Link: Apply now for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®
The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® has undergone a major refresh. While I’d consider the changes to be negative overall, the card does have some new perks, which will make this an attractive product for many.
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Earn 70K AAdvantage miles with the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card
The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card is offering a bonus of 70,000 AAdvantage miles after spending $7,000 within the first three months. Personally I value AAdvantage miles at 1.5 cents each, so to me that bonus is worth $1,050. There are some incredible uses of American AAdvantage miles, so you can redeem this for experiences like Etihad’s A350 business class or Qatar Airways’ 777 business class.
Also keep in mind that any spending on the card will qualify for Loyalty Points (helping you earn elite status, including Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro, or Executive Platinum), though the welcome bonus as such won’t. Upon completing minimum spending, you’d earn a minimum of 10,000 Loyalty Points.
Citi AAdvantage Executive Card eligibility requirements
If you’re interested in applying for the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card, the typical Citi credit card application restrictions apply, including that you can be approved for at most one Citi card every eight days, and at most two Citi cards every 65 days.
On top of that, the bonus isn’t available to those who have received a new account bonus on this exact card in the past 48 months. Eligibility is unrelated to having any other American Airlines credit cards, though, whether personal or business, and whether issued by Citi or Barclays.
Why the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card is worth it
The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card has a $595 annual fee, though offers a bunch of perks that can help offset that. For one, this is the best card for accessing American Admirals Clubs:
- The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card offers an Admirals Club membership for the primary cardmember
- The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card offers Admirals Club access for authorized users; you can add up to three authorized users for a total of $175 (so potentially under $60 each), and then beyond that it’s $175 per authorized user
What’s the difference between the Admirals Club membership for the primary cardmember and Admirals Club access for authorized users? Well, the member can access some partner lounges, like Alaska Lounges, while the authorized users can’t. Regardless, the primary cardmember and authorized users are each able to bring two guests or their immediate family into Admirals Clubs when flying American or an eligible partner airline the same day.
On top of that, the card offers a variety of other perks, including:
- A first checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for the primary cardmember and up to eight companions on the same reservation
- Priority check-in, priority security, and early boarding, when flying American Airlines
- Up to 20,000 bonus Loyalty Points per year, unrelated to spending on the card — if you earn 50,000 Loyalty Points with AAdvantage you’ll receive 10,000 bonus Loyalty Points, and if you earn 90,000 Loyalty Points you’ll receive another 10,000 bonus Loyalty Points
- Up to $120 back on eligible Avis or Budget rentals every calendar year, which can even be used toward a single rental
- Up to $120 back on eligible Grubhub purchases every year, in the form of up to a $10 statement credit with each billing statement
- Up to $120 in Lyft credits every year, in the form of up to a $10 credit each month after making three eligible rides
- A Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit of up to $100 every four years, as reimbursement for the application fee
- Travel protection, including for trip cancellation and interruption, trip delay, lost baggage, and worldwide rental cars
- 10x AAdvantage miles on eligible rental cars booked through aa.com/cars, and eligible hotels booked through aa.com/hotels
Read a detailed review of the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card.
Bottom line
The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card has a nice welcome bonus of 70,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after completing minimum spending. While the bonus is great (and I value it at $1,050), there are lots of reasons beyond the miles that you might want to keep the card.
The card’s $595 annual fee is less than you’d otherwise pay for an Admirals Club membership. You can then add up to three authorized users at a reasonable cost, and take advantage of all kinds of other perks, ranging from up to $360 worth of credits, to 20,000 bonus Loyalty Points per year.
If this card has been on your radar but you haven’t yet picked it up, this would be a fantastic time to apply, especially as this offer is ending soon. This card has been in my wallet for years.
Anyone plan to pick up the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card with 70K miles?
Ben. I currently have a Citi AA Executive World Elite Mastercard (10 years old). Can I cancel this card and get a new one with the 100K bonus? Or can I just call them and ask for the current promotion on my old card?
If neither is possible I’ll just sign up my wife as the new primary cardholder and cancel the old on with me as the primary.
Thank you! recieved it 2 weeks ago. should I cancel it after one year?since we are mostly flying Business Class due to old age and Lounge access is included.any other major benefits?
My application was declined because "your credit report shows a high amount of unused credit compared to your available credit lines". It sounds to me like I'm being penalized for a low credit utilization, which I've understood to be a positive. Any thoughts?
FYI I have a high credit score (800+) and this is a card I've held before (opened in Jan 2019, closed in July 2022).
This is common these days. I held a C1 Venture X card until I cancelled it. Trying to apply for a C1 regular Venture card now results in a denial for no reason other than "nopety, check your credit" despite high score (like yours) and infrequent apps.
I think with the cost of capital being so high, card issuers are worried we'll teeter into a recession soon.
@WC Maybe Citi is wortied you will take the welcome offer and just cancel the card in a few months. This website is designed for people to churn credit cards and use sign up bonuses. It could be Citi does not want those customers.
If I already have the CITI / AADVANTAGE PLATINUM SELECT WORLD ELITE MASTERCARD, can I cancel that and 'upgrade' to this card, and reap the bonus (after spending)?
Lucky, you need to post this important new rule. This is from Frequent Miler, which is reliable: "Unless expressly prohibited, Eligible Customers can participate in other Citibank AAdvantage American Airlines promotions, which award miles; ****however, no Eligible Customer can be awarded more than 120,000 AAdvantage miles total (multiple awards allowed) within any 365-day period.****"
Great bonus worth it. Only thing I'm scared of is that I've gotten a bonus on the biz card this year and I recall AA cracking down/shutting down people who get too many bonus points in a year. I recall that years ago they were shutting down people who got more than two bonuses per year. However, I think I saw recently that they now just say you can only get 100k bonus points (from signups, etc) per year. Am I correct?
I worry the same thing. I remember those with 3 or more signup bonuses posted in a calendar year were marked as abusers. Not sure of the exact criteria but this was one of the conclusions people came up with. I already have two signup bonuses posted this year. My next AA card should wait until November or so.
Found the new rule! Posted on frequent miler: • "Unless expressly prohibited, Eligible Customers can participate in other Citibank AAdvantage American Airlines promotions, which award miles; however, no Eligible Customer can be awarded more than 120,000 AAdvantage miles total (multiple awards allowed) within any 365-day period." From
Based on this, you should wait as you'll surely be over 120k pts.
Thanks for sharing that. My two were 65k and 75k, citi biz and personal. Already over 120k. Hope nothing happens to me. Fingers crossed
$10k spending on the card within first 3 months to get the 100K BONUS miles is steep don't you think? So what makes this card so good and what makes the Welcome Bonus so good?
Agreed 10 miles per dollar (the bonus earning rate) isn't that ideal unless you have a lot of AA direct spend planned.
How long do you think this offer will be available?
Any idea how long this offer will last?
September 7th is what my email said, so at least then.
If you currently have an Admirals Club membership, will they refund the prorated amount remaining back to you upon approval for this card?
Is the 20K bonus loyalty points retroactive?
Ben, is there any fine print regarding “eligible” car rentals?
I'd love to know this too. I've had 2 $130+ Avis rentals since the card rolled over and I've yet to see a credit. (One booked direct through Avis, the other through AA car reservation, both paid on the lot.)
I got this card about two weeks ago using the one mile at a time link and got the old 50k bonus for spending $5,000 in the first 3 months. Glad because I don’t plan on $10,000 in that short amount of time. Now I wonder if I will get the new AF $595 or $450 old one. Also , I’m already over 50k LPs this qualifying year and the card comes with a 10k LP bonus so I expect Citi and American to back track and award me the 10K LPs.
To be clear, you DON’T want to pay the new annual fee; you DON’T want to meet new min. spend requirements; but you DO want Citi/AA to offer you new benefits?
Well why wouldn’t he WANT that? Doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to get it, but asking the question is fair. It’s not uncommon at all for the new benefits of an existing card to take effect immediately for current cardholders, while the AF doesn’t hit until their regularly scheduled time. I don’t know the answer in this case, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he gets what he’s hoping for.
And to be clear, you signed up at $450, that’s the AF you will pay when it bills this month. At your next card anniversary it will go up to $595.
Everyone - please remember this post next time Ben complains about an airline mileage program or redemption rate devaluation. You can't constantly push huge sign on bonus airline mileage credit cards and then complain about the inevitable result of flooding the market with points: devaluation.
Love the travel reviews on this site. But there's zero credibility when it comes to frequent flyer program devaluation complaints.
@ Bob -- I'm a little bit confused as to what you're taking issue with here?
Airlines generate billions of dollars through their credit card programs, and that's mostly through their co-brand credit card partnerships. This has been going on for decades, and the miles we earn from those cards is the way that many of us fund our travel as well.
I've never said airlines can't devalue. Personally I don't like no notice devaluations,...
@ Bob -- I'm a little bit confused as to what you're taking issue with here?
Airlines generate billions of dollars through their credit card programs, and that's mostly through their co-brand credit card partnerships. This has been going on for decades, and the miles we earn from those cards is the way that many of us fund our travel as well.
I've never said airlines can't devalue. Personally I don't like no notice devaluations, and I'm not a fan of programs switching to dynamic award pricing.
Furthermore, I take an earn and burn approach to miles. For example, I'd recommend earning miles from a card's bonus, and then redeeming them ASAP. As I often warn, having miles in an account and not spending them is like having money in an account that doesn't earn interest.
So do you just not want me to promote any ways to earn miles, or what? For what it's worth, American actually hasn't devalued its partner award pricing in many years (I want to say seven?). And I constantly redeem for Etihad, Qatar, etc.
Yo Ben - you're wasting your time responding to this one. Anyone that reads your blog regularly knows your position on mileage programs as a revenue source for airlines, sometimes more [profitable] so than actually operating as an airline. No one likes devaluations. That said, your commentary on devaluations and the logic behind why airlines do what they do is so much more balanced and rational than everyone else screaming bloody murder when devaluations happen....
Yo Ben - you're wasting your time responding to this one. Anyone that reads your blog regularly knows your position on mileage programs as a revenue source for airlines, sometimes more [profitable] so than actually operating as an airline. No one likes devaluations. That said, your commentary on devaluations and the logic behind why airlines do what they do is so much more balanced and rational than everyone else screaming bloody murder when devaluations happen. For those of us that understand these underlying dynamics (which you work to educate us on), devaluations, especially no notice devals, are an annoyance at best. So, ignore this chump (Bob) brotha!
Wow, that's almost enough for a roundtrip economy class off peak domestic ticket to Tulsa!
heh
"We've listened to our customers and dynamic pricing with absurdly low valuations is what they've been asking for."
IMO the card @ $595 less possibly the car rental credit of $120, makes the cost $475 or the opportunity cost of a little less than half a cent. My general rule is one third of a cent max. Admirals Clubs are worthless and hey I'm hub captive @ DFW.
I have the Citi & Barclay business cards so covered on bags and the other sundry items. I got 70K miles from the Barclay card last year for next to nothing spend and free year one and $95 on renewal.
Seems like in the last week or two, QR awards (at least from the states) have basically vanished from AA.
I haven't been able to find any QR business class flights from the US to DOH in a while.
I find QSuites and Etihad award space when I’m originating in jfk and connecting to some place weird like Pakistan or India. If you just want to go to DOH I imagine there would be different availability.
If you already earned over 90k loyalty points this status year, will getting approved for the card automatically give you an additional 20k? Or do you need to earn 90k after getting the card?
@ Kevin -- Based on my reading of the terms, you'd qualify even if you've already passed those thresholds, and the bonus Loyalty Points should post after 8-10 weeks.
Still eligible for additional 20K LP if you have received the 15K LP from the Aviator Silver card? Under the pre-LP system, you couldn't get the EQD bonus from both the Aviator Silver and Aviator Business. I recall some folks saying they received EQD bonuses from both Aviator Silver and Citi AA Exec. My memory may be hazy, though.
I've routinely earned and received EQM/LP bonuses from both Barclay and CitiBank in the same year.
Shoot. Wish I didn't already have this card... that's a nice offer.