American Airlines credit card annual fee rises for the first time in eight years, from $99 to $150

The annual fee for American Airlines' Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard and Business Mastercard will rise from $99 to $150. According to a company press release, the change takes effect on January 24, 2027.

For the popular Platinum Select consumer card, this is the first fee increase since 2018. The rise is nearly 52 percent — an extra $51.

To soften the blow of the nearly 52 percent fee increase, American Airlines, Citi and Mastercard are adding several new travel and lifestyle perks.

Nick Ewen, editor-in-chief of The Points Guy, told Fox News Digital that whether those additions make up for the increase will depend largely on how travellers use the card. In his words, you have to look at the real dollar value based on your own travel habits.

The new perks include up to $120 toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees every four years.

In addition, a new $100 annual statement credit for in-flight purchases will replace the previous 25 percent food and beverage discount. The credit can be applied toward broad in-flight expenses, including Wi-Fi, which was explicitly excluded under the old discount system.

Ewen said that for someone who regularly spends up to $100 on board American flights or already pays for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, the new credits could help offset the higher fee. But if you are only flying American once a year, you may not be able to stomach the additional increased fee.

There are also changes to how rewards can be earned on everyday purchases. The personal Platinum Select card will offer three miles per dollar on eligible AAdvantage Hotels and Cars bookings and two miles per dollar on gas and EV charging, select streaming services, and eligible Rides and Rails purchases.

Existing perks will remain intact — including preferred boarding, no foreign transaction fees and a free first checked bag on domestic American itineraries for the cardholder and up to four companions.

Ewen said American is far from the first airline to increase the fees on its rewards cards, pointing to similar changes from Delta, Southwest and United. Entry-level airline cards that once hovered around $100 are increasingly moving closer to $150 — in his view this is definitely the norm now, although it is not universal across the board.

Cardholders' reactions online were mixed. One Reddit user commented that, in their view, none of this is an upgrade. Another questioned the value of the new in-flight credit. Others were more receptive — one commenter pointed to the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit as a reason the higher fee could be worthwhile, and another wrote that with this refresh the card had become more of a respectable airline card in their opinion.