Is the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^® Worth the $595 fee?

If you frequently fly on American Airlines and value airport lounge access, the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^® is well worth its cost. Along with complimentary Admirals Club® membership — which is valued at up to $850 — you’ll get access to premium travel benefits, like your first checked bag free, annual statement credits and a path to elite status.

You’ll also earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible AAdvantage® mile earned from purchases.

That said, if you’re loyal to American Airlines but prefer a much lower annual fee, you may want to consider the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Platinum Select^® World Elite Mastercard^®. Or, if you prefer a general premium travel card that offers Priority Pass™ Select lounge access, The Platinum Card^® from American Express is a better choice (enrollment required).

• Sign-up bonus

  Earn 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. We estimate that this bonus is worth approximately $1,190 in American flights. Although the spending requirement is high, you can strategically book upcoming flights and pay expenses with the card to hit that threshold and earn the bonus.

  As you compare airline credit cards across different travel brands, remember that among major U.S. carriers, American AAdvantage miles are worth the most. They average 1.8 cents per mile, which is above the average value for airline miles.

  What’s the sign-up bonus worth? Around $1,190 in American Airlines flights

  Who’s eligible to earn this offer? This bonus is not available if you’ve received a new account bonus for a Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^® account in the past 48 months.

• Rewards on every purchase

  While the earning rate for non-travel purchases falls short of the industry average, there are opportunities to earn bonus miles.

  Earn 10x miles on car rentals and hotels booked through AA.com and 4x miles on American Airlines purchases. Plus, earn 5x miles on eligible American Airlines purchases for the remainder of the year after you spend $150,000 in a calendar year.

  By contrast, with the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Platinum Select^® World Elite Mastercard^® you can get elevated rewards in everyday spending categories, like gas and dining. Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants, and on eligible American Airlines purchases. Earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible AAdvantage® mile earned from purchases.

  What are AAdvantage miles worth?
  We estimate that American AAdvantage miles are worth approximately 1.8 cents each. From our findings, American Airlines offers the most valuable rewards of major airline programs. For example, United Airlines miles are worth 1.3 cents each, Southwest Rapid Rewards points are worth 1.4 cents each and Delta SkyMiles are worth approximately 1.1 cents each.

• Faster path to elite status

  Another perk of the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^® is that it can help you reach elite status faster.

  You earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible AAdvantage® mile earned from purchases.

  You can also earn a 10,000 Loyalty Point bonus when you earn 50,000 Loyalty Points in a status qualification year. Plus earn an additional 10,000 Loyalty Point bonus after earning 90,000 Loyalty Points in the same status qualification year.

  Here’s what you can get with each status level:
  

  Reward level	Loyalty points required	Benefits include (but aren't limited to) the following:
  AAdvantage Gold®	40,000	Priority privileges and Group 4 boarding 24-hour upgrade window 1 free checked bag oneworld® Ruby status
  AAdvantage Platinum®	75,000	Priority privileges and Group 3 boarding 48-hour upgrade window 2 free checked bags oneworld® Sapphire status
  AAdvantage Platinum Pro®	125,000	Priority privileges and Group 2 boarding 72-hour upgrade window 3 free checked bags oneworld® Emerald status
  AAdvantage Executive Platinum®	200,000	Priority privileges and Group 1 boarding 100-hour upgrade window 3 free checked bags oneworld® Emerald status

  There are also 11 new reward levels that start at 15,000 and go up to 5,000,000. With each level, new rewards are unlocked and range from upgraded boarding to bonus miles to trip credits.

• Redeeming miles

  The price of an award flight with American Airlines can start at 7,500 miles and vary quite a bit depending on the destination and type of ticket.

  Keep in mind that the award chart is meant to provide insights into how many miles you may need for a flight, but American also uses dynamic award pricing. This means you’ll frequently find flight awards that cost significantly more than the chart shows, and that you may have to be flexible with your dates and destinations to get the best deal.

  The following award mile numbers apply to one-way main cabin flights departing from the contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada:
  

  Region	Main cabin starting at:	Premium Economy starting at:	Business/First starting at:
  Contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada	7,500 miles	N/A	15,000 miles
  Mexico + Caribbean + Central America	10,000 miles	N/A	20,000 miles
  South America (Short haul)	15,000 miles	N/A	30,000 miles
  Hawaii and Alaska	20,000 miles	40,000 miles	60,000 miles
  Europe	25,000 miles	50,000 miles	75,000 miles
  South America (Long haul)	30,000 miles	60,000 miles	90,000 miles
  Asia	35,000 miles	60,000 miles	95,000 miles

• High annual fee

  While this card’s $595 annual fee is high, it’s actually on par with similar premium travel cards. And if you can make use of the benefits, like free lounge access, you’ll find that the perks outweigh the fee.

  But if you don’t fly on American Airlines frequently or you don’t plan to take advantage of the travel benefits, you’ll be better off with an airline card that charges a lower annual fee.

• Low rewards rate on general purchases

  Unlike some rewards cards that offer accelerated rewards in everyday spending categories, like gas, groceries and dining, the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^® only lets you earn elevated rewards on American Airline-related purchases. All other purchases will only get you 1 mile per dollar spent.

• No intro APR

  If you’re hoping to finance a trip and pay it off over time, know that this card doesn’t offer a 0% intro APR on purchases. If you carry a balance on your card from month to month, you’ll be subject to interest charges at an APR of 20.24% - 29.24% (Variable).

Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^® vs. Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Platinum Select^® World Elite Mastercard^®

The Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Platinum Select^® World Elite Mastercard^® is a much more affordable option than the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^®, with an annual fee of $99, waived for first 12 months. Naturally it has fewer perks. For example, you won’t get complimentary Admirals Club membership.

But you can get double miles on select purchases and a solid sign-up bonus with a significantly lower spend requirement. For a limited time, earn 80,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $3,500 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.

The Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Platinum Select^® World Elite Mastercard^® also offers a free checked bag for you and up to four travel companions on the same reservation, preferred boarding on American flights and a 25% discount on inflight purchases. Additionally, you can add authorized users at no additional charge, and receive a $125 American Airlines flight discount when you spend $20,000 on purchases during your card membership year and renew your card.

Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^® vs. The Platinum Card^® from American Express

The Platinum Card^® from American Express comes with plenty of premium perks and a $695 annual fee to boot (see rates & fees). Since it’s not co-branded with an airline, the rewards are more flexible than those you get from Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^®. The Platinum Card^® from American Express offers access to more than 1,200 Priority Pass* lounges worldwide — which is great if you’re not loyal to one brand in particular.

The Platinum Card^® from American Express also offers benefits worth over $1,000, including a CLEAR^® Plus credit* (subject to auto-renewal), airline fee credit*, digital entertainment credit*, hotel credit, Global Entry/TSA PreCheck® credit* and more.

If you frequently fly on American Airlines and plan to regularly take advantage of its complimentary lounge access and other benefits, the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^® is well worth considering. But if you’re not loyal to American Airlines, you may find that a generic travel credit card better suits your needs.