Citi has several co-branded cards with American Airlines offering attractive sign-up bonuses for new cardholders. There’s one deal in particular that will appeal especially to frequent travelers and big spenders. For a limited time, new cardholders can earn 100,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $10,000 within the first three months of opening the account. According to Bankrate, that equates to an estimated value of $1,000.
The card is also the only cobranded credit card that offers free Admiral Club access for you and your immediate family or up to two guests traveling with you — an added value of $850. To score this deal, search for American Airlines AAdvantage Card 100,000 and click on offers for the "Executive" level of the card. Or follow the link in the box below.
Before you apply, consider this card’s other features to determine if it’s a good fit for you. Also, compare it to competing cards using our list of best rewards cards or use the tool below, powered by Bankrate, to get personalized credit card offers.
Citi/AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard Overview
Frequent American Airlines flyers can reap many benefits from the Citi/AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard — as long as they can offset the card’s steep annual fee of $595 and variable purchase APR of 21.24% to 29.99%.
Travel benefits
- Priority boarding, check-in and airport screening for you and up to eight travel companions.
- No foreign transaction fees
- Up to $100 in Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credits every four years
- After taking three eligible rides in a calendar month, earn a $10 Lyft credit, for a total of up to $120 Lyft credits annually
- Earn a statement credit of up to $10 per monthly billing statement on eligible Grubhub purchases, for a total of up to $120 every 12 billing statements
- Earn a $1 statement credit per $1 spent on eligible Avis or Budget rental car purchases, up to $120 every calendar year
- First checked bag free on domestic American Airlines flights for you and up to 8 companions traveling with you on the same reservation
- 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
Partner hotels and airlines
Frequent travelers value Aadvantage points highly for their flexibility and transferability to other solid airlines and for hotel stays. Hotel partners include IHG Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt. Here are the airline travel partners in the Aadvantage program.
- Air Tahiti Nui
- Alaska Airlines
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Cape Air
- Cathay Pacific
- China Southern Airlines
- Etihad Airways
- Fiji Airways
- Finnair
- GOL Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Iberia
- Japan Airlines
- Malaysia Airlines
- Qantas Airways
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Air Maroc
- Royal Jordanian Airlines
- SriLankan Airlines
Other American Airlines and travel cards
If the annual fee is too much for your budget, Citi has several other co-branded American Airlines cards that could be a better fit. For example, the American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Mastercard has no annual fee, earns 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and at grocery stores and has a sign-up bonus of 15,000 bonus miles after spending just $500 in the first three months of the account opening.
For more about travel credit cards, check out Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards 2024: Travel Rewards Credit Cards.
Rewards cards dos and don'ts
As with any rewards credit card, be sure to weigh these benefits against fees — a $595 annual fee in this case — and make sure you understand how to use the card effectively. That said, $595 is a high annual fee but may be worth it for those who fly frequently on American or its partner airlines.
In addition, while reward credit cards are great if you use them wisely, always pay them off in full each month to avoid interest which can dwarf the gain. And only spend any more than usual to hit any trigger; otherwise, rewards cards can be a false economy as you’d be overspending.
If this is your first foray into credit cards, or you just want a refresher, make sure you know how to choose a credit card. And make sure you are familiar with what counts as a good credit score.
