Citi is a TPG advertising partner.
If you’re on American Airlines regularly, you might consider getting one of their shared cards from Citi.
At the top of the hierarchy is Citi®/Aadvantage® Execution World Elite Mastercard® (see Rates and Fees), which provides the most specific special privileges in any credit card. But this comes with a high annual fee of $595.
So, is it worth the $595 annual fee whether it is in the first year or above? Let’s do math.
Welcome bonus
Citi/Aadvantage Execution World Elite Mastercard currently offers 100,000 miles after spending $10,000 in the first three months of opening an account. According to TPG’s May 2025 valuation, the bonus is worth $1,650.
This welcome bonus is comparable to the highest bonus we saw on this card and was last offered in July 2024. Given that this is only the third time the card offers 100,000 miles, now is a good time to add it to your wallet.
This bonus provides a large portion of the total value of the card, so making money and using miles wisely is essential for the premium expenses that exceed the card.
Related: 15 cards currently offer welcome bonuses of 100,000 or more points
Lounge entry
Arguably, the most valuable ongoing benefit of this card is the free Admiral Club membership you hold the card every year. When you have a Citi/Aadvantage execution card, all you have to do is walk to the lounge and provide the same-day boarding pass for a qualified flight.
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Membership costs 700-$850 depending on your status level, if it is a new membership or renewal. Given that the annual fee for this card is $595, it doesn’t make sense to purchase Admirals Club membership separately unless you are not eligible for the card.
When the Americans or one of their OneWorld partners fly, you will visit nearly 50 Admiral Clubs and over 60 partner lounges worldwide. Notably, this includes Alaska lounges at hubs such as Portland International Airport (PDX), Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
You can introduce immediate family members (spouse or family partner and children under 18 years of age) or up to two guests. And they don’t need to do the same flight with you – only any US or Oneworld flight with the same day boarding pass.
I’m often in Austin, Texas, and I’m often flying over the AA’s largest hub, Dallas Worth International Airport (DFW). This means I can get into the lounge when I set off at Austin and when I connect through Dallas-Fort Worth.
I also value visiting a selection of Qantas Clubs and Qantas International Business Lounge as I flew to Australia and traveled across the country.
Related: The best lounge access credit cards can be added to your wallet
Travel benefits
Citi/Aadvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard offers valuable perks when flying the United States, including at business-grade counters (if any) and priority boarding privileges (if any) and up to eight travelers with the same booking.
You can also get your first check bag for free on your American Airlines domestic itinerary. (Note that this is for domestic flights only; I had to pay $35 when I went to Mexico last year and forgot about the limitations of this privilege.)
Additionally, you can enjoy a 25% discount on purchases of food and beverages on board (excluding Wi-Fi) and earn a maximum $120 statement credit for global admission/TSA Precheck. (I recommend maximizing your credit by applying for a global entry, as it includes Precheck anyway.)
Additionally, the card includes travel protection such as cancellation of travel, travel interruption, travel delay, lost luggage protection and car rental insurance coverage.
And there are no foreign transaction fees, which makes this card an excellent choice for international travel.
Related: If you don’t want to pay for the bag fee, which airline is the best right now?
Elite identity
If chasing the Aadvantage Elite identity is important to you, then Citi/Aadvantage Execution World Elite Mastercard will help you achieve it. You will earn 1 loyalty for every mile you earn from your purchase.
Most importantly, you will receive 10,000 loyalty bonuses when you reach 50,000 loyalty points in the identity eligibility year. After reaching 90,000 loyalty points in the same year, you will receive a bonus of 10,000 loyalty points.
Related: 8 Ways to Obtain American AADVANTAGE Execution Platinum
Declare credits
Declaration points on Citi/Aadvantage execution card include:
- Get back up to $120 of qualified prepaid rents booked directly on Avis.com or Budgeb.com for each calendar year (this credit is restricted in July 2024)
- On qualified Grubhub purchases, you can go back up to $120 (receive up to $10 statement credit in monthly bill statements)
- Up to $120 Lyft credit ($10 per month Lyft credit), but you must first attend three qualified rides to get this credit
GrubHub credit is my only credit that is easy to maximize. I used a $10 monthly credit line on my trip to order pickup and drop-off food.
I’m having car rental credit issues so I don’t rely on getting value from it. Last year, CABO’s budget rental was not coded correctly and Citi would not manually apply credit. I recently completed another budget lease in Ireland and while waiting for 10 weeks to post, I wasn’t optimistic considering my past experience.
I don’t value Lyft Perk because you can get a $10 credit after taking a triple (unfilled) ride in a month. Instead, I earn 5 points per dollar using Chase SapphireReserve® (see Rates and Fees) and apply for credit for $10 per month purchased at Lyft (as of September 2027).
Related: Frequent Uber or Lyft users? These are your best credit cards
Making money and redeeming miles
If you want to increase your points in several programs, we recommend that you place your expenses on the cards that can earn transferable points. However, if you want to particularly maximize your Aadvantage Mile balance, the Citi/Aadvantage execution card will win you:
- Spend 10 miles on qualified car rentals and hotels booked on the US car rental and hotel reservation websites, respectively
- 4 miles per dollar spent on qualified American Airlines purchases (after spending $150,000 in the calendar year, each dollar increased to 5 miles per dollar for the rest of the calendar year)
- 1 mile per dollar for all other eligible purchases
According to our May 2025 valuation, Aadvantage Miles are the most valuable of any U.S. airline program, with a price of 1.65 cents per type. They are much more valuable than United Mileageplus Miles (1.35 cents per minute) and Delta Skymiles (1.2 cents per minute).
After picking up this card after mid-2023 refresh, I redeemed a portion of the welcome bonus I received for the luxury flight redemption. I used 70,000 miles, plus $174, a one-way business-class flight from Doha to Houston on Katar Airways.
Given that this flight retails for $3,910 a one-way retail price, I get a high value of 5.6 cents per mile from this redemption, surpassing TPG’s May 2025 Aadvantage Miles valuation.
Related: Best Uses for American Airlines Aadvantage Miles
Authorized User
Finally, if you want your friends and family to get Admiral Club for less, the Citi/AADVANTAGE Execution Card is a great option.
You can add three authorized users for a total of $175 (about $58 per person) and for other authorized users, each for $175.
Each authorized user receives access to the Admiral Club (same-day boarding pass for qualified flights) for themselves and up to two travel companions. However, authorized users can only gain access to the Admiral Club, not just all Admiral Club members.
Related: Everything you need to know about authorized credit card users
Bottom line
Ultimately, if you value Admirals Club access, priority allowances on U.S. flights, and huge welcome bonuses, this card can easily justify its fees. If you take advantage of its statement credit and authorized user privileges, you will get greater value.
However, if the lounge access isn’t important to you, consider one of Citi’s low-interest Aadvantage cards.
To learn more about this card, read our full review of Citi/AA Execution World Elite Mastercard.
Apply here: Citi/AADVANTAGGH Executes World Elite Mastercard
