Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard Review

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Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®

Information about the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

  • Rewards

    10X AAdvantage® miles per dollar spent on eligible rental cars through aa.com/cars, 10X AAdvantage® miles per dollar spent on eligible hotels through aa.com/hotels, 4X AAdvantage® miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1X AAdvantage® miles per dollar spent on all other purchases.

  • Welcome bonus

    For a limited time, earn 100,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $10,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.

  • Annual fee

  • Intro APR

  • Regular APR

  • Balance transfer fee

    Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer

  • Foreign transaction fees

  • Credit needed

Pros

  • Cheaper than purchasing American Airlines lounge access
  • Travel and rental car coverage
  • Elite status boost

Cons

  • High annual fee
  • Fee to add authorized users
  • Some statement credits are complicated to use

Citi / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® review

Welcome bonus

The Citi/AAdvantage Executive is offering a limited-time welcome bonus of 100,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $10,000 within the first three months of account opening. Even at a modest 1 cent per mile value, this bonus is worth at least $1,000, though the spending requirement is high.

Note that Citi restricts approvals for co-branded American Airlines credit cards. You won’t be eligible for another bonus if you’ve received a sign-up bonus from this card in the last 48 months. However, you are eligible for this bonus even if you recently applied for a different American Airlines card.

Benefits and perks

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

The Citi/AAdvantage Executive card’s main benefits are geared towards those seeking elite-style benefits when flying American, namely access to Admirals Club airport lounges. An Admirals Club membership normally costs $850 if you don’t have elite status, which is significantly higher than the card’s annual fee.

Cardholders enjoy the following perks when flying American:

  • Admirals Club membership: Access to nearly 100 Admirals Club airport lounges (as well as partner lounges for the primary cardholder) for you and your immediate family or two guests of your choice (a value of up to $850)
  • First checked bag free: You and up to eight companions on the same reservation will receive your first checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries (normally $30).
  • Priority privileges: Enjoy priority check-in, screening and boarding (Group 4) when traveling with American Airlines
  • Savings on in-flight purchases: Receive a 25% discount on in-flight food and beverage purchases when you use your credit card to pay.

Those chasing American Airlines elite status will appreciate this card’s Loyalty Point boost. Just for having the card, you can receive up to 20,000 elite-qualifying Loyalty Points per year. You’ll get 10,000 Loyalty Points after you earn 50,000 Loyalty Points in a status qualification year and another 10,000 Loyalty Points after earning 90,000 Loyalty Points in the same period.

The card recently introduced various statement credits, which can help further offset the card’s annual fee. However, some of these credits are complicated and may not be useful for you. Cardholders can get:

Cardholders are also protected with trip cancellation/interruption insurance, trip delay protection, lost baggage insurance and rental car insurance.

How to earn and use American Airlines miles

Earning

The Citi/AAdvantage Executive card earns American Airlines AAdvantage miles at the following rates:

  • 10X miles per dollar on eligible rental cars through aa.com/cars
  • 10X miles on eligible hotels through aa.com/hotels
  • 4X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases
  • 1X mile on all other purchases

If you’re a big spender, you have an opportunity to slightly boost your earning on American Airlines. Cardmembers who spend $150,000 on their Citi AAdvantage Executive card earn 5X miles on American Airlines purchases for the remainder of the year.

Every dollar you spend on any American Airlines credit card also earns the card member one Loyalty Point, which is how you qualify for American Airlines elite status. Bonus miles and the additional miles you earn from bonus spending categories don’t earn Loyalty Points, which means you would only earn one Loyalty Point per dollar spent with American Airlines even though this card earns 4X miles on those purchases.

Redeeming

You can redeem American Airlines miles for flights, rental cars, hotels, travel packages and upgrades. However, using miles for flights with American Airlines and its partner airlines is typically the best way to maximize the value of your American Airlines miles.

There is no longer a fixed award chart for American Airlines award flights. Instead, American Airlines has shifted to dynamic award prices, with a chart that simply offers “starting” prices. One-way tickets within the contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada should start at 7,500 miles in economy, though we’ve seen some flights available for even less than that. To see how many miles you’ll need for a specific flight, you’ll have to search on the American Airlines site.

You can also use American Airlines miles to book award flights with 20+ partner airlines, and there is an award chart for those flights. You could book a one-way partner award flight from the U.S. to Europe in economy for only 22,500 miles during off-peak dates or fly in business class for 57,500 one way. Or you could fly to Japan in business class for 60,000 miles one way.

American’s Oneworld and non-alliance partner airlines include:

  • Air Tahiti Nui
  • Alaska Airlines
  • British Airways
  • Cape Air
  • Cathay Pacific
  • China Southern Airlines
  • Etihad Airways
  • Fiji Airways
  • Finnair
  • GOL Airlines
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • Iberia
  • IndiGo
  • Japan Airlines
  • JetSMART
  • Malaysia Airlines
  • Qantas
  • Qatar Airways
  • Royal Air Maroc
  • Royal Jordanian Airlines
  • Silver Airways
  • SriLankan Airlines

Rates and fees

Card comparison

Citi AAdvantage Executive vs. Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®

  • Rewards

    2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants, and on eligible American Airlines purchases; 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible AAdvantage® mile earned from purchases

  • Welcome bonus

    Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening

  • Annual fee

  • Intro APR

  • Regular APR

  • Balance transfer fee

    5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum

  • Foreign transaction fees

  • Credit needed

Information about the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

The mid-tier Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is better for earning American Airlines miles for certain everyday expenses and it has a much lower $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99. It earns 2X miles at restaurants and gas stations, which is twice the miles you’d earn with the Citi AAdvantage Executive.

The Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select also comes with some similar perks like a free checked bag for the cardholder and up to four other people traveling on the same domestic American Airlines flight, 25% off inflight American Airlines food and beverage purchases, no foreign transaction fees and preferred boarding.

The Citi AAdvantage Executive has more valuable benefits than the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select, but it’s significantly more expensive. So if you won’t be able to take full advantage of the AAdvantage Executive’s perks, then the AAdvantage Platinum Select card could be a better and affordable more option.

Citi AAdvantage Executive vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

  • Rewards

    Earn 5X total points on flights and 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3X points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases plus, 10X points on Lyft rides through March 2025

  • Welcome bonus

    Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®

  • Annual fee

  • Intro APR

  • Regular APR

  • Balance transfer fee

  • Foreign transaction fee

  • Credit needed

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a luxury credit card with more versatile travel benefits than what you get with the Citi AAdvantage Executive. For example, the Sapphire Reserve comes with a Priority Pass membership that grants you access to 1,300+ airport lounges regardless of which airline you’re flying with.

The Sapphire Reserve also has a slightly lower $550 annual fee and an up to $300 annual travel credit that is much more straightforward than the credits you can earn with the Citi AAdvantage Executive. This credit automatically applies to a range of purchases, such as flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, trains, taxis, tolls, parking and more.

While Chase Ultimate Rewards® points don’t transfer to American Airlines, you can use them to pay for American flights at a fixed rate of 1.5 cents per point through the Chase Travel portal. Alternatively, you can transfer your points to British Airways Executive Club or Iberia Plus, and then book American Airlines flights from there.

However, the Sapphire Reserve can’t compete with the airline-specific perks like the free checked bags or priority boarding.

Is the Citi AAdvantage Executive card right for you?

The Citi AAdvantage Executive has an expensive annual fee so it would only make sense if you live near an American Airlines hub or frequently fly with the airline and can maximize its benefits. It’s cheaper to pay the card’s annual fee than it is to directly purchase an Admirals Club membership, so it’s useful if you want American Airlines lounge access. And the card can help you earn American Airlines elite status more quickly, which unlocks complimentary upgrades and other useful benefits.

Bottom line

The Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard is a luxury airline card with a variety of benefits American Airlines frequent flyers will appreciate. Its biggest benefit is the complimentary Admirals Club membership but there are a number of other valuable perks as well, including various statement credits, free checked bags and travel insurance protections.

However, some of the card’s benefits are complicated or only benefit you when you’re traveling with American Airlines. So if you don’t anticipate flying with American Airlines very often, you might want to consider a more flexible travel card.

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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.