The welcome bonus on this card has increased to 100,000 AA miles, but the annual fee is $595 and it doesn’t have many standout credits to offset that cost, so it’s worth thinking carefully before applying. This card is mainly aimed at frequent AA flyers, especially business travelers who want Admirals Club access. For everyone else, it’s basically more of a one-year play. After the first year, you can consider converting it to Double Cash to avoid the high annual fee.

If you’re only interested in the welcome bonus, applying for Citi Strata Elite is actually a better option. Its 75,000 ThankYou Points can also be transferred to AA miles at a 1:1 ratio. On top of that, its various statement credits more fully cover what this card offers, and it also includes Priority Pass lounge membership as a basic substitute. The annual fee is the same $595. The only areas where AA Executive may come out ahead are access to AA’s own lounges, checked bag benefits, and help toward earning elite status. So this card may still make sense for true AA loyalists and people who specifically need those benefits.

Likewise, the lower-annual-fee version, Citi Premier, can also transfer TYP to AA miles, with an annual fee of only $95, and it has even broader bonus categories for rewards earning!

Citi AAdvantage Executive Credit Card Review

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Full review

Citi AAdvantage Executive Credit Card

Complimentary Admirals Club access plus up to $480 in annual statement credits; a premium AA credit card

  • Rewards: 4x on AA purchases; after $150k in annual spending, earn 5x; 1x on all other purchases
  • Redemption: Best value for redeeming flights between the U.S. and China or between the U.S. and Europe; business-class redemptions can offer solid value.
  • Annual fee: $595
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Highlights

  • Admirals Club Membership: You can bring in two guests. This benefit is unusually generous because authorized users also get Admirals Club access, meaning they can enter Admirals Club even when not traveling with the primary cardholder, and they can also bring in two guests. (The authorized user fee is $175 total for the first three cards, then $175 for each additional card.) However, authorized users cannot access Flagship Lounges or oneworld lounges.
  • Metal card: Basically a symbol of a premium card.
  • Big spending bonus: If you spend $40,000 in a cardmember year, you receive an extra 10,000 EQM miles. EQM can be used toward earning AA elite status.
  • Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit every 5 years
  • Car rental credit: Up to $120 per year in Avis or Budget rental car credits
  • Dining credit: $10 monthly Grubhub credit
  • Rideshare credit: $10 monthly Lyft credit (you only start getting the credit after taking 3 rides each month, which is a pretty bad setup)

AA-related benefits

  • Bonus loyalty points: after earning 50,000 LP in a year, you get an extra 10,000 LP; after earning 90,000 LP, you get another extra 10,000 LP
  • Priority boarding on AA flights; on domestic AA flights in the U.S., you and up to eight travel companions can check your first bag free. You also get 25% off food, beverages, and headphones purchased on AA flights.

Built-in Citi card benefits

  • Price Rewind: if something drops in price, you can ask Citi to reimburse the difference
  • Free FICO credit score: from Equifax, with historical tracking shown in chart form
  • Private Pass: they once offered a free movie ticket, but I missed it anyway
  • Retention offers can be fairly generous: when the annual fee comes due, threatening to cancel may get you some promotions

About AA Miles

AA is the largest airline in the world. It has ten hubs, so if you live in one of those hub cities, flying AA can be very convenient. Award tickets can also be easier to find, especially for nonstop flights. AA has kept its own and partner baseline award charts, so there are still some relatively strong redemptions to be found.

My Take

When people talk about the Citi AAdvantage Executive (Citi AA Exec), what probably comes to mind is the historically famous 100,000 AA mile mega welcome bonus. Chasing that bonus also led countless people down the deep rabbit hole of MS (manufactured spending). This credit card is the premium co-branded card from Citi and AA, and its competitors are the Chase United MileagePlus Club and AMEX Delta Reserve/Platinum. Its main target audience is frequent AA flyers, especially business travelers who want Admirals Club access. For everyone else, it’s basically a one-year play.

Before the end of the first year, you can consider converting this card to Double Cash.

Application

  • The welcome bonus will be deposited into your AA frequent flyer account. If you already have an AA frequent flyer number before applying, make sure to enter it on the application. If you don’t have one yet, it’s recommended that you first register on the AA website and get a frequent flyer number. If you leave it blank, one will be assigned automatically, but you’ll need to call Citi to find out the number.
  • If you have received the welcome bonus on this card within the past 48 months, you are not eligible for the bonus this time.
  • If you product changed a card that received a welcome bonus within the past 48 months into this card, you are not eligible for the bonus this time.
  • Citi application status link or call: 877-343-4118
  • 8/65/95 rule: You can apply for only one personal card every 8 days, only two personal cards every 65 days, and only one business card every 95 days. This refers to application submission limits, regardless of whether you were approved or not.
  • 24/48-month welcome bonus rule: If you have received a welcome bonus on a ThankYou Points card within the past 24 months, you will not be eligible to receive the bonus again. For AA products, the restriction is 48 months, but both rules apply only to the same card; there is no restriction across different card families.
  • You can call the reconsideration line (800-763-9795) to speed up the credit card approval process or ask a representative to review a denied credit card application again.
  • Having a Citi Checking/Gold relationship may help with your application.
  • More about applying for Citi credit cards

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