The
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is worth considering if you are a frequent American Airlines flyer with
good credit or better who spends a lot of time in airports. The card’s best feature is an Admiral’s Club airport lounge membership that would otherwise cost at least $750 per year. But that perk is far from free.
The Citi Executive Card’s biggest shortcoming is its sky-high annual fee (
$595 per year). The card’s solid initial bonus and modest ongoing rewards should provide enough value for people who travel often to at least break even. But with the
best travel rewards credit cards currently offering well over $2,000 in rewards value after annual fees for just a couple years of use, you also have to consider what you might be missing out on by applying for the Citi AAdvantage Executive Mastercard.
What I Like About the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard
Large initial bonus.
One of the AAdvantage Executive Card’s biggest draws is its
70,000-mile initial bonus (worth an average of
$952, according to our calculations). But you have to spend at least
$7,000 within
3 months of opening and account to qualify. It’s still a good deal if you’re going to spend that much anyway, but you can find comparable bonuses with lower spending requirements on other cards.
Good rewards for American Airlines purchases.
The AAdvantage Executive Card gives you 4 miles for every $1 in American Airlines purchases that you make. AAdvantage miles are worth roughly $0.0136 apiece, according to WalletHub research, which means you’ll be earning the equivalent of 5.44% back on American Airlines flights. The average rewards card offers about 1% back, so this is excellent. Plus, you can earn 10 miles for every $1 spent on eligible hotels booked through aadvantagehotels.com and on eligible car rentals booked through aadvantagecars.com.
It’s all about the Admiral’s Club.
If you don’t factor in the value of Admiral’s Club membership, which costs at least $750 when purchased independently, the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard would yield the
average person just over $1,000 in net value over the first two years of use, according to WalletHub’s calculations.
That sounds pretty good, but you can get at least twice as much value from other rewards cards. So how good (or bad) this card will be ultimately depends on how much time you realistically expect to spend in Admiral’s Club lounges.
No foreign transaction fees.
The average credit card offer has a
1.58% foreign fee. But if you want a travel rewards
credit card with no foreign fee, you certainly don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars in annual membership charges to get it.
What I Don’t Like About the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard
One of the highest annual fees.
The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card’s whopping
$595 annual fee makes it one of the most expensive credit cards in WalletHub’s database of 1,500+ offers. For context, the Citi Executive Card’s annual fee is roughly 24 times higher than what the
average credit card charges. So you really need to think long and hard about how easy it will be to get your money’s worth.
Pedestrian ongoing rewards for most purchases.
The AAdvantage Executive Card gives you just 1 mile per $1 spent on everything but American Airlines purchases. That means you’ll be earning the equivalent of 1.36% “cash” back.
That’s fine, but it’s certainly nothing special. The average cash rewards card gives you
1.17% back on purchases, and you can get 2% cash back on all purchases from some of the best cards. Besides, there are several other American Airlines credit cards with ongoing rewards that are at least as good.
Top-tier credit requirement.
If you don’t have at least
good credit, you’re unlikely to qualify for the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard. And since that pretty much rules out more than two-thirds of all potential applicants, you should definitely make sure to
check your credit score for free on WalletHub before you apply (if you apply, that is).
Potential for an above-average APR.
You can do better than the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card if you’re planning to carry a balance from month to month. It does not offer 0% intro rates, and its regular APR can be much
higher above-average for a card that requires
good credit.
If you’re interested in luxury travel perks but don’t want to spend an arm and a leg to get them, there are several more-affordable cards with benefits such as
airport lounge access.
Note: This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Opinions and ratings are our own.
