Citi AAdvantage Executive Review: Your Key to the Club
The Bottom Line
4.6
If access to Admirals Club airport lounges is a high priority for you, then this is your card. If you could take or leave that access, then look elsewhere, because you can get better rewards for a lot less money.
Rates, fees and offers
Annual fee
$595
Rewards rate
1x
Bonus offer
Earn 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.
Intro APR
N/A
Ongoing APR
APR: 20.49%-29.49% Variable APR
Cash Advance APR: 29.74%, Variable
Penalty APR: Up to 29.99%, Variable
Balance transfer fee
5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum.
Foreign transaction fee
0%
More details from Citibank
- Earn 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.
- Admirals Club® membership for you and access for up to two guests or immediate family members traveling with you
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
- Earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible AAdvantage® mile earned from purchases
- First checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to 8 companions traveling with you on the same reservation
Pros and Cons
Pros
Lounge membership
Free checked bag
Early boarding
Luxury perks
Cons
High annual fee
Requires good/excellent credit
Detailed Review
For frequent flyers of American Airlines seeking respite from the harried atmosphere of the airport gates, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® delivers: It provides access to the carrier’s exclusive Admirals Club airport lounges.
It’s less expensive to get this $595-annual-fee airline credit card than to pay cash for a lounge membership. And the card provides the coveted lounge perk to up to 10 authorized users on the card (for a fee), a feature not offered by similar club cards from airline competitors. That’s potentially worth hundreds of dollars compared with buying multiple or household Admirals Club memberships.
The card is full of features and perks, including a generous policy for free checked bags and progress toward elite status. But ultimately, the decision comes down to whether you want Admirals Club access, something no other credit card can provide.
The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® was updated in July 2023, with new benefits and an increased annual fee.
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: Basics
Card type: Airline.
Annual fee: $595.
Sign-up bonus: Earn 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.
Rewards:
10 miles per $1 spent on eligible car rentals and hotels booked through AA.
4 miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, up to $150,000 spent per calendar year (5 miles per $1 spent thereafter for the remainder of the calendar year).
1 mile per $1 spent on everything else.
NerdWallet values American miles at 1.6 cents each. This is drawn from real-world data on hundreds of economy routes, so it's not a maximized value. In other words, you should aim for award redemptions that offer 1.6 cents or more in value from your American miles.
Interest rate: The ongoing APR is 20.49%-29.49% Variable APR.
Foreign transaction fees: None.
Other benefits:
Admirals Club membership.
First checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to eight companions traveling with you on the same reservation.
Earn 10,000 bonus Elite Qualifying Miles (Loyalty Points) after you earn 50,000 Loyalty Points per qualifying year.
Earn an additional 10,000 Loyalty Point bonus after earning 90,000 Loyalty Points per qualifying year.
VIP airport treatment: Priority check-in, airport screening (where available) and early boarding when flying American Airlines.
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application credit: Receive a statement credit, up to $100 every five years, as reimbursement for your application fee.
Receive 25% savings on in-flight food and beverage purchases when you use your card on American Airlines flights.
Earn $1 statement credit per $1 spent on eligible Avis and Budget car rental purchases, up to $120 every calendar year.
Earn a $10 Lyft credit after taking 3 eligible rides in a calendar month, for a total of up to $120 annually.
Earn a Grubhub statement credit of up to $10 per monthly billing statement, up to a total of $120 every 12 billing statements.
Compare to Other Cards
Benefits and Perks
Admirals Club membership
Getting in. Admirals Clubs have nearly 50 locations worldwide, along with dozens of partner lounges. The card gets you into the lounge, along with your immediate family or up to two traveling guests. There, you'll have access to free snacks, drinks, showers, office space and personalized travel assistance. The airline requires same-day boarding passes on American Airlines or partner airlines for entry. So if you’re at the airport to fly United Airlines, for example, you wouldn't be able to use the American Airlines lounge.
Savings. Without the card, a one-day pass costs $79. If you value the card solely for lounge access, you would have to use the lounge eight times a year to make up its annual fee. The cash cost of an annual membership varies, but a regular frequent flyer without elite status would pay $850 a year. By that measure, the $595 annual fee of the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® seems like a bargain.
Authorized user benefit. You can add up to 10 authorized users who get their own cards and can get into lounges without the primary cardholder present if they have a same-day boarding pass for an eligible flight. You'll pay $175 total for up to three authorized users, and $175 for each authorized user above three. That can be a huge benefit over buying multiple memberships. Read the fine print, though. Authorized users don’t get some membership benefits, such as access to non-Admirals Club partner lounges or special pricing on conference rooms in the lounges.
Progress toward elite status
In 2022, American Airlines revamped the process to earn elite status. Following this change, you're able to earn Loyalty Points toward AAdvantage status when you make everyday purchases with your Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®. Cardholders can also earn two separate 10,000 Loyalty Point bonuses after earning 50,000 and 90,000 Loyalty Points per qualifying year (defined as the period between March 1 and Feb. 28).
You’ll need at least 40,000 Loyalty Points to earn the airline’s lowest tier, AAdvantage Gold® and at least 200,000 to earn the highest tier, AAdvantage Executive Platinum®.
To learn more about elite status in the frequent flyer program, see NerdWallet's complete guide to the American Airlines AAdvantage program.
Sign-up bonus
Bonuses change, but this card generally gives you enough miles to get a free domestic award flight, or at least enough to get close to one. That could translate into savings of several hundred dollars.
The current bonus is: Earn 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.
Bonus miles on hotel reservations and car rentals
Cardholders can earn a hefty 10 AAdvantage miles per $1 spent on hotels and car rentals booked through AA.com. While that’s a solid earnings rate, there are potential downfalls to booking travel through a third party. You’re likely to pay more for your car rental or stay, you won’t earn points or elite credits and any loyalty status you have probably won’t get recognized. Be sure to price shop and make sure you aren’t overpaying simply to earn additional miles.
Travel protections
Most premium travel cards come with different forms of travel protections, and the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is no different. Cardholders can be reimbursed up to $5,000 per canceled or interrupted trip and up to $500 per covered traveler for trip delays. You’ll also get primary rental car insurance for rentals outside the U.S., and secondary rental car insurance for domestic rentals.
How it compares with other American Airlines cards
Among American Airlines credit cards, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is the most premium. It comes with the richest benefits — and the highest annual fee. If you're looking to earn miles with American Airlines but want to pay a lower annual fee, consider going with one of the other cards. For more analysis, read NerdWallet's comparison of American Airlines credit cards.
Here's how the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® stacks up with some of its sibling cards on key benefits.
• 2 AAdvantage miles for each $1 spent at grocery stores, including grocery delivery services, and on eligible American Airlines purchases. • 1 mile for every $1 spent on other purchases. | |
• 2 AAdvantage miles for every $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants and on eligible American Airlines purchases. • 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases. • First checked bag free for cardholder and up to 4 traveling companions on your reservation. | |
•10 miles per $1 spent on eligible car rentals and hotels booked through AA. • 4 miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases (up to $150,000 per calendar year; 5 miles per $1 spent thereafter). • 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases. • First checked bag free for cardholder and up to 8 traveling companions on your reservation. • Admirals Club airport lounge membership and access for up to 2 guests or immediate family members traveling with the cardholder. | |
• 2 AAdvantage miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases. • 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases. • First checked bag free for cardholder and up to 4 traveling companions on your reservation. |
Drawbacks and Considerations
High annual fee
You can get a lot of value for the annual fee of $595. But that hefty price will be a nonstarter for some. You can find travel credit cards that charge a lesser annual fee or none at all, but you'll miss out on some of the luxury perks offered by premium travel cards like the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®.
One that will defray the cost of occasionally getting into airport lounges — though, not Admirals Clubs — is the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card, which has a significantly lower annual fee ($95) and comes with up to $200 in statement credits, including up to $100 toward a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee, and up to $100 a year for airline incidentals, such as seat upgrades, checked baggage fees and day passes to lounges. If you want a card that helps you cover the cost of getting into another airport lounge, this could be a good pick. The sign-up bonus is also generous.
Low ongoing rewards rate
The card is an overall mediocre tool for racking up frequent flyer miles. You do earn a generous 4x on eligible American Airlines purchases up to $150,000 spent per calendar year (and 5x after that threshold for the remainder of the calendar year). But even the more basic American Airlines cards come with additional bonus categories.
Hard-to-maximize statement credits
Everyone loves a discount, but the coupon-book style credits that come with the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® are restrictive. You can get $120 in credits toward an Avis or Budget car rental, but will be stuck renting with those companies only. The $10 GrubHub credit resets every statement period (not each calendar month), so you’ll have to track your statement date to maximize it. And the $10 monthly Lyft credit? That applies only after you’ve already used your card for three Lyft rides in that calendar month.
Lack of flexibility
If you spread your flying among multiple airlines, a general travel card might be a better fit. For those looking for premium perks, including travel transfer partners, good choices include the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or The Platinum Card® from American Express.
How To Decide If It's Right For You
Frequent flyers on American Airlines have one primary reason to get the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: Admirals Club airport lounge access. It’s an easy decision to forgo paying cash for the stand-alone club membership, which is more expensive, and instead get the card, which carries the same benefits. You’ll also get enhanced perks over the lower-fee American Airlines co-branded cards.
But if American isn’t your go-to airline, a general travel card — some of which have premium features and similar fees — might suit you better.
Information related to the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® and the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuers of these cards.
If you spread your flying among multiple airlines, you're probably better off with a general travel card. This card gives you 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases. Miles can be redeemed at 1 cent apiece for statement credit against any travel expense. There's a great sign-up bonus, too. Annual fee: $95.
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