Citi AAdvantage Business World Elite Mastercard review 2024: Good perks for a modest fee

---

The priority boarding and free checked bag benefits can justify the card’s modest annual fee.

---

Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® * The information for the Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. basics

• Annual fee: $99, waived for the first 12 months.
• Welcome bonus: 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first four months of account opening.
• Rewards: 2 miles for every $1 on cable and satellite providers, select telecommunications merchants, eligible American Airlines purchases, car rentals and gas stations and 1 mile per $1 on other purchases. Also earn 1 loyalty point for every mile earned.
• Recommended credit score: Excellent (typically 750 or above).
• Other benefits: Free first checked bag on American Airline flights, preferred boarding, 25% savings on inflight Wi-Fi, food and beverage purchases and the ability to earn a Companion Certificate through spending.

Citi AAdvantage Business World Elite card review

The Citi AAdvantage Business card will please both frequent business travelers and those seeking airline perks from a card with a relatively low annual fee. The card offers an excellent combination of features and waived annual fee during the first year.

For an annual fee of $99, waived for the first 12 months, you get preferred boarding and a free checked bag. These perks can make travel a little less stressful. It’s worth pointing out that these perks also can be a great way to overcome restrictions on American Airlines’ Basic Economy fares. While you’ll still be assigned a random seat at check-in, holding an American Airlines co-branded credit card will provide a free checked bag and preferred boarding, even when traveling in Basic Economy.

You can also earn elite status through spending, earning 1 Loyalty Point per dollar spent on purchases and accruing these to achieve increasing elite status levels, starting at 15,000 Loyalty Points. Bigger spenders can earn a Companion Certificate after $30,000 in spending during a card year and renewing your card (account must remain open at least 45 days after your anniversary date). This certificate allows you to bring a friend on a round-trip flight in the continental U.S. for just $99 plus fees. 

If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to earn airline status and other perks through your business spending, this card is it.

Pros

• No annual fee during the first year: The annual fee on the card is $99, waived for the first 12 months. This provides an excellent opportunity to test out the card for a year and see if it’s right for your business.
• Free checked bag benefit applies to companions: As long as they’re on the same American Airlines reservation as you, the free first checked bag benefit applies to up to four companions.
• Earn Loyalty Points toward elite status via credit card spending: While you can earn Loyalty Points from flight bookings, you’ll also earn them on other types of purchases as well.

Cons

• Other credit cards provide higher earning rates: It’s possible to earn more rewards with other credit cards. By looking at your spending categories and available options, you may earn more frequent flyers or more points in a transferable rewards program. That will come at the cost of American Airlines benefits, such as free checked bags, and you won’t earn AA miles on those purchases. Consider whether this tradeoff works in your favor.
• The Companion Certificate requires more spending than it’s worth: You have to spend $30,000 on purchases with your card in a cardmember year and renew the card to earn the Companion Certificate, which allows a companion to fly with you for $99 plus fees (account must remain open for 45 days after anniversary date). That’s a significant spend for what may only end up saving you a few hundred dollars per year.
• American Airlines doesn’t publish an award chart: After several devaluations and confusing changes to its award chart over recent years, knowing how many AA miles you’ll need for a flight (or what it’s possible to do with your miles) has become less clear.

Citi AAdvantage Business World Elite rewards

The card earns:

• 2 miles for every $1 on cable and satellite providers, select telecommunications merchants, eligible American Airlines purchases, car rentals and gas stations.
• 1 mile per $1 on other purchases.
• 1 loyalty point for every mile earned.

These are fair earning rates for a card with a sub-$100 annual fee, but they aren’t impressive compared to other options on the market. Higher earnings are possible, which we’ll cover in the comparisons section below, but those will come with tradeoffs in giving up American Airlines-specific perks or paying high annual fees. Compared to other airline credit cards and business credit cards in this price range, the earning rates are fairly average.

New applicants can earn 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first four months of account opening. Let’s look at what you can do with that welcome bonus.

It’s possible to find “web special” awards for 5,000 or 6,000 miles apiece using AA’s award mapper tool, such as this award from Santa Ana, California to Lexington, Kentucky for 6,000 miles per person, one way.

Want to visit Hawaii? Round-trip flights in economy from California to the 50th state will cost you 40,000 miles on numerous dates.

You also could visit the Brazilian Amazon, spending 40,000 miles for a round-trip economy ticket to Manaus.

If you’re looking to fly in style, fly with American Airlines’ partner Qatar Airways in its famous Qsuite business class. You’ll spend 70,000 miles per person each way to fly from the continental U.S. through Doha, Qatar and onward to Male, Maldives.

It’s also possible to continue earning a meaningful amount of miles after you’ve earned the welcome bonus. 

Using government data and other publicly available information, we estimate that a mom-and-pop business in the U.S. that would be in the market for this card has around $25,087 in annual expenses that can be charged to a credit card. Here’s how our sample household’s rewards could break down:

Simply by shifting their spending onto this card, this business would earn 30,495 miles each year. 

Citi AAdvantage Business World Elite perks

When flying on American Airlines, cardholders will enjoy preferred boarding with the first group of economy passengers and a free checked bag for you and up to four companions on the same itinerary. During the flight, using your card to purchase inflight Wi-Fi, food or drinks will provide a 25% discount (received as a statement credit). 

You can earn a Companion Certificate by spending $30,000 on the card in a cardmember year (after renewing the card; card must remain open for 45 days after account anniversary date). The year begins when you are approved for the card and the certificate is issued on the next account anniversary after paying the card’s annual fee. This certificate allows you to bring a companion for just $99 (plus taxes and fees) on a flight in AA’s main cabin within the continental U.S. 

You can also earn Loyalty Points through spending. You’ll earn 1 Loyalty Point per $1 spent on the card. 

Loyalty Points are the metric used to earn American Airlines AAdvantage elite status. This means your spending on the card can propel you to higher levels of elite status, regardless of flying activity. You need 40,000 Loyalty Points to attain Gold status and 200,000 Loyalty Points for Executive Platinum status (the highest tier). 

Lastly, perks many travelers care about are built into this card, including preferred boarding and free checked bags on AA-operated flights. Also, this card does not have a foreign transaction fee.

How the Citi AAdvantage Business World Elite compares to other airline small business cards 

Let’s see how the Citi AAdvantage Business card stacks up to other small business travel cards.

Citi AAdvantage Business World Elite vs. United℠ Business Card * The information for the United℠ Business Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The United Business card also has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $99 annual fee. Cardholders get similar perks to AAdvantage Platinum Select like priority boarding and a free first checked bag, as well as 25% back on inflight purchases.

The card has a more limited ability to spend toward elite status, however, earning a maximum of 1,000 Premier Qualifying Points (PQP), though this requires $24,000 in spending to achieve. 

It also has several perks that AA’s card doesn’t have. You will get two one-time passes to the United Club each year. You’ll also earn a $100 United travel credit after seven United purchases (of $100 or more each) during the card anniversary year and 5,000 bonus miles each year if you hold both a United personal and business credit card.

Those looking for uncapped earnings toward elite status through credit card spending will do better with the American Airlines card in this situation. But those looking for more travel-related perks should choose the United Business card for its lounge passes, credits and bonus miles.

Citi AAdvantage Business World Elite vs. Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card * The information for the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card * The information for the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. (terms apply) comes with a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 annual fee. Cardholders enjoy Zone 5 priority boarding and their first checked bag free on Delta flights, as well as 20% back as a statement credit for eligible Delta in-flight purchases. 

This card earns 2 miles per $1 spent on purchases at U.S. shipping providers and at U.S. providers for advertising in select media (on up to $50,000 of purchases per category, per year), 2 miles per $1 spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta and at restaurants and 1 mile per $1 spent on other eligible purchases which the American Airlines card doesn’t. You can also earn a $200 Delta Flight Credit toward future travel when you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year. 

Delta’s card also offers a unique perk called TakeOff 15, which reduces award prices (flights booked using miles) by 15% if you’re booking a Delta flight. This could amount to considerable savings over the course of a year, depending on how many miles you redeem annually.

Citi AAdvantage Business World Elite vs. Alaska Airlines Visa® Business credit card * The information for the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business credit card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.  

The Alaska Airlines Visa Business credit card from Bank of America doesn’t waive the annual fee the first year, charging $70 per company and $25 per card. The card offers priority boarding and free checked bag, plus 20% back on inflight purchases. You’ll also receive $100 off an annual Alaska Lounge+ Membership.

You’ll earn 3 miles per $1 on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases, 2 miles per $1 on eligible gas, shipping and local transit including rideshare purchases and 1 mile per $1 on all other purchases. You’ll also earn a 10% rewards bonus on all purchases if you have an eligible small business bank account with Bank of America. 

But the card’s most interesting feature is the annual Companion Fare received after spending just $6,000 on purchases during a year. That’s significantly less than the spending to earn AA’s Companion Certificate, and the cost for redeeming it is the same: $99 plus taxes and fees from $23.

If you’re looking for a companion fare that requires less spending, consider the Alaska Business Visa. This card becomes even more attractive if you have accounts at Bank of America. But if Alaska’s smaller route network doesn’t appeal to you, American Airlines’ card is the better option.

Is the Citi AAdvantage Business World Elite worth it?

Four free checked bags will cover the cost of the annual fee, so just two round-trip flights a year will likely make this card worth it.

It’s also worth it if you only need a few travel-related perks and don’t want to pay a large annual fee to get them. You can also earn miles and Loyalty Points on your purchases. 

But if you rarely check a bag, aren’t devoted to one airline, or don’t spend much in this card’s bonus categories, you’ll have trouble justifying the annual fee.

Citi AAdvantage Business World Elite is right for you if:

• You frequently check a suitcase with American Airlines on flights in North America.
• You’re interested in spending your way to American Airlines elite status or accelerating your status via credit card spending.
• You regularly purchase American Airlines Basic Economy fares and want to overcome some of the restrictions by holding a credit card.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Does the Citi AAdvantage Business card include lounge access?

No, the Citi AAdvantage Business World Elite card doesn’t include lounge access. To access the Admirals Club, you’ll need to fly in a premium cabin, purchase a membership, earn access through elite status, or hold the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® * The information for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. , which includes a membership for cardholders.

What is the maximum credit limit for the Citi AAdvantage Business card?

Credit limits are decided when reviewing your credit report during the application process and will vary based on many factors.

What credit score do you need to get the Citi AAdvantage Business card?

An excellent credit score, typically defined by FICO as 750 or more, will increase your approval odds. However, many factors are considered during the application process in addition to your credit score including your other debt obligations.

What are the benefits of AAdvantage Platinum status?

With AAdvantage Platinum status, you’ll get complimentary upgrades on American and Alaska Airlines flights, a 48-hour upgrade window, 60% mileage bonus on paid flights and two free checked bags on AA flights. You’ll also get access to complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred seats.