Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard Review 2025

• Citi® AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard Introduction
• Quick Facts
• What Is the Citi® AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard Best For?
• Citi® AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard Rewards
• Other Citi® AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard Benefits
• Fine Print
• How the Citi® AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard Stacks Up
• Is the Citi® AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard for You?
• Methodology

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®* is the highest-tier American Airlines co-branded credit card. The annual fee is steep but is offset by an impressive set of benefits targeted toward travelers who fly American Airlines often.

The biggest benefit of the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®* is an Admirals Club membership for the primary cardholder. This membership allows the member and up to two guests (or spouse and all children under 18) access to American Airlines Admirals Club lounges with a same-day boarding pass on American Airlines.

The membership has privileges at Oneworld clubs and other clubs worldwide where American Airlines’ passengers have access.

Primary cardholders (and up to eight companions) get their first checked bag free on American Airlines flights within the U.S. They also have priority check-in and boarding access and a 25% discount on in-flight food and drink purchases when you pay with your card.

The card also offers Admirals Club access for an authorized user. Authorized users can only visit Admirals Club lounges, not Oneworld or affiliated club lounges, and only while traveling on same-day American Airlines flights. They also do not get a free checked bag perk or priority airport and boarding access.

The card’s baseline earning rate is just 1 mile per dollar, well below other premium cards. Rewards come in the form of AAdvantage miles, which is limiting if you don’t fly American regularly. Therefore, anyone who isn’t looking to earn American Airlines miles will do better with a general rewards card or travel card.

• Admirals Club membership for primary cardholders
• Earn 10 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on eligible hotels and car rentals booked through aa.com, 4 miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® application fee credit (once every four years)
• First bag checked free on domestic flights for the primary cardmember and up to eight travel companions on the same reservation
• Priority boarding (Group 4)
• Priority check-in and security access (where available), including up to eight companions
• 25% discount on in-flight food and beverage purchases

This card is for frequent travelers who fly exclusively with American. If you travel regularly for work, for example, this card is a smart choice because it will reward you for things you were already doing. An Admirals Club lounge membership—assuming you use it regularly—is a fantastic perk. For everyone else, however, the annual fee is likely not worth the cost. There are several travel cards with significantly cheaper price tags that offer better, more flexible rewards as well as valuable travel benefits.

Earning Rewards

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®* offers a welcome bonus: Earn 70,000 bonus miles after spending $7,000 in purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.

The card earns 10 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on eligible hotels and car rentals booked through aa.com, 4 miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases. After spending $150,000 in a calendar year, a cardholder can earn 5 AAdvantage miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases for the rest of the year.

Redeeming Rewards

AAdvantage miles can be used to fly on American Airlines. But, they can also be used on any Oneworld airline and with other partners, including Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Qantas and Japan Airlines.

Although American Airlines moved to a fully dynamic pricing model, it still publishes an award chart you can consult to estimate how many miles you might need for a given itinerary. For example, a flight award within the contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada starts at 7,500 miles.

Rewards Potential

To determine the reward potential of the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®*, we look at the bonus categories and calculate what an average household might spend in those areas. Forbes Advisor uses data from various government agencies to determine baseline income and spending averages across various categories. The 70th percentile of wage-earning households brings in $127,200 annually and has $40,398 in expenses that can reasonably be charged to credit cards.

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®* Rewards Potential

Category	Earning Rate	Estimated Annual Spend	Estimated Annual Earnings
American Airlines Airfare	4X	$805	3,220
Hotels Booked Through AA.com	10X	$2,963	29,630
Rental Cars Booked Through AA.com	10X	$791	7,910
All Other Purchases	1X	$35,839	35,839
			Total: 76,599 AAdvantage Miles

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• Dedicated concierge. Provides access to experts for help with your foreign and domestic travel, shopping, dining, household and entertainment needs.
• $0 liability on unauthorized charges. As a World Elite Mastercard, this card offers protection from charges you didn’t authorize, online or otherwise.
• No foreign transaction fees. You won’t have to pay additional fees when using your credit card for overseas purchases.
• Statement credits for car rentals. You can earn up to $120 in statement credits in a calendar year on eligible Avis and Budget car rental purchases.
• Loyalty Points bonus. Earn a 10,000 Loyalty Points bonus after reaching 50,000 Loyalty Points in a status qualification year. You can earn another 10,000 Loyalty Points after reaching 90,000 in the same status qualification year.
• Lyft statement credits. After taking three eligible rides in a month, you can earn $10 in Lyft credits for up to $120 annually.
• Grubhub statement credits. Earn a statement credit of up to $10 per monthly billing statement on eligible Grubhub purchases, up to $120 every 12 billing statements.
• Travel protections. Get trip cancellation and interruption insurance, trip delay insurance and lost baggage protection and car rental insurance coverage.

Interest Rates

• Regular APR: 20.24% – 29.24% (Variable)
• Purchase intro APR: N/A
• Balance transfer intro APR: N/A

Fees

• Annual fee: $595
• Balance transfer fee: Balance transfer fee applies with this offer 5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum.
• Foreign purchase transaction fee: None

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®* vs. Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®

If you only occasionally fly American Airlines and are looking at the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®* primarily for the luggage and early boarding benefits, consider the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®. This card carries a lower annual fee but includes several valuable perks for American Airlines flyers without frequent flyer status.

The card does have an annual fee—$99, waived for first 12 months—but you will earn 2 AAdvantage® miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, at restaurants and gas stations and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases. Plus, you’ll get your first checked bag for free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to four companions traveling on the same reservation and preferred boarding.

In addition, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® offers a welcome bonus: Earn 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $3,500 in purchases in the first 4 months of account opening, limited time offer.

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®* vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve®

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a premium travel card from Chase, and certainly lives up to the hype. The card earns 5 points per dollar on flights and 10 points per dollar on hotels and car rentals when purchasing travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3 points per dollar on other travel and dining and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. Those are respectable rewards, but also to be expected of a premium card with a $550 annual fee.

There’s a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS credit every four years, complimentary Priority Pass and Chase Sapphire Lounge access, a $300 annual travel credit and of course Chase’s extensive travel insurance coverage.

Plus, the card has a welcome bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Ultimate Rewards® points are extra valuable for travelers because they’re highly flexible and can be transferred to airline and hotel partners. Even better, those points are worth 50% more when redeemed for travel through Chase Travel℠. All of that adds up to significant value for a traveler who can make use of the features.

However, this card is not specialized like the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®* and may be less valuable to a die-hard American Airlines customer.

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®* vs. The Platinum Card® from American Express

If you travel internationally across various airlines or have an American Express Centurion Lounge at your most frequently traveled airports, The Platinum Card® from American Express (Terms apply, see rates & fees) may offer you more useful airport lounge access and a more robust set of other travel-related benefits.

The Platinum Card® from American Express is one of the most well-known premium cards. The card is carried by road warriors, executives, travel enthusiasts and those who enjoy the old-school cache of pulling out Platinum. However, its value is not all in its branding—the extensive list of benefits for travelers carrying the Platinum Card is much more generous than the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®*:

• Up to $200 in annual airline incidentals statement credits on an eligible airline you select each year
• Up to $200 in Uber Cash credits that you can redeem monthly when you add your card to your Uber account (for U.S. services). An eligible Amex card must be enrolled and selected as the payment method for the Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem this benefit.
• Receive a statement credit of up to $85 for TSA PreCheck or up to $120 for Global Entry
• Receive a statement credit of up to $199 for a CLEAR® Plus membership
• Delta Sky Club (American Express Platinum card members receive 10 Delta Sky Club visits per year; unlimited visits can be earned when total purchases exceed $75,000 each calendar year), American Express Global Lounge and Priority Pass lounge access with eligible itineraries. Terms apply, see our review for details.
• Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status and Hilton Honors™ Gold status
• Car rental loss and damage insurance¹

In addition, the Amex Platinum offers a suite of purchase protection², shopping and concierge services. The Platinum Card® from American Express earns 5 Membership Rewards Points per dollar for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 per calendar year, 5 points per dollar on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases.

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®* could be for you if you’re a frequent American Airlines flyer chasing a higher tier of AAdvantage status and want an Admirals Club membership. The annual fee is less than the cost of an annual Admirals Club membership, and the welcome bonus is solid.

However, if you only want a free checked bag on American Airlines, you can get this benefit with a lower annual fee card—like the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®. For those wishing to maximize returns on travel spending, many cards offer better rewards earning across various categories. The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®* card is not a good choice for daily spending unless you really need a few more AAdvantage miles.

Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors, including:

• Annual fees
• Welcome bonus offers
• Ongoing earning rates
• Value of individual rewards
• Included travel or merchant credits
• Additional cardholder benefits

We give greater weight to the card features we believe cardholders will use most frequently. These factors combine to generate a star rating for each card.

To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, check out our guide on how Forbes Advisor rates credit cards.

To view rates and fees for The Platinum Card® from American Express please visit this page.
¹Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
²Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.