I received an email yesterday from Citi / AAdvantage offering bonus points when using my credit card at select merchants. Typically, with this card you earn 1 point per dollar spent on all spend (except American Airline flights), however, through September 30, 2012, you can earn 3x points at supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, and restaurants. The promotion, however, is pretty limited where you are capped at 2,500 bonus miles (which means $1,250 of spend total at these merchants).

Due to this promotion, I will actually start using my AAdvantage card again for some purchases (however, the Chase Freedom card is still better for gas and restaurant purchases at 5x points). I probably haven’t used this card for over a year as this is not a great card for every day spend. While I love my American miles as they are my loyalty program of choice, I’d much prefer to use my Starwood card to earn SPG points and transfer them to American if needed. This point accrual allows much more flexibility and does not pigeon hole me like the American Airlines credit card does. I was actually contemplating canceling the card once my  right before my next $85 annual fee hit, however, with the recent perks added I decided to keep it.

Now, this might be a targeted promotion as the email included an individualized invitation code. If you have an American Airlines credit card, make sure to find this email (check spam, deleted email, etc.) and register. You will start receiving your 3x points 4 days after registering.