Ultimate Travel Credit Cards Guide Citi Airlines and Hotels Bottom Line

Continuing on with Citibank’s credit card lineup, we move on to their co-branded section. They have two main co-brands that accrue points. They are affiliated with American Airlines and Hilton Hotels Worldwide. Although they have a few cash back cards, since these do not accrue points for airline programs, I will not review them.

Introduction

Proprietary

Airlines and Hotels

Verdict

American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum World Elite MasterCard

Description: American’s long-time card for travelers who travel frequently to gain benefit from the benefits, but not enough to dish out the annual fee of the Citi Executive. It comes with accrual for AAdvantage miles. These miles can be used for travel on American, their Oneworld partners, and their other partners. Score: 7/10

Sign Up Bonus: The card comes with a signup bonus of 50,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on the first three months of account opening. Score: 6/10

Normal Day Accrual: You get 1 miles per $1 on everyday spending, and 2 miles per $1 on American Airlines purchases. Score: 5/10

Added Perks: It comes with Group 1 boarding (soon to be Group 4, with their new boarding process), free checked bags for you and up to 4 people, and 25% discount on purchases on board. The best perk, in my opinion, is that you get 10% of your miles to spend back in a year. This is up to 10,000 miles. Also, you get reduced mileage awards at select cities that rotate seasonally. Score: 6/10

Annual Fee: Its annual fee is $95, waived for the first year. Score: 5/10

Credit Score needed: Very Good to Excellent Credit

Final Score: 29/50

American Airlines AAdvantage Citi Executive World Elite MasterCard

Description: American’s flagship credit card is packed with benefits. From Global Entry reimbursement to benefits while you travel, this is American’s top-of-the-line card. It accrues miles for the AAdvantage program. Score 7/10

Sign Up Bonus: It currently comes with a signup bonus of 50,000 miles when you spend $5,000 in the first three months. Score: 3/10

Normal Day Accrual: You earn 2 miles per $1 on American Airlines purchases and 1 mile per $1 spent on everything else. Score: 5/10

Added Perks: The card comes with a ton of added perks. The most valuable are Admirals Club membership, inflight savings, and Elite Qualifying miles after $40,000 in yearly purchases. The card comes with Global Fee reimbursement, and enhanced airport experience (like priority check-in and boarding). Score: 9/10

Annual Fee: Annual fee of $450 applies, and is not waived. Score: 2/10

Credit Score needed: Excellent Credit

Final Score: 26/50

American Airlines AAdvantage Gold World Elite MasterCard

Description: This is American Airlines’ least known card. It is a World Elite MasterCard, but it comes with a lower annual fee than the rest and has some reduced benefits. However, it is meant for those who still do not have a solid credit score, or that don’t travel very often to American. It accrues AAdvantage miles. Score: 6/10

Sign Up Bonus: It comes with a signup bonus of 25,000 miles when you spend $750 in the first three months of opening. Score: 8/10

Normal Day Accrual: It accrues 1 mile per $1 spent. Score: 3/10

Added Perks: It comes with reduced mileage awards, but at a smaller discount than the other AAdvantage cards. You also receive a 25% discount on inflight purchases. Score: 4/10

Annual Fee: The card comes with a $50 annual fee, waived the first year. Score: 6/10

Credit Score needed: Good to Very Good Credit

Final Score: 27/30

Hilton HHonors Visa Signature

Description: Hilton HHonors’ basic Citi card, card comes with limited benefits but does accrue Hilton HHonors points, which can be then transferred to other airline programs. Score: 5/10

Sign Up Bonus: The card currently comes with a signup bonus of 40,000 HHonors points after $1,000 purchases in the first four months. Score: 5/10

Normal Day Accrual: You accrue 6 points per $1 spent on Hilton, 3 points per $1 spent on supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations. For normal day spending, you accrue 2 points per $1. Score: 4/10

Added Perks: The card comes with automatic Hilton Silver Status. Silver status has a few perks, but they are nothing out of the ordinary. You also get 10,000 bonus points after $1,000 spent every year, and fast track to Gold Status. Score: 4/10

Annual Fee: The card comes with no annual fee. Score: 10/10

Credit Score needed: Very Good to Excellent Credit

Final Score: 28/50

Hilton HHonors Reserve Card

Description: Hilton’s top Citi credit card, it comes with more benefits than the Visa Signature. It accrues points for the Hilton HHonors program, and those can be transferred to airline partners. Score: 5/10

Sign Up Bonus: The card comes with a signup bonus of two weekend night certificates when spending $2,500 during the first four months. Score: 6/10

Normal Day Accrual: You accrue 10 points per $1 on Hilton stays and 5 points per $1 on airfare and car rentals. For everyday spending, you accrue 3 points per $1. Score: 6/10

Added Perks: The card comes with Hilton Gold Status and a fast track to Diamond Status. You also get 1 weekend night certificate every year you have the card and spend $10,000 on it. Score: 4/10

Annual Fee: The card comes with an annual fee of $95, not waived the first year. Score: 3/10

Credit Score needed: Very Good to Excellent Credit

Final Score: 24/50

Landing Thoughts

Citibank offers a solid portfolio of American and Hilton cards. However, both of these brands have a second bank offering a competing product. Many of you will argue why did the Citi Executive card get a lower score, and the reason is that the card has a very high annual fee that many would not be willing to pay. It does come with great benefits, that I believe outweigh the cost. Yet, I am coming from a general perspective of the average consumer. The same applies to the Hilton Reserve card.

What do you think? Do you have any of these cards? What has your experience been?