When considering a common brand of airline cards, just consider the cards of the airline you often fly with. After all, some of the key benefits of airline cards include priority boarding, free check bags, and faster pathways with elite status with affiliates.
I often encourage people to go beyond the card’s airline or hotel partner when deciding whether it makes sense.
Take Citi® / Aadvantage® for execution of World EliteMastercard® (see rates and fees). The card offers free Admiral Club membership to help cardholders prove that their $595 annual fee is justified. On the surface, this seems to be only useful for the biggest fans of American Airlines.
However, Admiral Club membership offers something extra: Free access to the Alaska Air Lounge. This is how Alaska loyalists can maximize this card without setting foot on American Airlines flights.
Alaska Air Lounge Access
With your Admiral Club membership in the Aadvantage Supervisor, you can get free access to the Alaska Lounge whenever you fly on the same day in the U.S., Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines. Please note that this access does not extend to authorized users and you must carry a physical card with you to enter.
The standard Alaska Airlines lounge membership costs $595 per year, the same annual fee as the card. By putting that money into Aadvantage executives instead of lounge membership, you will enjoy access to the Alaska lounge, along with all the other benefits of this card.
Whether you’re flying with American, Alaska or OneWorld Airline, you can also enter the Admiral Club Lounge without adding fees.
To earn a partner lounge with Alaska Airlines Lounge membership, you must pay $795 per year for Alaska Lounge+ membership, $200 more than the Aadvantage Executive fee.
While the Alaska Lounge + membership provides access to several lounges that the Aadvantage director does not have, such as three Manchester United clubs, most of its partner lounges overlap with what you can access with this card.
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Alaska Lounge + Membership and Aadvantage executives are available to both the Qantas Club and Admiral Club locations. I don’t think there is any reason to pay $200 for an additional lounge every year.
You can book Alaska Airlines flights with American Airlines miles
Aadvantage executives earn American Airlines miles. While it seemed useless to Alaska loyalists initially, it was actually the opposite.
American Airlines miles are easily used to book Alaska Airlines flights, meaning you don’t even have to step on American Airlines’ metal to get more value from the card than the use of the lounge. That said, there are some great itineraries that blend Alaska and American Airlines flights together.
For example, you can have a one-way business-grade ticket from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Heathrow Airport (LHR), multiply by 57,500 miles, plus $5.60 in taxes and fees. If you are going to book this trip in cash, you will need to pay $3,483. Each point is worth 6 cents.
If you fly domestically frequently, there is also a lot of availability there. You can book an uninterrupted economic flight in Alaska from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) through the United States, multiplying by 12,500 miles, plus $5.60 in taxes and fees.
If you are booking in cash, the flight will cost $304 and will be worth 2.4 cents per point. This is great for domestic economic flights.
To learn more about American Airlines miles worth it, check out our full guide to Aadvantage programs.
How to Earn American Airlines Miles
For a limited time, you can spend $10,000 in the first three months after the Aadvantage Exepucion account opens and earn 100,000 miles in the first three months. It’s a ton-mile flight to Alaska, or even a US flight or two, if you find a lot.
In addition to receiving welcome bonuses, this card also offers a simple money-making rate to help you increase your U.S. mileage. You will earn 10 miles from hotels booked through AadvantageHotels.com and car rentals booked through AadvantageCars.com. Plus, you can spend 4 miles on other American airline purchases, and 1 mile per dollar.
If you spend $150,000 or more on this card per year, you will spend 5 miles on American Airlines purchases, rather than 4 miles before the end of the calendar year.
While I don’t generally recommend using this card for non-American airline purchases, if earning miles on reward flights on Alaska is the top priority on your priority list, it may make sense to take this card out for some purchases. This is especially true if the purchase you are making does not fall under the bonus category covered by one other card.
Related: How I use the seat. Find the best airline rewards every day in seconds
Other useful benefits
Although Aadvantage executives are American Airlines-branded cards, there are other benefits you can use without booking a flight.
If you rent a car frequently during the holidays, you will enjoy the credit of this card’s rental statement. You can earn up to $120 a year from a qualified prepaid rent in your AVI or budget. Remember that you must book your rent online to get credit.
If renting a car is not what you usually do, this card can still help offset your shipping costs. Lyft Rides can receive up to $120 a year. You have to do three rides to get a $10 monthly credit, so this is the best for those who naturally use Lyft multiple times a month.
Finally, you can receive a grubhub purchase bill statement up to $10. This is great for anyone who likes to order takeaways and even occasionally for a while. To extend your credit further, order to receive instead of delivery.
Although these credits are lifestyle-dependent, they can still provide tremendous value to anyone who can easily take advantage of them.
A simple credit for any traveler is the TSA Precheck/Global Entrance Application Fee for the card. Even if you already have a TSA Precheck or a global entry, you can use the Aadvantage supervisor to pay for someone else’s application.
Finally, the card provides a range of important travel protection measures. You don’t have to use these protections with American Airlines, so they can help maintain your next flight with Alaska. Travel cancellation and interruption protection, lost luggage insurance and trip delay protection are some of the important benefits you can rely on.
Bottom line
To get access to the Alaska Lounge with a standard membership, you must pay $595 per year. At the same price, you can get access to Alaska, Admiral Club and Qantas Lounge; American Airlines miles for Alaska flights; declare credits; and travel protection from Aadvantage Supervisors.
It’s no slightest to think about applying for an Aadvantage executive if any Alaska loyalist is serious about it. This is a great way to boost your next Alaska flight, especially since it currently offers a welcome bonus of 100,000 miles. Also, if you’re curious about trying American Airlines, this card is ready to help you in your wallet.
To learn more, check out our full review of Citi/Aadvantage Directors.
Apply here: Citi/AADVANTAGGH Executes World Elite Mastercard
