Citi Executive AAdvantage MasterCard review — American Airlines lounge access

The Citi Executive AAdvantage MasterCard is one of two credit cards that offers you access to American Airlines’ Admirals Clubs. The other being the Platinum Card from American Express. Here’s a review of the credit card’s features:

• $450 annual fee
• Full Admirals Club membership (on its own costs $450 ($300-$400 if you have Gold/Platinum/Executive Platinum status))
• No foreign transaction fees
• Priority AAccess check-in, boarding, security lanes
• Double miles on American Airlines purchases, 1 AAdvantage mile per dollar on all other purchases
• No baggage fee for first domestic bag checked for up to 8 people in your reservation
• 10,000 elite qualifying miles each year you spend $40,000 on the card
• No mileage cap on earning (elites don’t have this cap to begin with)
• Concierge hotline
• 25,000 point intro bonus after spending $1,000 within 4 months

This card is useful for two types of travelers:

1. People who travel American frequently but are not yet elite (say you fly 10,000 miles per year) and want to use several of the privileges reserved for elites (free bag, priority lanes) plus get lounge access, and earn American miles with credit card spending.
2. Elite flyers who want Admirals Club access and a boost on elite qualifying miles each year, while earning American miles with credit card spending.

One of our frequent flyer friends at FlyerTalk posted this photo of the package that carries the card – delivered via next day air. Reviews on FlyerTalk are mixed — it mimics the features of the Delta Reserve credit card and Continental’s Presidential Plus (lower $395 annual fee), but some were hoping for more benefits with travel beyond American Airlines, like with hotel and car rental partners.

Platinum Card from American Express is an alternative

An alternative to consider is the Platinum Card from American Express. It carries the same $450 annual fee, and offers entry to all American Airlines Admirals Clubs for you and 2 guests. Only catch is you don’t get the free wifi card Admirals Club members receive and must be flying American Airlines that day to enter. The Platinum Card also offers entry to all Delta SkyClubs, US Airways Clubs, and more than 600 other lounges globally using the Priority Pass card that comes with membership. The $450 annual fee is also effectively $250, as American Express offers you $200 in credit toward incidental travel charges on one airline you designate each year.

The downside is you can’t transfer the American Express Membership Rewards points you earn with the card into American Airlines miles. So you’d need one of the regular American Airlines credit cards to earn American AAdvantage miles.

However, it comes with a host of other premium travel benefits like National Rental Car Executive status, Starwood Hotels Gold status, upgrades and dining credit at many upscale hotels, and the ability to transfer points to over 20 airline and hotel programs, in many cases instantly.

But the benefits are big enough for many travelers that even if you don’t use the card for earning miles, you can get full value from the other features.