BMWMOT

My Admirals club membership is expiring soon. I'm considering getting the Citi AAdvantage credit card as it's $450 fee is less than the price to renew the AC.
AA keeps sending me emails saying I could get a prorated refund for the last few months of the AC membership.
Admirals club seems straight forward. Same entrance requirements as I have now but with the added benefit of adding authorized users who also have AC access

It seems like a no brainer but I have a couple of questions based on the benefits of the card with regards to Priority boarding-
- Says Group 4 boarding. Being Platinum, I should get Group 3. Does the 'system' know I get Group 3 or will I be relegated to Group 4.
- All my business flights are booked via a company site and company direct billing thus I won't use this card to book my flights. Does this affect your boarding group? Do you need to use this card to book your flights? In all likely hood I would use my Chase Reserve card to book any personal flights. I'm thinking ahead too for when I retire and/or don't have Plat status.
- Any reason not to get this card and just renew the AC?

Thanks

JJeffrey

Your elite status boarding group trumps whatever group you get via a credit card. So if you're PLT, you'll be in Group 3 as long as your AA# is in the reservation.

Same with booking the flights, you do not need to use the card to book the flights to gain any benefits. Your boarding group is always tied to your AA#, doesn't matter where you book it or who pays for it, as long as your AA# is in the reservation it will see the PLT status and give you group 3 boarding.

No reason not to get it vs. normal AC membership, make sure you sign up for a decent sign up offer (typically 50-60k bonus miles after a certain spend).

sambagrrl07

It’s also worth noting you’ll get 10,000 EQM for $40,000 annual spend, which could help bump you up in status.

BMWMOT

Thanks all.
Just signed up for the card. The emails I was getting again, noted that I may be eligible for a prorated refund of my AC membership if I have at least 60 days left (I do) on my membership. Does anyone know how that gets refunded to me? Is a credit on my new Citi credit card statement? With 60+ days left on my membership, I should get $80-90 refund.
If the credit comes from Citi, it would reduce my $450 fee by $80-90.

chicago747

Quick question on the Citi Exec card. If I lock the card via the Citi site, will my authorized users still be able to use the card to access the lounge? I seem to remember when the AU uses the card, the lounge agent swipes the card to make sure it is valid. I'd like to keep the card perpetually locked but not sure if that will make it so my AUs can't access the lounge.

Thanks much

NYC Flyer

When my company provided me with an AAirpass, AA sent me a check for the partial dues refund, but that was a few years back. I'd speculate that AA will first try to refund on the card used to pay for the membership, but ultimately you may end up with a check.

AAdamE

I'm inclined to say no since they are not charing the card a $1 see if it works, they are verifying if that person at that time is an AU but I would highly recommend calling Citi. Once you press "0" 45 times you will get to an agent and they are generally helpful since this is a "premium card." One time my AU card did not show up in time for an AUs flight because they sent it to the wrong address, and gave me a $100 statement credit (the cost of two one day passes) and 5K miles.

JJeffrey

I would just call Citi and ask, or at least ask over in the Citi forum.

brewdog11

Just called to close my Citi AA Exec card, as they've virtually gutted the benefits (i.e. travel delay protection) over the years.

To my surprise, Citi made no effort to retain business despite my holding the card for ~7 years - there were zero retention offers. They did not offer the option to convert to a free card, either.

Overall, the cancellation experience was painless. It seems that Citi is not particularly interested in maintaining these cards, though.

enviroian

I just keep my exec card for one reason and that's reduced admiral's club membership cost. The card itself is merely a shell of what it used to be when it dropped all the travel protection benefits.

worldwidedreamer

As someone who has the analogous United Presidential Plus card, it seems like my other premium credit cards have added value while the lounge credit card seems less valuable.

Also---depending on your preferred airport you might prefer Amex + Priority Pass + Escape + etc. lounges to Admirals Clubs. (Although it'd be hard for me to fly AA without those great AAngels.)

S80

I'm in the exact same boat, I keep the card for the club, but put flights on a card with travel protection benefits. The AAngels (and EXP desk) can help me avoid having to use the benefits, but the benefits are there if needed.

abk

I tried to get a retention offer a couple of months ago and they could have cared less. I view the card as an Admirals club membership and nothing else. Now that my AA mileage balance is down to 1350 miles I will keep it for the handful of AA trips I take and for my kids until I get tired of paying or everyone moves to Delta (amex plat) or WN.

sdix

Agree. I have 5 family members with my card. Only really used for lounge access. The AF pays for itself for that purpose.

enviroian

Speaking of reduced lounge access cost we all know that is probably going to increase probably sometime in the near future and when it does come up to the gate rate price of normal membership you will see a mass exodus of card cancellations.