Good catch. You can however still book travel on AA through the Citi portal.
Yes, let’s chat 
All the suggestions above are good re: what AA cards are offering what nowadays.
However as a very long time AA’er, before I signed up for anything, I would first take a look at where you’re trying to go, how flexible you’ll be, what the typical paid fares will be, and what award availability realistically looks like.
Signing up for 3 new cards and getting a quick 200k miles is great, but it’s going to be of little use if you’re trying to take the family to Rome or Maui in business class from Saturday to Saturday and AA wants 180k per person, each way.
Im looking at a round trip to Bonaire in May of next year. Its about a $500 ticket. Looks to be 50k points, so the sign up bonuses would cover it, although i dont know that its the best use of them. The trip im looking at has a set date, so flexibility isnt a thing.
There’s an avios transfer bonus ending soon, if you can find those AA flights as Saaver, great deals to be had.
Chase–>Marriott–> AA is a lousy use of UR but it can be done. One CSP or CSR bonus won’t get you far.
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If anyone likes to cruise… cruisecompete(DOT)com is an absolute must.
Taking a 9 night on Celebrity Beyond which is their brand new Edge class ship. Infinite Veranda (large balcony)
If I booked directly with Celebrity it was $6739 with $300 OBC (onboard credit) including all drinks, tips, wifi.
So about 6 travel agents got back with their “best deal” most were in the $63XX range with 600-700 OBC. Clearly better.
However 2 came back with a ridiculous deal - I imagine they are partnered with a large vacation travel company and buy room blocks.
$52XX with $500 OBC. So I saved $1500 and got an additional $200 OBC with everything else included, so will use this for specialty dining upgrades or something.
I have used the site for 10+ years and have saved a lot of money on every cruise I’ve booked.
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Yah, at that point, im probably better just booking AA through thr UR portal with points
I don’t know if it will help you for the upcoming flight you’re trying to book, but since wife is a Sole Proprietor you can create a Business Extra account and earn extra points on the flights
https://www.businessextra.com/
They had some decent bonuses back when I set mine up in 2018.
If the AA cards are aren’t enough and you have plenty of spend, BA is the next one I’d open cards for Avios, and book one/some of the flights through BA.
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Direct AA flights? If they are check with British Air and see if they have any partner availability. You can transfer to BA from Chase and Amex. Chase had a 30% bonus going now. Amex just ended (but usually offers it a few times a year) a 40% bonus. You can also get a 100k SUB from Chase on a BA card for you and your significant other (as well as Iberia and Aer Lingus that can be transferred internally to BA after all accounts are 90 days old). BA uses a milage chart and is great if you can find the space.
West coast to HI is a great redemption (13k miles each way in coach or 26k in business if you can find it) as well as West coast to Mexico.
Ya, direct AA flights. We both already have the chase cards, so cant get the sign up bonuses there, but ill definitely look at going through BA
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If you don’t have the set up on BA yet pm me the dates and airports and I’ll check availability for you.
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I would not open the avios card due to the killer YQ on their own metal. For booking an AA flight, you can easily transfer over some UR, MR or Cap1
Problem is AA has been moving away from Saaver in favor of web specials which aren’t bookable by partners.
1c per point is poor value for AA. You’d be better off booking through the CSR/CSP
Ultimately next May is a long time away. Award availability can and probably will change constantly from now til then.
If I were you, I’d stock up flexible currencies- UR, MR, TY, C1 and AA. Check often and be ready to pounce when you see the award you want. Many awards can also be cancelled for free so you can keep on booking and cancelling as needed.
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Not familiar with cruising but maybe I could get one for my parents.
Are these pricing per person or for the room? And if for room, how many people are allowed. Sorry for my noob questions - new to cruising and was intrigued by your tip.
Depends on one’s circumstances.
I can’t redeem AA miles as fast as I earn them, so I do redemptions when I can… and have come to virtually ignore the redemption value (still makes me momentarily seethe, but I press on).
Next award ticket: Omaha-San Diego in August, one-way (in Economy 
), for 35,000 miles.
This was slightly better than 1 cpm, but the alternative was spending ~400 actual dollars while my mileage balance continues to balloon out of control. 
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That is for 2 adults together for $52XX. Very good deal with everything included and the new ship is very luxurious and 5 star. If you have kids you can have them in the room for 4 total but I am not sure the difference in cost.
Why not just fly premium cabins to burn through your balance quicker? That’s a terribly long distance to fly in coach.
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I booked Economy.
Award tickets are upgrade-eligible, so it’s unlikely that I’ll fly Economy.
I generally book Economy on domestic because it’s generally not worth the additional cost (miles or dollars) to ensure a seat in the cabin I’m probably going to end up with anyway.
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Good luck to all of you foolish enough to travel this weekend
$9,950 isn’t enough for me to deal with an airport this weekend, as all the airlines further trimmed their schedules. What a mess.
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But a family of 4 will gladly take it.
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Finally we’re getting the first use out of the $200 annual Platinum Card hotel credit, and the first use in recent memory of the Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts program, another Platinum benefit.
This is by far the best hotel value we’ve enjoyed in a long time.
- Booked a standard (“Deluxe King”) room at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore for three nights for ~$440 USD / night inclusive of tax;
[EDIT: Just noticed that breakfast for two was an Amex FH&R benefit, and this breakfast is nothing short of amazing. Added the value of the meals to the benefits list below, and updated the value calculation.]
Fine Hotels & Resorts / Platinum Card Benefits:
- Complimentary upgrade to a Deluxe Marina Bay View King (cash rate with tax is ~$580 USD/night) at check-in;
- Daily breakfast buffet for two (~$50 USD each; it’s an amazing offering), $~300 for two people/three nights;
- $100 USD dining credit (room service, hotel restaurants), which we’d spend anyway;
- $200 USD Amex Platinum hotel credit
So, all-in: $1,325 - $200 = $1,125 for ((3 x $580) + $300 + $100) = ~$2,150 in lodging/dining.
From our bedroom and bathroom:
We’re really pleased with this reservation, and this is a perfect place to end an enjoyable but rather long and exhausting trip.
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