Citi / AAdvantage Executive Mastercard Changes

The Citi / AAdvantage Executive Mastercard changes have been out there for a week or two now and most people have thought of them as a huge negative. Overall, they are probably a lot more bad than good, but not for me. I am all aboard on these changes for a few different reasons, especially the new offer coming early next week. That doesn't mean these changes are good for you, or most people, so let's take a look at what I am talking about and if you should act sooner rather than later.

The Upcoming Changes

Here are the Citi / AAdvantage Executive Mastercard changes that are coming on Monday (7/24/23).

The most notable change is the annual fee is increasing from $450 to $595. Even bigger than that is the change in the authorized user cost. Currently you can add up to 10 authorized users for free, and all of them get American Airlines lounge access. With the “refresh” the card will charge $175 for the first 3 authorized users and then an additional $175 per authorized user after that. They do still get lounge access though. Still a big time Ouch!

With the increase of annual fee there will be some credits you can earn each year:

• 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)

Welcome to the Amex Platinum…err Citi Platinum…err Citi / AAdvantage Executive Mastercard coupon book!

There will also be some improved opportunities on earning miles and loyalty points (i.e. status)

• Earning Rates
  • Earn 10X AAdvantage Miles® on eligible car rentals booked through aa.com/cars and eligible hotels booked through aa.com/hotels
  • Earn 4X AAdvantage Miles® on eligible American Airlines purchases.
    • If you spend $150,000 in purchases in a calendar year, you would earn a total of 5X AAdvantage Miles® on eligible American Airlines purchases for the remainder of the calendar year.
  • Earn 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

The other big change, at least for a limited time, is the welcome offer will increase from 50,000 American Airlines miles to 100,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles. This is the key to my thinking…

Why I Am On Board With This Change

I think this is an improvement for me, and for people like me, even if the changes are kind of brutal overall. I was never going to get the Citi / AAdvantage Executive Mastercard with their current set up and offer. That is because I don't fly American Airlines very often so access to their lounges never excited me much. That is still true even if I could split that cost with 10 friends for a total out of pocket cost of $45 per person. That meant I looked at the card like it was buying 50,000 American Airlines miles for $450, or a little under 1 cent per mile. Not very enticing, especially since I'll never use the lounge access, which is the main selling feature of the card currently.

I do value AAdvantage miles for some international flights and they come in handy for domestic travel from time to time, here I come Maui! So even if I don't plan on using an American Airlines “perks” card much I am always in the market for a good opportunity to rack up some AAdvantage miles.

Comparing The Current Offer To The Upcoming Offer

With the current offer of 50,000 miles I am earning miles at a cost of $0.009 per piece. With the new 100,000 mile offer coming I am earning miles at a cost of $0.006 each ($595 annual fee). That is a lot more enticing but I haven't even included the credits yet.

I end up renting cars a few times a year so I should technically be able to take advantage of the $120 credit with Avis twice that first year. That is true at least if the prices are competitive. If you already use on of those two rental brands on the regular then that is $240 in the first year in your pocket. My wife's company has a discount code with Enterprise so we probably won't use this ourselves so I'll value this one at $0 but I'll still price check it and hope for the best. It is likely worth more to many of you so crunch your own numbers.

The GrubHub credit is worth around $120 to me since we use our Amex Gold one to do KFC pick up orders once a month for the kids. I am going to discount it a bit because it is a pain, and because I like simple math, so I'll call it $95 in value.

I don't ever use Lyft so I am not going to take 4 rides a month just to use that credit. This one is a big fat zero for us but it may be good for you.

Even with being very stingy on the value of these credits the $95 minimum I expect to get out of them drops the cost of the miles to half a cent each. I am in for that! Especially with Citi's 48 month rules on American Airlines welcome offers, I want to try to get their offers at the highest levels possible.

Why You May Want To Grab It Now

I am sure there will be quite a few people in the boat with me thinking the new offer is better for them. Others will think I am crazy, no doubt. Those would be the people that fly American Airlines often and love their lounge access. If that is you then you may want to grab the Citi / AAdvantage Executive Mastercard before the changes hit.

I should say that is only true if you plan on maximizing the authorized user cards, since they are still fee free for up to 10 people. If you only want lounge access for your immediate family then you are better off waiting for the 50K more in miles offer. That more than offsets the increase in annual fee, even before accounting for the credits. But, if you have 10 friends that want to split the cost with you, or run a company and would like to give employees access etc. then you may want to jump on this card now. It all depends on your personal travel situation, your Chase 5/24 count and how often you can maximize the lounge access.

Citi / AAdvantage Executive Mastercard Changes: ToP Thoughts

While the Citi / AAdvantage Executive Mastercard changes seem overly negative at first glance, they could be good for some. At least with the upcoming 100,000 AAdvantage mile welcome offer that is. At that level the only people this offer is worse for are those that maximize the free authorized user cards the credit card currently offers. I think that target market is smaller than most miles and points people will have you believe. You are only losing perceived value here, something most people never even actually scratched the surface of anyway. When the offer drops from the 100K level it will be a big downgrade though so I plan to grab it while the iron is hot next week!

Let me know your thoughts over in the ToP Facebook Group.