The Amex plat. card has a few perks which the Citibank card doesn't:
(1)It will pay the $100 Global Entry fee
(2)If you designate aa as your "primary" airline, up to $200/yr in certain fees are reimbursed (airfares are NOT). Officially (it seems) that aa gift cards are not included in the $200, but in reality, a gift card $100 or less is included--this is discussed in the amex cc forum.
The Amex is also a great card for families who don't all have the same primary air carrier. My brother and I (along with two others) got the Amex Plat for this reason. I flew AA, he flew DL and the others (until the merger) flew NW. So for a total of $675 we each got access to the lounge of our choice airline.
This new card would be alright if the annual fee was halved or if the EQM came earlier in the spending. As someone who usually approaches 40k BIS miles each year, the 10k would be nice, but I don't know I'd pay that kind of money for it.
I feel as though there should be a discount for elite members, not just out of self interest (since I am one) but because most of the benefits are already included for those members. Or perhaps different levels of EQM bonuses after the 40k (10k towards GLD, 15k towards PLT, 20k towards EXP). All we're getting is the lounge access (already have that via Amex), the concierge service and the extra EQM. But I already wait in the short lines, get free checked bags, board at the beginning and have no mileage cap on my other Citi cards. This card basically gives you GLD minus the upgrades and second free checked bag.
However, if people report back here that the concierge service is head and shoulders above Amex then maybe it would be worth it. Hopefully Amex decides to up their game by allowing the transfer of MR points to AAdvantage miles.
Guess we can also hope for targeted promos of first year fee waived, or something like that. It actually makes a lot of sense to do that right now, mid year, since there will be the smallest number of people possible able to get the 10k miles (and a few able to get a free 20k) since their free year is split exactly in two six month increments.
Oh, and as an aside, I do understand the rationale for spend in a calendar year: Let's say you get the card in February and by September you've spent 35k and flown about 27k EQM with no additional travel planned for the year. If you're smart, you'll stick the card in a drawer, pull it out in January, and start the new qualification year off with 10k EQM.