Citi AAdvantage Globe Card Review: Are The Premium Perks Worth The $350 Fee?

American Airlines and Citi have a suite of co-branded credit cards, and the Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard® is the $350 annual fee personal card. The card offers lots of perks that could make it worth holding onto in the long run. Broadly speaking, think of this as a card that’s ideal for someone who is between an occasional flyer and a very frequent flyer (though American loyalists may find this card appealing as well, thanks to the bonus Loyalty Points opportunity).

This post is my in-depth Citi AAdvantage Globe Card review. So let’s take a look at all the details, and talk about who should consider applying. Of course the welcome bonus is always a big incentive to apply for the card, but is there long term value?

Link: Learn more about the Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard®

Citi AAdvantage Globe Card summary & key details

Before I get into my Citi AAdvantage Globe Card review, let me briefly summarize the key details of the card:

• Citi AAdvantage Globe Card annual fee: $350
• Citi AAdvantage Globe Card welcome offer: 60K American AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $4,000 within the first three months
• Citi AAdvantage Globe Card rewards: 6x AAdvantage miles on AAdvantage Hotels bookings, 3x miles on eligible American Airlines purchases, 2x miles on restaurants, and on select transportation purchases, including taxis, rideshares, and public transit, and 1x miles on all other purchases
• Citi AAdvantage Globe Card foreign transaction fees: None
• Citi AAdvantage Globe Card elite status earning: One Loyalty Point for every dollar in eligible spending, plus a “Flight Streak” bonus of up to 15,000 Loyalty Points per year
• Citi AAdvantage Globe Card credits & perks: Four annual Admirals Club passes, American $99 companion certificate on account anniversary, up to $100 back annually on American inflight purchases, up to $100 annual “Splurge Credit,” and more

Beyond that, here are what I consider to be some of the major pros and cons of the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card:

• Citi AAdvantage Globe Card pros include the Loyalty Points status boost, the Admirals Club passes, and the credits that help offset the annual fee
• Citi AAdvantage Globe Card cons include the steep annual fee, the not terribly exciting rewards structure, and the lack of lounge access before four visits per year

Citi AAdvantage Globe Card bonus, eligibility, & fees

Of American’s four co-branded personal Citi cards, the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card is the second most premium card in the portfolio. To start, let’s cover the welcome bonus, eligibility rules, annual fee, and more.

Welcome bonus of 60,000 AAdvantage miles

The Citi AAdvantage Globe Card is currently offering a welcome bonus of 60,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $4,000 within the first three months.

This is a standard welcome bonus. The minimum spending requirement is quite reasonable. Personally, I value AAdvantage miles at ~1.5 cents each, so to me, those 60,000 miles are worth around $900.

American AAdvantage credit card eligibility rules

If you’re applying for the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card, there are some restrictions to be aware of, as you’d expect. First, there are Citi’s general application rules, which include that you can only be approved for one Citi credit card every eight days, and at most two Citi credit cards every 65 days.

On top of that, there’s also the 48-month rule on this card, which means you can’t receive the bonus on this card if you’ve received a bonus on this exact card in the past 48 months. Eligibility for this card (including the bonus) is unrelated to having any other American Airlines credit card.

You can read about my experience getting approved for the card here.

$350 annual fee & $0 authorized user fee

The Citi AAdvantage Globe Card has a $350 annual fee. That puts the annual fee roughly in between the $99 annual fee and $695 annual fee personal products. You can add authorized users to the card at no extra cost, and of course their spending will help you earn AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points.

Citi AAdvantage Globe Card rewards structure

The Citi AAdvantage Globe Card has a number of bonus categories that cardmembers can take advantage of, and on top of that, spending can also count toward elite status. Let’s talk about how that works.

Earn 1-6x AAdvantage miles on spending

When it comes to actually spending money on the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card, there are some categories eligible for bonus miles:

• Earn 6x AAdvantage miles on AAdvantage Hotels bookings
• Earn 3x AAdvantage miles on eligible American Airlines purchases
• Earn 2x AAdvantage miles on restaurants, including takeout and delivery
• Earn 2x AAdvantage miles on select transportation purchases, including taxis, rideshares, and public transit
• Earn 1x AAdvantage miles on all other purchases

These are actually reasonably lucrative bonus categories. If you use AAdvantage Hotels, being able to earn 6x miles on those purchases is great. Furthermore, it’s nice to see bonus miles on restaurants and select transportation spending.

As a reminder, I value AAdvantage miles at 1.5 cents each, meaning the card offers anywhere from a 1.5% return to a 9% return, depending on the category. That’s before factoring in the value of Loyalty Points, though.

Earn 1x Loyalty Points per eligible dollar spent

Nowadays elite status in the AAdvantage program can be earned with Loyalty Points, which is the currency that determines your status. AAdvantage elite status requirements are as follows:

• AAdvantage Gold status requires 40,000 Loyalty Points
• AAdvantage Platinum status requires 75,000 Loyalty Points
• AAdvantage Platinum Pro status requires 125,000 Loyalty Points
• AAdvantage Executive Platinum status requires 200,000 Loyalty Points

Spending money on AAdvantage credit cards earns you Loyalty Points, as you earn one Loyalty Point per dollar spent. This means your spending on the card can help you earn elite status (all the way up to Executive Platinum), and it can also help you earn Loyalty Point Rewards, allowing you to select from perks like systemwide upgrades, bonus miles, and more.

Note that the welcome bonus miles don’t count toward your Loyalty Points total. However, any spending achieved to earn that welcome bonus would count toward your Loyalty Points total. As I’ll explain below, the card offers a further opportunity to earn an additional 15,000 Loyalty Points per year, unrelated to spending on the card.

No foreign transaction fees

The Citi AAdvantage Globe Card has no foreign transaction fees, so this can be a good option for purchases you make abroad.

How to redeem American AAdvantage miles

It goes without saying that earning miles is only one side of the equation. It’s also worth briefly talking about the value of redeeming AAdvantage miles. As I see it, American AAdvantage miles are the most valuable mileage currency among the “big three” US carriers.

For one, the program actually has attractive redemption rates for travel on American, in both economy and business class, especially for domestic travel. In many ways, I’d say the sweet spot with AAdvantage has really shifted to domestic flights.

AAdvantage also publishes an award chart for travel on partner airlines, and on the surface, redemption rates are excellent, including in first class and business class. There are all kinds of amazing flights you can redeem for, ranging from Etihad’s A380 first class, to Japan Airlines’ A350 first class, to Qatar Airways’ Qsuites business class. The catch is that a lot of partner airlines don’t make all award space available to AAdvantage, so space can be tough to come by.

When you can find award availability, though, the redemption values are excellent. We’re talking everything from 60,000 miles for Japan Airlines business class to Japan, to 70,000 miles for Qatar Airways or Etihad business class to the Middle East, and more. There’s huge value to racking up AAdvantage miles. I also think it’s worth calling out how AAdvantage doesn’t have change or cancelation fees on awards, so it’s great to be able to lock in a ticket, and then later cancel, if needed.

Citi AAdvantage Globe Card benefits & perks

In addition to the great welcome bonus and the ability to earn elite status with spending, the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card offers some strong perks that will for many people justify the annual fee.

The card is described as offering over $750 in value annually on an ongoing basis, though some will get less value from the card, while others will get more value from the card. Let’s cover those perks, in no particular order.

Up to 15,000 Loyalty Points annual “Flight Streak” bonus

In addition to being able to earn Loyalty Points through spending, the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card offers another unique opportunity to earn Loyalty Points, referred to as the Flight Streak bonus.

Specifically, the primary cardmember can receive 5,000 bonus Loyalty Points after every four qualifying American Airlines flights taken each status qualification year. This can be earned up to three times, for a total of up to 15,000 bonus Loyalty Points, which would be unlocked after 12 flights.

This is unrelated to any spending requirement on the card, and it’s also separate from the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Legend Mastercard® (learn more) offering up to 40,000 bonus Loyalty Points for passing certain annual Loyalty Points thresholds.

So, how does the Flight Streak bonus work? A qualifying American flight is any flight segment that’s marketed or operated by American or American Eagle, which is eligible to earn AAdvantage miles. So that means the bonus is per segment, but award flights don’t qualify. Furthermore, qualifying flights before becoming a cardmember also don’t qualify.

Four annual Admirals Club Globe Passes

The Citi AAdvantage Globe Card offers four Admirals Club Globe Passes annually, as they’re called. With this, every calendar year, the primary cardmember receives four Admirals Club lounge passes:

• These passes are issued digitally, and each pass is valid for 24 hours across multiple lounges
• One pass is required for each person 18+, but those under 18 can be brought in as guests, without requiring additional passes
• Passes can only be redeemed for adults accompanying the primary cardmember, so they can’t just be gifted to others
• You must be traveling same day on American or a oneworld partner, with a departing or arriving boarding pass

This could come in handy for someone who occasionally flies American, who doesn’t need a full Admirals Club membership, but still values lounge access in some form. For what it’s worth, American ordinarily charges $79 per day pass, so this is a value of up to $316 per year (admittedly I wouldn’t value it nearly that high). This perk is very similar to the four Admirals Club passes offered on Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (learn more).

American $99 companion certificate on anniversary

The Citi AAdvantage Globe Card offers a $99 American companion certificate upon account renewal every year, with no spending requirement (other than paying the annual fee).

When it comes time to redeem the companion certificate, there are some restrictions to be aware of:

• It’s only valid for travel within the lower 48 states (unless you’re a resident of Alaska, Hawaii, the US Virgin Islands, or Puerto Rico, in which case the companion certificate is also valid from that origin to anywhere in the lower 48)
• It’s only valid for a roundtrip ticket in economy, excluding basic economy tickets
• You have to book your ticket through American Airlines Meeting Services, so it can’t be booked online
• The certificate is valid for one year from the date of issue
• You have to pay $99 plus taxes and fees when redeeming it
• The companion booked with this certificate would earn miles based on the $99 fare, and tickets can still be upgraded

First checked bag free on American flights

Primary cardmembers on the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card receive a first checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for themselves and up to eight companions traveling on the same reservation. There’s no need to actually pay for the ticket with the card, you just have to make sure it’s linked to your AAdvantage account.

American ordinarily charge $45-50 for the first checked bag, so that’s a $90-100 value per person roundtrip (and if you had eight companions all checking a bag — of course that’s a stretch — that would be a value of $810-900).

Preferred boarding on American flights

Primary cardmembers on the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card receive preferred boarding on American Airlines flights. Having this card allows you to board with Group 5 on American Airlines flights, which should help to ensure that you can board while there’s still room in the overhead bins.

This applies globally, and there’s no need to pay for the ticket with the card, as long as you’re the primary cardmember with your AAdvantage account linked. This also applies to up to eight companions traveling on the same reservation.

Up to $240 back annually on Turo spending

The Citi AAdvantage Globe Card offers up to $240 in statement credits every calendar year for Turo purchases. Specifically, you can earn up to $30 in statement credits for each eligible Turo trip completed, for a total of up to $240 in statement credits annually. To qualify, you must link your card to your Turo account on turo.com/globe, and pay for the trip with your card. The statement credit will post within one to two billing cycles.

For those not familiar with Turo, it’s a car sharing platform, so think of it as a good alternative to the typical rental car companies (with the catch being that typical credit card rental car coverage doesn’t apply, since it’s a different type of car “rental”).

Obviously $240 sounds like a lot, though personally I probably wouldn’t do any math on the value proposition of this card based on the perk, since we’re talking about just a $30 statement credit per rental.

Up to $100 back annually on American inflight purchases

Those with the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card receive up to $100 in statement credits on inflight purchases on American and American Eagle every calendar year, when paying with the card (it’s not valid for travel on partner airlines, codeshares, etc.). So you could apply this toward inflight food and drink purchases, as well as Wi-Fi purchases (though American now offers free Wi-Fi on most flights).

You’ll pay the full amount upfront, and then you’ll automatically receive a statement credit within 8-10 weeks (typically much faster than that), reimbursing you up to that limit.

Up to $100 annual “Splurge Credit”

The Citi AAdvantage Globe Card offers up to a $100 annual Splurge Credit, as it’s described. The way this works, each calendar year, you can receive up to $100 in credits for purchases with select businesses.

This is valid with 1stDibs, eligible AAdvantage Hotels bookings, Future Personal Training, and Live Nation, and exclusions apply. You need to register with merchants to do this, and you can register for up to two merchants at a time, at this link.

This benefit is modeled after the $200 annual Splurge Credit on the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (learn more), though the list of retailers is a bit more limiting. Some people might find it to be worthwhile to book AAdvantage Hotels stays this way, given the ability to earn lots of Loyalty Points for these bookings.

Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit every four years

The Citi AAdvantage Globe Card offers a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit of up to $120 once every four years. Simply charge the purchase to your card and it will automatically be reimbursed within one to two billing cycles. You don’t have to be the one signing up, as you can always pay for a friend or family member who is signing up instead.

Personally, I always recommend applying for Global Entry, because Global Entry automatically comes with TSA PreCheck, while the inverse isn’t true.

Is the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card worth it?

The Citi AAdvantage Globe Card is a well-thought-out product, in my opinion, as it’s nicely positioned between the less-premium and most-premium cards in the portfolio. So, what’s my take on it?

For one, I think just giving the card a try is a no brainer, thanks to the strong welcome bonus. The bonus miles more than offset the annual fee, and this is a card that virtually everyone should be eligible for, given that it’s new. It’s also a card that people might find to be worthwhile in the long run.

The first year value is also strong, thanks to the fact that most of the benefits are based on the calendar year, rather than being based on the cardmember year. That means before the second annual fee is due, you’ll potentially be receiving two sets of many of the credits and other benefits, making the value even stronger.

Everyone will have to do their own math as to how much the various credits and benefits offset the annual fee. A few thoughts:

• If you fly economy frequently, the ability to get up to $100 annually in statement credits for inflight purchases of food, drinks, and Wi-Fi, potentially adds quite a bit of value
• The annual Admirals Club passes are awesome if you fly American every so often, while they’re less valuable if you otherwise have an Admirals Club membership, especially since they can’t be gifted to others not traveling with you
• The up to $100 annual Splurge Credit is valuable in theory, though unlike on the Citi Strata Elite Card, it’s not valid for American flights and Best Buy, which I’d consider the best uses of the similar credit on the Citi Strata Elite Card; I think the best play here is to book a hotel stay with AAdvantage Hotels
• The $99 annual companion certificate is potentially valuable, though it does have some limitations; still, if you fly American with some frequency, it shouldn’t be hard to get value with redeeming it
• I wouldn’t value the annual Turo statement credits much, since we’re talking about just $30 per rental

For frequent American flyers, I think the single most compelling perk of this card is that you get 15,000 bonus Loyalty Points for flying 12 revenue segments per year. That helps quite a bit with qualifying for status, and I think many people would value those Loyalty Points at somewhere around $150-300, give or take.

So yeah, I think there’s a lot of merit to giving this card a try, given the excellent welcome offer and very strong first year perks. Then you can decide based on your experience whether you think the card is worth keeping in the long run.

Citi AAdvantage Globe vs. Citi AAdvantage Executive

I imagine that many people considering the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card may also be considering the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Legend Mastercard® (learn more), which is American’s most premium co-branded credit card, with a $695 annual fee. There are lots of reasons to consider that card, including an excellent welcome bonus. Among other things:

• The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card offers an Admirals Club membership for the primary cardmember, as well as Admirals Club access for authorized users (you can add three authorized users for a total of $175)
• The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card offers up to 40,000 bonus Loyalty Points per year just for being a cardmember, unrelated to card spending
• The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card offers lots of credits, including up to $500 in annual American Airlines Vacations credits, up to $180 in annual Lyft credits, up to $120 back annually with Avis & Budget, up to $100 in annual American inflight or Admirals Club purchases, and more

I think there’s potentially merit to having both cards, especially if you value earning the Loyalty Points bonuses. Otherwise I’d say the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card is easier to justify if you’re an occasional American flyer, while I think the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card is easier to justify if you value an Admirals Club membership.

Citi AAdvantage Globe vs. Atmos Rewards Summit

Admittedly it’s a different loyalty program ecosystem, but perhaps it’s interesting to compare the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card to the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite^® Credit Card (learn more), as the card has a $395 annual fee, which is roughly comparable.

If you ask me, the Atmos Rewards Summit Card is quite a bit more lucrative, as it offers very strong perks. We’re talking everything from a 25,000-point Global Companion Award annually, to 3x points on foreign purchases, to free points sharing, to waived partner award booking fees, to Alaska Lounge passes, and more.

While Alaska and American are both in oneworld, admittedly these are different rewards ecosystems. Personally I find Atmos Rewards points to be really valuable, and there are some reciprocal redemption opportunities and elite perks, so there’s a case to be made for being loyal to Atmos Rewards while flying American. Either way, I definitely think this is a stronger card at the same general price point.

How do other premium credit cards compare?

If you’re willing to pick up a card with an annual fee but want something that offers a better return on spending or more comprehensive lounge access, there are many other cards to consider.

In general, here are several options to consider in lieu of the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card:

• If you’re looking for a premium credit card with more well-rounded airport lounge access and a larger selection of credits, consider the American Express Platinum Card® (learn more), Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (learn more), or Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more)
• If you’re looking for a card earning flexible points that has a more reasonable annual fee, consider the American Express® Gold Card (learn more), Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (learn more), Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more), or Citi Strata Premier® Card (learn more)

Citi AAdvantage Globe Card FAQs

Bottom line

The Citi AAdvantage Globe Card is American’s newest co-branded credit card, and it has a $350 annual fee. The card often has a great welcome bonus and very strong first year perks, making it worth considering.

On an ongoing basis, the card offers basic benefits for travel on American (like a free checked bag and preferred boarding), several credits and benefits that can help offset the annual fee, and even up to 15,000 bonus Loyalty Points, without any card spending required.

Personally, I think this card is worth giving a try, and it’s a product I’ve already applied for. I think the perks could very well justify the annual fee on an ongoing basis, but I guess we’ll see!

If you want to learn more about the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card, follow this link.