citi AAdvantage Business card. In exchange, both cards pick up a batch of new credits and bonus categories. The question is whether those extras cover the extra $51 for the way you actually use the card.

What’s changing on the Platinum Select

Here’s what Citi and American listed as new or improved (as of October 2026):

• Annual fee: $99 today, $150 as of January 24, 2027. New cardmembers still get the fee waived for the first 12 months.
• Inflight credit: up to $100 a year in statement credits on inflight purchases.
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck: up to a $120 application fee credit every four years.
• Walmart+: a complimentary annual membership for the primary cardmember, which Citi values at $98.
• Flight Discount: rises from $125 to $150, still only after you spend $20,000 or more in a cardmembership year and renew.
• New earning: 3X miles on eligible AAdvantage Hotels and AAdvantage Cars bookings, plus 2X on select streaming services and eligible “Rides and Rails” purchases. Gas stations stay at 2X and now include EV charging.
• Other extras: 50% off an annual FOX One subscription and travel protections such as trip delay, trip cancellation and interruption, rental car and lost baggage coverage.

The existing perks stay: 2X on American purchases and at restaurants, a free first checked bag and preferred boarding for you and up to four companions on domestic American itineraries, up to $180 a year in Turo credits, and 1 Loyalty Point per eligible mile earned from spending.

The business card gets a similar deal

The Citi AAdvantage Business card also goes from $99 to $150 on January 24, 2027. It gets the same $100 inflight credit and $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit, 3X on AAdvantage Hotels and Cars, and a new 2X category you choose yourself: U.S. shipping, office supply stores or U.S. advertising. It keeps its $99 Companion Certificate after $30,000 in yearly spending.

Who this affects and what to do

Existing cardmembers get the new benefits starting January 24, 2027, according to the announcement. The release doesn’t spell out exactly when the $150 fee shows up on an existing account. Usually a fee change lands at your next renewal after the effective date, but check the notice Citi sends you rather than assuming.

Here’s the quick math. The fee goes up $51. If you’d actually spend on Wi-Fi, snacks or drinks on board, the inflight credit could cover that by itself, and then some. Global Entry or PreCheck works out to about $30 a year if you’d pay for it anyway, but plenty of travelers already get that credit from another card. Walmart+ is only worth something if you’d shop there. So the honest test is simple: add up the new credits you’d really use, not the ones on the list.

If you renew in the next few months, you may still get one more year at $99. If you’re thinking about applying, the first-year waiver means the higher fee doesn’t hit you right away either way.

Our take

For most people who fly American a few times a year, this is a fair trade, not a cash grab. If you and a companion check bags on a couple of trips a year, the free-bag perk alone can cover the fee, and the $100 inflight credit is the kind of perk you’ll actually use without thinking about it.

Here’s the catch: credits only count if you use them, and they come with Citi’s terms. We’d keep the card if you check bags on American and buy anything on board. We’d think twice if you mostly carry on, already have Global Entry covered, and never touch Walmart+. In that case you’re paying $51 more for perks you’ll leave on the table, and a no-fee card might serve you better.

One thing we still want to see is exactly which onboard purchases count toward the inflight credit. That fine print will decide how useful it really is, so read Citi’s benefit terms once they’re posted before you count on it.

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Source: Citi press release (October 27, 2026); additional coverage from CNBC.