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Citi®/AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® Review
REVIEW

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Picture of Citi®/AAdvantage® Executive World Elite<sup>TM</sup> Mastercard®
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By : Mr Credit Card

Introduction

The Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard is the highest level of Citi's AA cards. It is the only AA card that gives you Admiral Club Lounge membership. It also lets you earn Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) through credit card spending. But who is this card really suited for? Let's find out.

Key Features

  • Earn 2X on AA purchases
  • First Checked Bag Free
  • Priority check-in, security screening and boarding (zone 4)
  • Credit On Global Entry, Pre-TSA Application Fee

  • 25% Savings on Eligible In Flight Purchases

  • Elite Qualifying Miles - Earn 10,000 EQM after $40,000 annual spend

  • Admiral Club Lounge Membership

  • Add up to 10 authorized users at no extra charge

  • Annual Fee of $450

  • No Foreign Transaction Fee



Analysis of Features

Earning Rates - Not so good

First, let's get this out of the way. For a card that charges $450 in annual fee, the earning rates sure sucks. You only get to earn 2X on AA ticket purchases. In contrast, the Barclays AAdvantage Silver Aviator allows you to earn 3X on AA tickets, 2X on hotels and car rentals and 1X on everything else (note: Silver Aviator has $195 annual fee). Even Citi's own AA Platinum Select Card allows you to earn 2X on AA tickets and also 2X at gas stations and restaurants (and this is for a $99 annual fee card).

First Free Checked Bags, 25% Statement Credit on in flight purchases, Enhanced Airport Experience

How about features like first free checked bags, 25% statement credit on in flight purchases, enhanced "airport experience" (which includes priority check-in if available and boarding zone 4)? Well, the Citi AA World Elite Mastercard has these features too. And they have something the Executive Elite does not have. And that is you get a $150 ticket discount when you spend $20,000 a year on the card. The Barclaycard Aviator Red also has these features (also for a $95 annual fee). So these are not exclusive features that you should get excited about in this card.

Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) through spending

This is where it gets a little interesting. Card members can earn 10,000 EQM (Elite Qualifying Miles) if you spend $40,000 on the card during a calendar year. The other AA card that allows you to earn EQM is the Barclaycard Aviator Silver. You can earn 5,000 EQM after spending $20,000 on the card (in a calendar year) and another 5,000 EQM after spending another $20,000 on the card (ie get 10,000 EQM after spending $40,000 in a calendar year).

However, the Aviator Silver also allows you to earn EQD (Elite Qualifying Distance). Right now, the amount of EQD you can earn is in a flux. For Silver Aviator cardmembers who upgraded from Red Aviator (yes, you cannot apply for Silver Aviator directly. You first have to get the Red Aviator, then upgrade) between Jan 1 2018 and October 31 2018, you can earn 3000EQD after $25,000 in annual spending and another 3000 EQD after the next $25,000 in calendar spending. That means you can earn 6,000 EQD after $50,000 in spending for this group of card members.

For those who got the Silver Aviator before Jan 1 2018 and all other card members will earn 3,000 EQD after spending $50,000 a year starting in 2020 (yes, it is a devaluation).

As you can see, in terms of earning EQM and EQD, the Aviator Silver beats the Citi AA Executive Elite in this aspect. If you need to earn EQM and EQD through credit card spending to either achieve or maintain status, then the Silver Aviator is the card you want to get.

Admiral Club Lounge Membership

Now we come to the main feature of this card, which is free membership to the Admiral Club Lounge. If you bought an individual membership, it would cost between $550 and $650 depending on whether you have elite status or not and also on the level of elite status. A household membership will cost anywhere from $1100 to $1200. It cost $59 per entry if you do not have membership.

Card members can access Admiral's Club Lounge (both domestic and international) and their immediate family can also access it or they can bring up to 2 guest.

Since the annual fee of this card is $450, it would seem that you would be getting the Admiral Club Lounge at a discount. But that does not mean that everyone who values access to the club lounge should jump on this card. And the reason is because there are some of you that will get access to the Admiral Lounge without membership.

For example, if you fly business or first class tickets on qualifying flights, you will be allowed to enjoy the lounge. On international flights, this includes flights between the US and Asia, New Zealand, Australia, Europe, Central and South America and Mexico City. Qualifying transcontinental flights include non-stop between JFK and LAX, JFK and SFO, LAX and MIA and LAX and BOS.

If you are also an elite member (Platinum, Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum) or OneWorld Emerald and Sapphire member, you also get access to the Admiral Lounge.

Who Should Not Get This Card?

The Admiral Club Lounge membership and ability to earn EQM are the highlight features of this card and the main reason why you might want to consider this card.
  • Those who fly business or first class
    If you fly either business class or first class on qualifying routes, you will have automatic access to the Admiral Club Lounge and hence you do not need this card for that.
  • Elite Members from Platinum and Higher
    Those with Platinum Elite status or higher will get access to the Admiral Club Lounge regardless of what type of seat you have booked. If you fly enough to get Platinum status, then this card will not make sense for you.
  • Those who do not need extra EQM from credit card spending
    If you easily meet the EQM and EQD requires to meet a particular elite status and do not need any extra help from credit card spending, then you do not need this card.
  • Those who need EQM and EQD boost
    Even if you need help with EQM and EQD boost, this is actually not the best AA card to get. Instead, you should get the Silver Aviator card where it allows you to boost both EQM and EQD with credit card spending (unlike this card where you can only get EQM boost).
  • Those who want to maximize miles through credit card spending
    Those who want to maximize AA miles from credit card spend should consider other cards like the Aviator Silver or the Citi AA Platinum Select World Mastercard. Like we have mentioned earlier, the earnings rate for this card is not good considering the annual fee.

Who Might Get This Card?

You might consider this card if you are the type of flyer that
  • Do not fly business or first class
  • Not a real frequent flyer or fly enough to get Gold Status only
  • Really value going to the Admiral Club Lounge
If this description fits you, then I can see you considering this card ahead of other AA cards. You have to bear in mind the trade offs. Which is you get Admiral Club Lounge membership at a discount but at the price of not having the best earning rates and having no ability to earn EQD from credit card spending.

Our Take: Is The Citi AA Executive Elite Mastercard Good?

To be honest, for a $450 annual fee card, this card is a little underwhelming. The earnings rate is inferior to Citi's own AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard and the Barclaycard Silver Aviator. While they do give you a credit for Global Entry application fee, many other cards have that feature as well so it is not really a standout feature. Though the card offers the ability to earn 10,000 EQM when $40,000 in credit card spend during the calendar year, the Silver Aviator offers that as well as the ability to earn EQD as well.

The only feature this card has that no other AA card has is the Admiral Club Lounge membership. And given the cost to buy the membership outright, you are getting this at a good discount. However, like I said previously, if you are already an Elite member (Platinum level and above) or fly business/first class, you already have access to Admiral Club Lounges.

So if you are already at Platinum Elite status and above, I really do not see any reason to get this card. You will already have access to club lounges and you probably fly enough to get that elite status. If you really want to boost your EQM and EQD, the Silver Aviator would be a better card. And if you want to maximize your miles through credit card spending, both the Citi AAdvantage World Mastercard and the Baclaycard Aviator Silver offers better earning rates.

This card will be best suited to those who fly AA few times a year but not enough to get higher than Gold Elite Status, only fly economy and value the access to Admiral Club Lounge and would not mind paying out of pocket for a standalone Admiral Club membership. If that describes you, then perhaps this card might suit you. Bear in mind that you will sacrificing your miles earning ability for the Lounge membership.



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