Questions and Answers

In December I have the Citi Executive $450 annual fee coming up, and I’m trying to figure out if there is any reason to keep the card, especially as I just received the Chase Sapphire Reserve w/its Priority Pass access today. My thought is no, but figured perhaps I’m missing something?

I initially applied for the card for its signup bonus + the Admirals Club access, which was back in Nov 2014. Looking over my travel since then I’ve had all of 1 out of ~15 flights where the Admiral’s Club membership was useful (A DL flight from LGA Terminal C to CHS that got mega delayed). That said…I am AA Platinum this year, helped by the Citi card’s 10K EQM for spending. I doubt I will wind up with any AA status next year so in theory next year the AA lounge access could be more useful if I wind up flying more domestically.

The 10% miles back has been a really nice perk as I got it twice for a one-way CX award in Feb NYC-HKG on the initial J booking and the F booking I was able to change it to a few days out. Still don’t understand why that works but not complaining. Also maxed it out in 2015.

I typically take 2-3 AA transcons for work annually, J or F when F weirdly prices lower. Otherwise all my travel paid or miles has been international J/F on a mix of airlines, trying to fly OW when I can.

All that said, the two Priority Pass lounges I’ve been in this year (In BKK via EY F on a BKK-AUH-JFK flight & SQ J out of JFK) have been real dumps so wondering if the Priority Pass membership is so worthless that Admirals Club access is useful to maintain? Are these lounges representative of the quality of Priority Pass?

I’m no expert on the lounge situation but if you’re rarely using the benefit then I agree it may be an expense you don’t need. You can get the 10% back on redeemed miles by owning the AA Platinum card with a $95 fee.

[URL=’http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2016/08/26/final-days-citi-cards/’]Since Citi’s application rules are changing on Monday[/URL], you’ll want to apply this weekend or you’ll have to wait until 24 months after you close your AA Exec card before you can get another sign-up bonus.

Thanks for the advice. Forgot that the Citi AA Platinum card – which i’d given someone to use on my behalf a long time ago – provides the 10% back benefit.

I guess it makes sense to drop the AA Executive in December then.

With respect to CSR/ Priority pass I saw that Lucky posted [URL]http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2016/08/23/chase-sapphire-reserve-priority-pass/[/URL] and in 2015 wrote “The strength of Priority Pass seems to be the volume of lounges they have, as opposed to the quality.” but can’t seem to find a general review of the network. Would love to hear more comprehensive reviews/opinions on the quality of their lounges.

So, Priority Pass doesn’t operate lounges as such. Rather they provide access to contract and other lounges. The Alaska Boardroom’s are all accessible via Priority Pass, and there’s generally a Priority Pass lounge in most airports, but the quality can vary greatly. The best suggestion would probably be to look up some of the airports you generally frequent, see what the Priority Pass lounge is, and look at individual reviews.