Want American Airlines Admirals Club Access, a great sign up bonus and great bonus categories with awesome perks? The Citi AAdvantage World Elite Mastercard might be the perfect card for you.

Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard

After yesterday’s post on the Barclays Aviator Red Mastercard I figured it was a good time to review Citi’s premium American Airlines card to see how it compares.

Quick Facts

Signup Bonus: 70,000 American Airlines miles after spending $7,000 in three months. I value AA miles at 1.5 cents per mile so this bonus is worth $1,500.

Points Earned: American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

Status Earned: Earn 1 Loyalty Point per dollar spent. Loyalty Points are American’s system for earning elite status. You also earn Loyalty Points for flights as well as a number of other partner activities.

• AAdvantage Gold: 40,000 Loyalty Points

• AAdvantage Platinum: 75,000 Loyalty Points

• AAdvantage PlatinumPro: 125,000 Loyalty Points

• AAdvantage Executive Platinum: 200,000 Loyalty Points

Earnings Structure:
4x miles per dollar on American Airlines purchases. After spending $150,000 in a year this bumps up to 5x miles for the remainder of the calendar year.
10x miles per dollar on hotels booked through aa.com/hotels and car rentals booked through aa.com/cars
1x points per dollar on all other purchases

Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Authorized User Fee: $175 for up to 3 cards, then $175 per card for each additional authorized user

Annual Fee: $595

Benefits

Admirals Club Membership: Complimentary

Grubhub Credit: Get a $10 credit per month in Grubhub purchases each month

Car Rental Credit: Get up to $120 per year in credits when you use your card on a rental through Avis or Budget

Lyft Credit: after taking 3 eligible rides in a calendar month, you will earn a $10 Lyft credit, for a total of up to $120 Lyft credits annually.

Checked Baggage Benefits: Receive a free checked bag on domestic American Airlines itineraries for the primary cardmember and up to 8 companions traveling with you on the same reservation.

Group 4 Boarding: Board with group 4 for yourself and up to 4 companions on the same reservation.

Global Entry/TSA Precheck Credit: Receive up to $100 in credits for either your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee once every 4 years.

Status Benefits: Earn a 10,000 Loyalty Points bonus after reaching 50,000 Loyalty Points in a status qualification year. Earn another 10,000 Loyalty Points bonus after reaching 90,000 Loyalty Points in the same status qualification year. So once you hit 50,000 Loyalty Points you’ll automatically get another 10,000 for a total of 60,000. Then once you hit 90,000 Loyalty Points, you’ll automatically get another 10,000 for a total of 100,000.

Who Is Eligible?

Citi has a number of co-branded cards with American Airlines in addition to this card.

• AAdvantage Platinum Select- $99 Annual Fee

• AAdvantage MileUp- No Annual Fee

• CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select- $99 Annual Fee

Citi’s only rule for all of these cards is that you are not eligible for the sign up bonus if you’ve received the sign up bonus for the same card in the last 48 months. It is fine if you’ve received the sign up bonus for any of their other American Airlines cards, just not the same one you are applying for. Additionally, Citi generally will only approve you for one card every 8 days and two cards every 65 days.

Admirals Club Membership

I got this card 8 years ago but have kept it since then pretty much just for the Admirals Club membership which is American Airline’s airport lounges. Not only is it great to not have to sit in the terminal during a layover or before a flight, there are decent snacks and drinks to hold you over as well. However, I think the best thing about these lounges are the employees there. They are the superstars of American Airline’s customer service and can work wonders for you during irregular operations due to missed or delayed flights.

To gain access, you do need to be flying American Airlines same day with a valid boarding pass. Additionally, you can get access to Alaska Airlines lounges as well as dozens of other partner airlines’ lounges when flying said airline same day.

You are also allowed to bring your immediate family in with you or up to two guests.

Your membership also typically is activated before your physical card even comes in the mail as it is linked to your AAdvantage account. While authorized users do get Admirals Club access, its not linked to their account so they do need to bring their physical card with them.

If you were to outright purchase a membership you would pay anywhere from $700 to $850 depending on your status and if it is your first time purchasing it. So if you have your mind set on an Admirals Club membership, this card makes for a great discount.

Wrapping Up

Getting an Admirals Club membership for up to $255 less than purchasing one outright is a no brainer if you’re going to get one anyway. If you’re a frequent American Airlines flyer, this is a phenomenal card that comes with up to $360 worth of credits each year. For those also chasing status with American Airlines, getting up to 20,000 bonus Loyalty Points is huge. This helped me requalify last year. The icing on the cake for this card is the 70,000 mile welcome bonus as well. What are your thoughts on this card?

Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard

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