American Airlines Credit Cards: From a No Fee Option to Admirals Club Access
This is the fifth post in the TRO series on credit card “families” and how cardholders can choose between different types and levels of benefits and different annual fees. Over the next few weeks, Travel Rewards Optimizer posts will discuss credit card families for co-branded cards (airlines and hotel chains) as well as families of cards that generate proprietary points or cash. Previous posts have covered the Chase Freedom/Sapphire cards, Delta credit cards, United credit cards, and American Express cards.
Today’s post will discuss three American Airlines co-branded cards offered by Citi. (Note: There are also American Airlines co-branded cards offered by Barclays Bank that will be covered at a later time.) The three cards discussed in this post are:
- Aadvantage MileUp
- Aadvantage Platinum Select World Elite
- Aadvantage Executive World Elite
Aadvantage MileUp
Citi’s entry level American card, the Aadvantage MileUp, has no annual fee. This card comes with a welcome bonus of 15,000 miles after spending only $500 within three months. Based on my own experience and what I have read elsewhere, I estimate this welcome bonus is worth around $250 in American purchases.
MileUp cardholders get double (2X) miles per dollar spent for groceries and for American Airlines purchases.
There are no benefits from the card when flying American except for a 25% discount for in-flight purchases (drinks and snacks).
Aadvantage Platinum Select World Elite
Despite the long and impressive name, this is a basic airline card. The annual fee of $99 is waived for the first year. The welcome bonus is 50,000 miles (worth perhaps $800) after spending $2,500 within the first three months.
For ongoing miles accrual, spending bonuses are as follows:
- 2X for restaurant purchases
- 2X for gas station purchases
- 2X for American Airlines purchases
- 1X for all other purchases
Unlike the free MileUp card, the Platinum Select World Elite offers several benefits when flying American.
- Free checked bag for you and up to four others when flying domestic on the same reservation
- Priority boarding
This card also offers a $125 discount on American Airlines purchases if you spend $20,000 per year and renew the card.
Aadvantage Executive World Elite
The Aadvantage Executive World Elite card’s annual fee is $595. Currently, the welcome bonus is 70,000 miles (worth about $1100) after spending $7,000 on the card in the first three months.
The key benefit of this card is access to American Admirals Clubs at airports.
- Cardholders can visit Admirals Clubs when flying American.
- Cardholders can bring family members or up to two guests.
- Cardholders can also add up to three authorized users (AUs) for $175 so that the AUs can get Admirals Club access. However, while AUs have access, they cannot bring guests.
The bonus structure for card purchases is good for American Airlines purchases, but not very attractive for more routine spending.
- The card generates 10X points per dollar on hotels and car rentals if booked through American Airlines.
- There is a 4X bonus per dollar spent for American Airlines purchases.
- All other purchases earn one mile per dollar.
When flying, the Executive World Elite card offers:
- Priority check-in, boarding, and screening (where available)
- First bag checked free for you and up to eight companions traveling on the same domestic itinerary.
This card is helpful for those interested in achieving status levels with American Airlines as you earn Loyalty Points with you purchases.
Other benefits and discounts include:
- A $10 per month Lyft credit after taking three eligible Lyft rides during a calendar month.
- Up to a $120 credit for eligible Avis or Budget car rentals
- Up to $10 per month credit for Grubhub purchases
- Up to $100 credit every four years for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
My conclusions
The Aadvantage MileUp card can get you started on collecting American miles or might help you get a free flight when added to American miles that you already have. For ongoing points accrual, I don’t know that this card would have a lot of value since the only spending bonuses are for American Airlines purchases and groceries.
The Platinum World Select Elite card can have clear value during the first year since the annual fee is waived and the welcome bonus is worth about $800 on American flights. On an ongoing basis, you can certainly cover part or all of the annual fee if you take advantage of the free checked bags. Also, as restaurant and gas station purchases offer bonus miles, everyday expenses can add to your American mileage total.
The Platinum World Select Elite card also offers a $125 credit with American if you spend $20,000 during the year. Since this works out to a rebate on your spending of about 0.6%, and must be used with American, there are better ways to use credit cards for free or reduced cost travel.
The Executive World Elite is a good option for American loyalists (or those who live in or pass through American hubs) who fly American with some frequency. With enough travel on American flights, it is possible to get enough value to justify the premium annual fees. I would add here that, based on Admirals Club guest policies and authorized user opportunities, American is (for now) much less restrictive than Delta with its Sky Clubs or Amex with its Centurion lounges.
Based on the bonus structure for spending, the Executive World Elite card is probably not very good for accumulating free travel unless you fly American a lot and want to book hotels and rental cars through their travel portal.
One of these three American credit cards might or might not fit into a productive travel rewards plan. But when flying American is a good option for meeting travel goals, one of the cards discussed in this post might be appropriate. When we design a custom Travel Rewards Optimizer plan for you, we take your travel goals, travel habits, spending patterns, and preferences into account. We want to ensure that the cards we recommend for you can quickly generate free travel and provide relevant benefits while keeping your annual card fees under control.
If you have not already, please check out the previous Travel Rewards Optimizer posts on credit card families.
https://www.travelrewardsoptimizer.com/chase-freedom-and-sapphire-credit-cards-in-points-and-miles
https://www.travelrewardsoptimizer.com/amex-delta-cards-a-range-of-options-for-very-different-flyers
https://www.travelrewardsoptimizer.com/american-express-cards-offering-a-range-of-benefits-and-approaches-to-accumulating-flexible-points
We are ready to help you turn your routine credit card spending into the travel of your dreams.
