Frequent American Airlines flyers with
good credit or better who spend a lot of time in airports may want to consider the
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®. The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card’s best feature is an Admiral’s Club airport lounge membership that would otherwise cost at least $600 per year. But that perk is far from free and does not alone make the card worthwhile.
The Citi Executive Card’s biggest shortcoming is its sky-high annual fee, at
$595. 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.
Below, you can find a rundown of the most important factors to consider in regard to the AAdvantage Executive Card.
Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard Review Highlights:
- 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 $600 when purchased independently, the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard would yield the average person over $1,000 in net value over the first two years of use, according to WalletHub’s calculations. 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.
- One of the highest annual fees. The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card’s whopping $595 annual fee makes it one of the several most expensive credit cards in WalletHub’s database of 1,500+ offers. For context, the Citi Executive Card’s annual fee is roughly 27 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.
- Large initial bonus. One of the AAdvantage Executive Card’s biggest draws is its 70,000-mile initial bonus. But you have to spend at least $7,000 within 3 months of account opening to qualify.
- Pedestrian ongoing rewards. The AAdvantage Executive Card gives you just 4 miles for every $1 in American Airlines purchases that you make and only 1 mile per $1 spent on everything else. AAdvantage miles are worth roughly $0.0143 apiece, according to WalletHub research, which means you’ll be earning the equivalent of 5.72% and 1.43% “cash” back. That’s fine, but it’s certainly nothing special. The average cash rewards card gives you 1.15% back on all purchases. Besides, there are several other American Airlines credit cards with ongoing rewards that are at least as good.
- No foreign transaction fees. The average credit card offer has a 1.56% 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.
- 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 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.