The
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is worth considering if you’re a frequent flyer with American Airlines, you have
good credit, and you spend a lot of time in airports. Its best feature is an Admirals Club airport lounge membership (worth up to $850 per year), and its biggest flaw is a
$595 annual fee.
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 net rewards value 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 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
$1,064 in airfare, 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 you spend with American Airlines. AAdvantage miles are
worth roughly $0.0152 apiece, according to WalletHub research, which means you’ll be earning the equivalent of 6.08% back on American Airlines flights. The average rewards card offers about 1% back, so this is excellent.
In addition, 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. As long as you can get a reasonable price through those platforms, that reward rate can really make a difference.
Admiral Club access
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 depending on how much time you realistically expect to spend in Admiral’s Club lounges.
Free checked bags
You get your first checked bag free on domestic American Airlines flights. Up to eight travel companions on the same reservation can enjoy this benefit, too.
You also get priority boarding. Such perks are pretty common among airline cards, though.
Good user reviews
This card has a
3.9 / 5 user rating on WalletHub, which indicates that most people who’ve used it have had a positive experience.
No foreign transaction fees
The average credit card offer has a
1.58% foreign fee, according to our research. 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. There are plenty of cards with low annual fees that don’t charge foreign fees.
What I Don’t Like About 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 about 21 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.
Unimpressive 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 1.52% “cash” back.
That’s fine, but it’s certainly nothing special. The average cash rewards card gives you
1.18% 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.
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 than average for a card that requires
good credit.
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).
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.
