If you’re a frequent flyer with American Airlines, you might want to consider applying for one of their cobranded credit cards through Citi.
Leading the lineup is the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (view rates and fees), which provides the most extensive American Airlines-specific benefits available. However, it does come with a significant annual fee of $595.
The question is: Is it worth the cost—both in your first year and the years that follow? Let’s break it down.
Related: How to determine if a credit card’s annual fee is justified
Welcome Bonus
Currently, the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard is offering a welcome bonus of 70,000 miles after you spend $7,000 within the first three months of account opening. This bonus is valued at approximately $1,155, based on Flying Frugal’s March 2025 assessments.
This welcome offer is consistent with what we’ve seen previously for this card.
Lounge Access
The most valuable ongoing benefit of this card is the complimentary Admirals Club membership you receive annually, granted that you present a same-day boarding pass for an eligible flight.
A standard yearly membership costs between $750 and $850, depending on your status level, making the $595 annual fee of this card quite reasonable for Admirals Club access.
With this membership, you’ll gain access to nearly 50 Admirals Clubs and over 60 partner lounges globally when flying American or oneworld partner airlines, including access to Alaska Lounges in key hubs such as Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
You can bring immediate family members (your spouse or domestic partner and children under 18) or up to two guests with you. They don’t need to be traveling on the same flight—only on American or oneworld flights with a same-day boarding pass.
For instance, living in Austin, Texas, I frequently transit through American Airlines’ largest hub, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), allowing me to access the lounges in Austin and during my connections at DFW.
I also personally appreciate having access to select Qantas Club and Qantas International Business Lounges when I travel back home to Australia and throughout the country.
Travel Benefits
This card provides several valuable perks when flying American, including priority check-in at business-class counters (where available) and priority boarding for you and up to eight travelers on the same reservation.
You also enjoy one free checked bag on domestic flights with American Airlines (note that this benefits only domestic routes; I had to pay $35 recently for a flight to Mexico due to forgetting this restriction).
Additionally, you can take advantage of a 25% discount on in-flight food and beverage purchases (excluding Wi-Fi) and receive up to a $120 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (I recommend applying for Global Entry since it includes PreCheck as well).
The card also comes with various travel protections, including coverage for trip cancellation, interruption, delays, lost luggage, and car rentals.
Plus, there are no foreign transaction fees, making this card ideal for international travel.
Elite Status
If attaining AAdvantage elite status is a goal for you, this card can facilitate that. For every mile earned from purchases, you earn 1 Loyalty Point.
Additionally, you will earn a 10,000 Loyalty Points bonus when you reach 50,000 Loyalty Points in a qualifying status year, with another 10,000-point bonus once you hit 90,000 Loyalty Points in that same year.
Statement Credits
Statement credits offered by Citi include:
- Up to $120 back on eligible prepaid rentals booked directly through Avis.com or Budget.com (this credit is restricted as of July 2024)
- Up to $120 back on eligible Grubhub purchases (capped at $10 per month)
- Up to $120 in Lyft credits ($10 per month), but you will need to complete three eligible rides each month before receiving this credit
So far, the Grubhub credit is the only benefit I’ve utilized in the past year, and I’ve found it easy to maximize the $10 monthly credit by ordering takeout while traveling.
While I typically rent from Europcar, National, or Hertz, leveraging the car rental credit would still be straightforward if I found a good deal with Avis or Budget for my trips.
As for the Lyft credit, I personally don’t find it valuable, as I don’t receive the $10 until after completing three rides in a month. Instead, I prefer using my Chase Sapphire Reserve® for Lyft rides, earning 10 points per dollar spent through March 2025.
Related: If you use Uber or Lyft frequently, check out these top credit cards
Earning and Redeeming Miles
If you’re looking to maximize your points across different programs, consider using a card with transferable points. However, if your goal is to build your AAdvantage miles specifically, this card rewards you as follows:
- 10 miles per dollar spent on eligible car rentals and accommodations booked through American Airlines’ platforms
- 4 miles per dollar for eligible American Airlines purchases (increases to 5 miles per dollar once you spend $150,000 in a calendar year)
- 1 mile per dollar for all other eligible transactions
AAdvantage miles rank among the most valuable of all U.S. airline programs, valued at an estimated 1.65 cents each as of March 2025. This is notably higher than United MileagePlus miles (1.35 cents each) and Delta SkyMiles (1.2 cents each).
After acquiring this card post-refresh in mid-2023, I redeemed some of my welcome bonus for an incredible flight. I used 70,000 miles together with $174 for a one-way business-class ticket on Qatar Airways’ outstanding Qsuite from Doha to Houston.
This flight retails for $3,910 one-way, giving me a remarkable value of 5.6 cents per mile from this redemption—more than triple Flying Frugal’s valuation for AAdvantage miles as of March 2025.
Related: Top ways to utilize American Airlines AAdvantage miles
Authorized Users
This card is perfect for granting Admirals Club access to friends and family in a cost-effective way.
You can add up to three authorized users for a total fee of $175 (approximately $58 each), and any additional authorized users will also incur a fee of $175 each.
Each authorized user gains Admirals Club access (with a same-day boarding pass for an eligible flight) for themselves and up to two traveling companions. However, please note that authorized users do not receive a complete Admirals Club membership.
Final Thoughts
In summary, if you are a frequent flyer with American Airlines, this card is an excellent option. It’s particularly beneficial if you seek Admirals Club access but lack elite status with AA or Oneworld.
By optimizing statement credits, you can significantly offset the effective cost of the annual fee. The opportunity to add up to three authorized users for $175 is also a fantastic deal. Plus, this card can assist you in achieving AAdvantage status through the accumulation of Loyalty Points on your regular spending and by hitting certain spending thresholds.
However, if lounge access does not appeal to you, I recommend looking into one of Citi / AA’s more budget-friendly credit card options.
For more information about this card, check out our full review of the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard.
Apply here: Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard
