Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard review: Complimentary Admirals Club membership
| 4X | Earn 4x AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases. |
| 1X | 1 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on other purchases |
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Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard overview
The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees) is best for American Airlines flyers who value lounge access. It provides a full Admirals Club membership, as well as several other benefits that make flying American Airlines more enjoyable. These include a free checked bag, priority check-in, airport screening and boarding privileges, and a boost toward elite status. Card Rating*: ⭐⭐⭐
*Card Rating is based on the opinion of TPG's editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
While many credit cards offer airport lounge access, the types of lounges each card gets you into can vary greatly. There's only one cobranded credit card that includes complimentary access to the American Airlines Admirals Club lounges: the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard.
The card's annual fee is $595, which might seem steep but is still much less expensive than an Admirals Club membership (currently $850 for new members).
To be approved for the card, a credit score of 670 or higher is recommended.
This card underwent major (mostly negative) changes in mid-2023, and TPG senior editorial director Nick Ewen wasn't thrilled with them.
Let's review all the benefits of this American Airlines cobranded card to help you decide whether to carry — or keep — it in your wallet.
Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite pros and cons
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Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite welcome offer
The Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard is currently offering 70,000 bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first three months of account opening. This bonus is worth $1,085, based on TPG's most recent valuations.
The highest offer we've seen on this card in the past is 100,000 bonus points, so for those who missed this high sign-up bonus the first time, it's time to jump on this best-ever offer.
Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite benefits
What sets this card apart from the competition is that it provides complimentary Admirals Club access. The primary cardholder receives a full Admirals Club membership, which allows you and your immediate family or two traveling companions access to the club when you have a same-day boarding pass for American or one of its partners. Your credit card will be tied to your AAdvantage account number, so you don't have to carry it to get club access.
Admirals Club membership ordinarily costs between $700 and $850, depending on your status level with American. That means the annual fee covers the lounge access — without all the other benefits factored in.
You can add up to 10 authorized users. They cost an additional $175 annual fee for the first three authorized users and $175 for each authorized user thereafter. Each authorized user receives Admirals Club access for themselves and up to two traveling companions. Just be aware that authorized users only get Admirals Club access, as opposed to a full Admirals Club membership.
There are three statement credits available:
- Up to $120 back on eligible Avis or Budget car rentals every calendar year (this credit was restricted in July 2024)
- Up to $120 back on eligible Grubhub purchases (up to a $10 statement credit on each monthly billing statement)
- Up to $120 in Lyft credits ($10 Lyft credit each month), but you have to take three eligible rides each month first to receive this credit
Here are some other valuable perks the card offers:
- Enhanced airport experience: You and up to eight travelers on the same reservation will get priority check-in (where available), airport screening (where available) and boarding privileges. You can even check in at any business-class check-in position (or first-class check-in when business class is not available), regardless of the class of service in which you're traveling.
- First checked bag free on domestic itineraries: On domestic itineraries flown by American Airlines or any regional subsidiary, the first checked bag for you and up to eight traveling companions on the same reservation is free. The flight must be marketed, sold and operated by American to qualify for the free checked bag.
- 25% off eligible inflight purchases: This essentially means 25% off inflight food and beverages when you pay for them with the card (not including inflight Wi-Fi).
- Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee statement credit: Get an up-to-$100 statement credit when paying the Global Entry fee with the card or when enrolling in TSA PreCheck ($100). You'll receive the credit once every four years. Because you also receive TSA PreCheck when enrolling for Global Entry, there's no real reason you should ever just enroll in PreCheck.
This card removed travel protections a few years back but has reintroduced trip cancellation and interruption, trip delay, and lost baggage protections, as well as car rental insurance coverage.
Finally, there are no foreign transaction fees, making this card a good choice when traveling abroad.
Earning miles on the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite
With the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard, you'll earn 4 miles per dollar on eligible American Airlines purchases. Then, if you spend $150,000 on purchases in a calendar year, you'll earn a boosted rate of 5 miles per dollar spent on American purchases for the remainder of the calendar year.
You'll also earn 10 miles per dollar spent on eligible car rentals and hotels booked through American's car rental and hotel booking sites, respectively.
And you'll earn 1 mile per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
Cardholders earn a bonus of 10,000 Loyalty Points after reaching 50,000 Loyalty Points in a status qualification year. They will receive another bonus of 10,000 Loyalty Points after reaching 90,000 Loyalty Points in a status qualification year.
You will receive the bonuses regardless of how you earn the Loyalty Points. For example, you could earn 50,000 Loyalty Points by buying American Airlines tickets and shopping through the AAdvantage portal and get the 10,000 bonus just by holding the card.
Redeeming miles on the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite
The lowest round-trip tickets in the U.S. tend to start at 7,500 miles one-way for flights less than 500 miles long.
Web specials previously offered include domestic cross-country flights for 5,000 miles each way in economy or 15,000 miles each way in first class, flights to Europe from 9,000 miles each way and flights to Brazil from 15,000 miles each way.
Alternatively, you could get a ton of value by redeeming your AAdvantage miles for premium-cabin awards on partner airlines, including Cathay Pacific, Etihad and Qatar Airways.
Related: How to redeem miles with the American Airlines AAdvantage program
TPG managing editor for credit cards Matt Moffitt and credit cards writer Danyal Ahmed's favorite way of redeeming AAdvantage miles is to book business-class flights on Etihad or Qatar Airways to the Middle East, India and Africa.
One TPG reader put all of their spending on the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite to accumulate enough miles for multiple tickets to Hawaii:
"I charged everything to my CitiAAdvantage Mastercard. When I got enough miles I booked tkts to Hawaii from the east coast 5 times, a total of nine round trips." — Arlene Finn via Facebook
Note: Reader-submitted responses have not been edited, reviewed or approved by the issuers nor reflect TPG's opinions of these cards.
The miles you're able to earn with this card could help you make the vacation of your dreams come true if you know how to redeem them for high value.
Which cards compete with the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite?
American is not a transfer partner of any of the major points programs except Bilt Rewards, so the biggest competitors of this card are mostly other cobranded American Airlines cards, but you can also get tons of value from a more general premium card.
- If you want a lower annual fee: The Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard is a solid mid-level credit card that offers elite-status-like benefits, all for a lower annual fee of $99. For more information, read our full review of the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select.
- If you're not an avid AA flyer: It could make more sense to stick to a premium travel rewards card such as The Platinum Card® from American Express, which allows you to earn 5 points per dollar on flights (when booked directly with the airline or Amex Travel on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar) and take advantage of myriad airline transfer partners. For more information, read our full review of the Amex Platinum.
- If you're a business owner: The Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees) is an entry-level cobranded business card that offers elitelike benefits and bonus-earning potential in business categories. The low annual fee of $99 is waived the first 12 months and the main cardholder earns Loyalty Points from their purchases and employees cards. For more information, read our full review of the Citi / AAdvantage Business World Elite Mastercard.
For additional options, check out our full list of premium travel cards.
Related: Choosing the best credit card for American Airlines flyers
The information for the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Bottom line
Since an Admirals Club membership starts at $700 each year, the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard should catch the eye of any frequent American flyer's attention. If you want Admirals Club access and to boost your AA mileage balance with a sign-up bonus (while also easing elite status requirements), this card provides ongoing value. However, you might want to look elsewhere if you're looking for a card that will give you a better return on your spending.
Apply here: Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard