Citi is out with a new “mid tier” AAdvantage® credit card.
With a $350 annual fee, it sits between the $95 Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite MasterCard and the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®, which comes with a $595 annual fee.
It seems to be filling the void of the former Barclay’s Aviator Silver card which was only ever available as a product upgrade form the Aviator Red. But this one is publicly available. It’s also a much different card.
Here are the highlights:
- Four Admirals Club® Globe™ passes, each valid for 24 hours (worth over $300 annually): Every calendar year, receive four Admirals Club® Globe™ passes, each valid for 24 hours, and enjoy access to nearly 50 Admirals Club® lounges worldwide.
- American Airlines Companion Certificate: Redeemable for $99 plus taxes and fees, the American Airlines Companion Certificate is eligible for a single round-trip qualifying domestic flight in Main Cabin each year after card renewal, helping make traveling with a friend or loved one more affordable.
- Up to $100 inflight purchases credit: Every calendar year, earn up to $100 in statement credits on inflight purchases when using this card on qualifying American Airlines flights.
- First checked bag free: The first checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for the primary cardmember and up to eight companions traveling together on the same reservation.
- Preferred boarding: Enjoy Group 5 boarding on American Airlines flights for the primary cardmember and up to eight companions traveling together on the same reservation.
- Up to $120 Global Entry® or TSA PreCheck® application fee credit: Receive a statement credit, up to $120 every four years, as reimbursement for the application fee for Global Entry® or TSA PreCheck®.
- Up to $100 annual Splurge Credit℠: Every calendar year, earn up to $100 in statement credits with a choice of up to two of the following: eligible AAdvantage Hotels™ bookings, 1stDibs, Future Personal Training and Live Nation®.
- Up to $240 annual Turo credit: Earn up to $30 in statement credits for each eligible completed trip on Turo, the world’s largest car sharing marketplace, for a total of up to $240 in statement credits annually.
- No foreign transaction fees: No foreign transaction fees when traveling internationally.
- Access to the Citi Entertainment® program: Get special access to purchase tickets to thousands of events, including presale tickets and exclusive experiences across concerts, sports, arts, dining and more.
- Access to Mastercard Priceless® experiences: Get access to Mastercard Priceless®experiences, offering immersive cultural, culinary and entertainment opportunities to fulfill cardmembers’ most coveted passions.
- Access to Mastercard’s World Legend and Collection benefits: Enjoy coveted access to priority reservations at top international restaurants; premium ticketing for global music, theater, and sporting events; and more with Mastercard’s new World Legend tier and Mastercard Collection benefits, available to both Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ and Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive cardmembers.
- Protections for peace of mind: Receive travel and shopping protection benefits, including enhanced trip cancellation and trip interruption, lost or damaged luggage, MasterRental®coverage for car rentals, trip delay, extended warranty and purchase assurance plus.
And here is how it earns:
- 6X AAdvantage® miles on eligible AAdvantage Hotels™ bookings.
- 3X AAdvantage® miles on eligible American Airlines purchases.
- 2X AAdvantage® miles at restaurants, including takeout and delivery.
- 2X AAdvantage® miles on eligible Rides and Rails™ purchases, including taxis, rideshares and public transit.
- 1X AAdvantage® mile on all other purchases.
- 1 Loyalty Point toward AAdvantage® status for every 1 eligible AAdvantage® mile earned from qualifying purchases.
Notably the card is a World Legend Mastercard®, the new tier above the former highest Mastercard tier, the World Elite Mastercard.
As part of the launch, they are offering 90,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles after $5,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.
How do I feel about it?
The bonus categories strike me as lacking. You can easily beat 2X on dining, for example, and most of us aren’t booking prepaid hotels that don’t earn hotel points/status. However, I have to nod to the fact that many will spend on the card for the Loyalty Points. You might take just 2X dollar for dining knowing that you are also getting one Loyalty Point per dollar.
The 4 lounge passes? If you don’t travel enough to want the Executive card (with unlimited AAdmiral’s Club access), then you might be interested. Of course you might also want the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card which also comes with 4 visits per year.
The credits are quite arguably harder to use than the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card. For example you get $200 in Splurge credits on that card which you can buy AA airfare with but here you get $100 which does not have airfare as an eligible category – just a choice of up to two of the following: eligible AAdvantage Hotels™ bookings, 1stDibs, Future Personal Training and Live Nation®.
There is a $100 inflight credit. Citi tells me it can be applied to inflight food, beverage and Wi-Fi service. (People were already asking me about wifi…)
I doubt this will be your card for the Global Entry reimbursement as you likely have that on a dozen other cards already. It also comes with the $99 economy class companion certificate the second year, so maybe there is value there?
I think the bottom line for me is that you’ll most likely at least want to try the card for the 90,000 mile bonus offer. It does not exclude anyone that has or has had another Citi card. Whether or not the card is a keep probably depends on how much you (primarily) value 4 lounge passes a year and (secondarily) how well the rest of the credits and perks hit your “easy to use” bucket (vs going out of your way).
Thoughts?
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You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards.
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