Major Refresh for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite MasterCard®

Post updated July 14th to clarify how you earn Loyalty Points on AA -booked cars and hotels and how the statement credits breakdown and July 24th with new offer live.

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite MasterCard® Gets Major Overhaul July 23, 2023

While there’s lots of good stuff in the updated version of the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite MasterCard®, which relaunches July 23, 2023, the first two things that you will notice is this:

• The annual fee will increase from $450 to $595
• The authorized user fee will go from $0 to a $175 annual fee for the first three authorized users, and $175 for each authorized user thereafter

So that may coax you into applying now for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite MasterCard®, as you’d be locked in for one year at the lower rate.

However, you also may want to wait to apply, since Citi will be doubling the bonus offer, to 100,000 AAdvantage Miles after spending $10,000 within the first three months of account opening.

So that’s why I made “Act Now?” a question. The answer probably depends on how many authorized users you’d have to balance out the difference in signup bonuses (50,000 more miles, albeit for $5,000 more in spend).

Changes Beginning July 23, 2023

All changes listed above and below are courtesy of Citi’s PR team.

Faster earn on miles

• 4X AAdvantage Miles® on eligible American Airlines purchases. After spending $150,000 in purchases in a calendar year, cardmembers can earn even more with a total of 5X AAdvantage Miles® on eligible American Airlines purchases for the remainder of the calendar year
• 10X AAdvantage Miles® on eligible car rentals booked through aa.com/cars and eligible hotels booked through aa.com/hotels
• And a continued 1X AAdvantage Miles® on all other eligible purchases

Loyalty Point Bonuses to make reaching AAdvantage® status easier

• A 10,000 Loyalty Point Bonus after reaching 50,000 Loyalty Points in a status qualification year
• A 10,000 Loyalty Point Bonus after reaching 90,000 Loyalty Points in a status qualification year

Opportunities to Earn Credits

• Up to $120 back on eligible Avis or Budget car rentals every calendar year
• Up to $120 back on eligible GrubHub purchases (up to $10 statement credit each monthly billing statement)
• Up to $120 in Lyft credits ($10 Lyft credit each month after taking 3 eligible rides)

Travel Insurance

• Trip Cancellation & Interruption Protection
• Trip Delay Protection
• Lost Baggage Protection
• Worldwide Car Rental Insurance Coverage

In addition to new benefits, cardmembers will continue to have access to:

• Admirals Club access for Primary and Authorized users with their immediate family or up to 2 guests
• Up to $100 credit on a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck^® application fee (now every four years)
• First checked bag free for the primary cardmember and up to eight companions on the same reservation on American Airlines domestic flights
• 25% savings on eligible American Airlines in-flight food and beverage purchases when you use your card
• Enhanced Airport Experience offering priority boarding, priority check-in and priority screening on American Airlines flights for the primary cardmember and up to eight companions on the same reservation
• A dedicated concierge
• And Mastercard Priceless Experiences at Priceless.com/aa.

So, if you want to go for the lower fees now (for the first year), you can learn how to apply at Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite MasterCard®.

If you want the higher bonus offer, wait for July 23rd when the new offer is scheduled to launch (probably not until Monday the 24th on sites like MilesTalk).

I have to say, they have really thought this relaunch through in a great way, fees aside. They are giving you a compelling reason to put all of your AA spend on it, for sure, but also with the Loyalty Point bonuses at 50,000 and 90,000 Loyalty Points earned, you may well move this to the front of your wallet if you are an avid AA flyer.

But those will certainly cover the increased annual fee for the primary user, and in many cases more than cover it, for most people.

Regarding the statement credits:

1. Lyft – Citi/AAdvantage Executive cardmembers can earn a $10 Lyft credit after taking 3 eligible rides in a calendar month and paying with their card.
2. Grubhub – Citi/AAdvantage Executive cardmembers are eligible to receive a statement credit of up to $10 per monthly billing statement (for a total of up to $120 every 12 monthly billing statements) on eligible purchases made at Grubhub.
3. Avis/Budget – Citi/AAdvantage Executive cardmembers are eligible to receive a statement credit up to $120 every calendar year when purchases of up to $120 or more made Avis or budget car rentals or both are charged to their card.

With regards to if you earn 10X or 1X Loyalty points on the 10X AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on car rentals and hotels booked via AA:

1. Loyalty Points are earned on base miles. For this benefit, Citi/AAdvantage cardmembers will receive 1 Loyalty Point for every on $1 spent on car rentals or hotels booked through AA.com.

Thoughts?

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