Citi Executive AAdvantage Card becomes exclusive card to offer Admirals Club membership
Gary just shared the news that the American Express Admirals Club relationship is ending in March.
Not coincidentally, American and Cit just announced an exclusivity agreement that will make the Citi Executive / AAdvantage World Elite Mastercard the only credit card to offer Admirals Club membership.
From the press release:
Citi and American Airlines today announced that beginning in March 2014, the Citi Executive / AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard will be the only U.S. credit card offering full membership benefits at the American Airlines Admirals Club airport lounges.
“The American Airlines Admirals Club lounges are an oasis in the airport to many travelers, and we are pleased to exclusively offer membership to the Admirals Club lounges for our Citi Executive / AAdvantage cardmembers,” said Ralph Andretta, Head of Product Management Citi Cards. “We have always been proud to partner with American, and are pleased to continue deepening our relationship during this exciting phase of growth for the airline.”
“Our partnership with Citi began more than 25 years ago and today’s news marks a new step in expanding our relationship to offer exclusive benefits for our customers,” said Suzanne Rubin, President – AAdvantage Loyalty Program for American Airlines. “We hope our customers will enjoy the many valuable benefits offered by the Citi Executive / AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard, including the now exclusive membership to our Admirals Club lounges.”
I don’t have the Platinum Amex card (for me, credit card fees aren’t reimbursable) so I don’t know this first hand, but from reading the reader comments to Gary’s post it seems that American Express is contacting card holders and offering a $200 – $500 statement credit.
If you’re interested in the Citi Executive card, they’re offering a signup bonus of 60K AAdvantage miles at citiexecutiveaadvantage.citi.com.
This one really bums me out…I love the amex plat card, but it just got a serious downgrade. I was offered the $500 additional credit so am happy with that for now.
@ IPBrian – Amex deserves a lot of praise for the way they handled it. I’m as big of a fan of Amex customer services as I am of the AC AAngels.
This is very disappointing…. I was planning on applying for this card in my next churn but will not anymore because it was mostly just for this reason (as a DFW’er).
Worthy of praise?! For what, exactly?!
@ Tim – I think that Amex deserves praise for proactively reaching out to customers and offering the $200 – $500 credit.