If you happen to fly American Airways ceaselessly, you could think about getting one among their cobranded playing cards from Citi.
On the prime of the hierarchy is the Citi® / AAdvantage® Govt World Elite Mastercard® (see charges and costs), which affords essentially the most AA-specific perks of any bank card. But it surely comes with a hefty $595 annual charge.
So, is it value it — each within the first 12 months and from the second onward? Let’s do the maths.
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Welcome bonus
This welcome supply is the usual welcome supply we have seen on this card.
Lounge entry
Arguably, essentially the most worthwhile ongoing good thing about this card is the complimentary Admirals Membership membership you get — whenever you current a same-day boarding move for an eligible flight — yearly that you simply maintain the cardboard.
A yearly membership prices $750-$850, relying in your standing degree. On condition that this card carries a $595 annual charge, it doesn’t make sense to purchase an Admirals Membership membership by itself (except you are not eligible for this card.)
You will entry almost 50 Admirals Golf equipment and greater than 60 companion lounges worldwide when flying American or one among its Oneworld companions. Notably, this contains Alaska Lounges in hubs like Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
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You may usher in both your fast members of the family (partner or home companion and youngsters underneath 18 years of age) or as much as two visitors. They usually do not should be on the identical flight as you — simply any American or Oneworld flight with a same-day boarding move.
Residing in Austin, Texas, I typically fly by way of AA’s largest hub, Dallas Fort Value Worldwide Airport (DFW). This implies I can entry the lounges on departure in Austin and when connecting by way of Dallas Fort Value.
I additionally worth accessing choose Qantas Membership and Qantas Worldwide Enterprise Lounges once I fly residence to Australia and journey all through the nation.
Journey advantages
The cardboard affords worthwhile perks when flying American, together with precedence check-in at business-class counters (the place obtainable) and precedence boarding privileges (the place obtainable) for you and as much as eight vacationers on the identical reservation.
You additionally get your first checked bag free on home itineraries with American Airways. (Observe that that is just for home flights; I needed to pay $35 not too long ago once I traveled to Mexico, forgetting the restrictions of this perk.)
Moreover, you may take pleasure in a 25% low cost on inflight meals and beverage purchases (excludes Wi-Fi) and obtain an up-to $120 assertion credit score for International Entry/TSA PreCheck. (I counsel maximizing your credit score by making use of for International Entry, because it contains PreCheck anyway.)
Moreover, the cardboard contains journey protections, corresponding to journey cancellation, journey interruption, journey delay, misplaced baggage protections, and automotive rental insurance coverage protection.
And there aren’t any overseas transaction charges, making this card an excellent possibility for worldwide journey.
Elite standing
On prime of that, you will obtain a ten,000 Loyalty Factors bonus upon reaching 50,000 Loyalty Factors in a standing qualification 12 months. A further 10,000 Loyalty Factors bonus might be granted when you hit 90,000 Loyalty Factors in the identical 12 months.
Assertion credit
Citi’s assertion credit embrace:
- As much as $120 again on eligible pay as you go leases booked immediately on Avis.com or Finances.com each calendar 12 months (this credit score was restricted in July 2024)
- As much as $120 again on eligible Grubhub purchases (as much as a $10 assertion credit score on every month’s billing assertion)
- As much as $120 in Lyft credit ($10 Lyft credit score every month), however you must take three eligible rides every month first to obtain this credit score
The Grubhub credit score is the one one I’ve used up to now 12 months. I discover it simple to max out the $10 month-to-month credit score by ordering pick-up meals once I’m on the street.
On condition that I are likely to hire from Europcar, Nationwide Automotive Rental or Hertz, I do not maximize the automotive rental credit score, however it will be simple to make use of on one rental annually if Avis or Finances supplied a great worth for an itinerary.
I do not worth the Lyft perk as a result of you aren’t getting the $10 credit score till after you have taken three (non-discounted) rides in a month. As a substitute, I exploit my Chase Sapphire Reserve® to earn 10 factors per greenback spent on Lyft purchases (by way of March 2025).
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Incomes and redeeming miles
If you happen to’re seeking to supercharge your points-earning throughout a number of applications, we might counsel placing your spending on a card that earns transferable factors. Nevertheless, if you wish to maximize your AAdvantage mile steadiness particularly, this card will earn you:
- 10 miles per greenback spent on eligible automotive leases and resorts booked by way of American’s automotive rental and lodge reserving websites, respectively
- 4 miles per greenback spent on eligible American Airways purchases (jumps to five miles per greenback for the rest of the calendar 12 months as soon as you have spent $150,000 on all purchases in a calendar 12 months)
- 1 mile per greenback spent on all different eligible purchases
AAdvantage miles are essentially the most worthwhile of any U.S. airline program, in response to our March 2025 valuations. They’re considerably extra worthwhile (at 1.65 cents every) than United Miles (1.35 cents every) and Delta SkyMiles (1.2 cents every).
After choosing up this card after its refresh in mid-2023, I redeemed a part of the welcome bonus I acquired for an opulent flight redemption. I used 70,000 miles plus $174 for a one-way business-class flight in Qatar Airways’ implausible Qsuite from Doha to Houston.
Given this flight retails for $3,910 one-way, I acquired a really excessive 5.6 cents per-mile worth from this redemption, greater than triple TPG’s March 2025 valuation of AAdvantage miles.
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Licensed customers
Lastly, this card is a good possibility if you need your family and friends to get Admirals Membership entry for affordable.
You may add as much as three licensed customers for $175 whole (understanding to be round $58 every) and extra licensed customers for $175 every after that.
Every licensed person receives Admirals Membership entry (with a same-day boarding move for an eligible flight) for themselves and as much as two touring companions. Nevertheless, licensed customers solely get Admirals Membership entry, not a full Admirals Membership membership.
Backside line
Briefly, when you fly American Airways ceaselessly, this card is a good selection. Moreover, this card is a no brainer if you need Admirals Membership entry and haven’t got AA or Oneworld elite standing.
Maximizing assertion credit can scale back the efficient price of the annual charge. It is an excellent deal so as to add as much as three licensed customers for a complete of $175. This card can even allow you to attain AAdvantage standing by incomes Loyalty Factors on on a regular basis spending and whenever you attain sure spending thresholds.
Nevertheless, when you would not get worth out of lounge entry, I might counsel one among Citi / AA’s extra reasonably priced bank cards.
To be taught extra about this card, learn our full overview of the Citi / AA Govt World Elite Mastercard.
Apply right here: Citi / AAdvantage Govt World Elite Mastercard
