American Airlines and its cobranded credit card partner Citi have introduced a new, mid-tier travel card as part of the carrier’s suite of AAdvantage branded Mastercard offerings. The new card, known as Citi AAdvantage Globe Mastercard, has a lower annual fee than the airline’s top card but still provides some high end perks.
Unboxing the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card
The new Citi AAdvantage Globe card has a $350 annual fee, which is fairly middle of the road when it comes to travel focused credit cards. According to American, the new card offers over $750 in travel and lifestyle benefits. Specifically, the new card includes:
- 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.
In addition to these offers, the card has no foreign transaction fees and features a new “Flight Streak” bonus that rewards cardmembers with 5,000 Loyalty Points after every four qualifying flights, up to 15,000 Loyalty Points annually.
Cardmembers will also earn AAdvantage miles will each transaction, with earnings categories as follows:
- 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.
Cardmembers will earn 1 Loyalty Point toward AAdvantage status for every eligible AAdvantage mile earned from qualifying purchases to help reach their desired AAdvantage status faster. The card has no mileage cap, allowing cardmembers the change to earn all the way up to American’s top-tier Executive Platinum status.
In addition, the card currently has a welcome bonus of 90,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $5,000 on the card within four months of account opening.
My Thoughts
This is an interesting card for American Airlines flyers as it falls well below the $595 annual fee Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard, which comes with an Admirals Club membership along with other American Airlines focused perks.
The Citi AAdvantage Globe Card seems like a good deal for those travelers that don’t fly with the airline on a regular basis but, when they do, want access to lounges and free checked bags. To me, the greatest determining factor here comes from your ability to utilize the companion certificate along with your travel habits. If you’re a frequent American Airlines flyer, I’s go for the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard as I value lounge access.
If you don’t care about the lounge access but want free checked bags, the $99 Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard will likely be your best bet. The introduction of the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card fills in American’s cobranded card portfolio nicely, it will just be up to each individual use case to determine which is best for you.
While I could probably make the economics of this card work, American is third or fourth, behind Delta, United, and sometimes Southwest on my list of preferred carriers. Typically, when traveling with the family, since ATX Jr. is still a lap infant, we book First Class tickets so the baggage allowance and boarding group issues resolve itself.
If I were to switch back to mostly flying American, I’d likely get the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard thanks to its Admirals Club pass. You could also get lounge access by earning OneWorld status via this great offer from Royal Jordanian.
Summary
American Airlines and Citi have just released the newest member of its AAdvantage cobranded credit card portfolio. The Citi AAdvantage Globe Mastercard falls in between the $99 annual fee Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard and the $595 annual fee Executive World Elite Mastercard.
Ultimately, which card is right for you will come down to your travel and spending habits, though the addition of the Globe card does a nice job of rounding out the carrier’s credit card offerings.
(Images courtesy American)