The Best Credit Card for Admirals Club Access (Plus Other Ways To Access)

Everyone loves airport lounge access. Instead of the chaos of an airport terminal, you have a nice, quiet space to relax, charge your devices, and enjoy some complimentary food and drinks while you wait for your flight.

If you’ve been reading Upgraded Points for a while, you’ll know that there are many different airport lounges to choose from. However, if you’ve clicked on this article, you are likely an American Airlines frequent flyer looking to learn what credit card you can use to get Admirals Club access. Read on to learn what option you have for accessing Admirals Club lounges.

The Best Credit Cards with Admirals Club Access

Citi^®/AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^®

Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^®

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

Access to Admirals Clubs, tons of added benefits, and a way to spend towards elite status make this a great option for American Airlines loyalists.

Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^®

Access to Admirals Clubs, tons of added benefits, and a way to spend towards elite status make this a great option for American Airlines loyalists.

Welcome Offer

Earn 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage^® bonus miles after $7,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.

70,000 miles

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$980

Annual Fee

$595

APR

19.99% to 28.99% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The AAdvantage Executive World Elite card is a must-have for frequent American Airlines flyers who want Admirals Club lounge access, to earn more miles on their daily expenses, and a fast-track to American Airlines AAdvantage elite status.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Earn 10x miles on eligible hotels and car rentals booked through aadvantagehotels.com and aadvantagecars.com
• Earn 4x miles on eligible American Airlines purchases, and 5x miles after you spend $150,000 in purchases in a calendar year
• Earn 1x mile and 1 Loyalty Point on all other purchases

Cons

• $595 annual fee
• Doesn’t earn many miles on all other eligible purchases

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage^® bonus miles after $7,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
• Admirals Club^® membership for you and access for up to two guests or immediate family members traveling with you
• No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
• Earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible AAdvantage^® mile earned from purchases
• First checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to 8 companions traveling with you on the same reservation

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.99% to 28.99% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: 

Rewards Center

American Airlines AAdvantage Frequent Flyer Program

Unlike Delta and United which offer multiple credit card options for access to their lounges, American Airlines offers only one — the AAdvantage Executive World Elite card.

By simply holding the card, you and up to 2 traveling companions can access every American Airlines Admirals Club and American’s partner lounges worldwide when you fly with American Airlines or one of its partners. Given that there are now 50 Admirals Clubs locations, you’re likely to find one in many domestic airports that American services.

Further, the card offers perks like free checked bags for you and up to 8 traveling companions, priority boarding, 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases, and a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit.

Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Globe™ Mastercard^®

Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Globe™ Mastercard^®

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

The AAdvantage Globe card gives you more value on every American Airlines flight and helps you qualify for elite status.

Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Globe™ Mastercard^®

The AAdvantage Globe card gives you more value on every American Airlines flight and helps you qualify for elite status.

Welcome Offer

Eligible new cardmembers can earn 90,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $5,000 within the first four months of account opening.    

90,000 miles

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$1,260

Annual Fee

$350

APR

19.99% – 29.99% Variable

Why We Like This Card

The AAdvantage Globe card is an excellent option for American Airlines frequent flyers who want a card that offers benefits on every American Airlines flight and makes it easier to qualify for American Airlines elite status.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 6x miles on eligible AAdvantage Hotels bookings
• 3x miles on American Airlines purchases
• 2x miles at restaurants, including takeout and delivery

Cons

• $350 annual fee
• Doesn’t earn transferable rewards

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Eligible new cardmembers can earn 90,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $5,000 within the first four months of account opening.
• 6x AAdvantage^® miles on eligible AAdvantage Hotels™ bookings.
• 3x AAdvantage^® miles on American Airlines purchases.
• 2x AAdvantage^® miles at restaurants, including takeout and delivery.
• 2x AAdvantage^® miles on Rides and Rails™ purchases, including taxis, ride-shares, and public transit.
• 1x AAdvantage^® mile on all other purchases.
• 1 Loyalty Point toward AAdvantage status for every 1 eligible AAdvantage mile earned from qualifying purchases.
• No mileage cap, the earning potential is unlimited.
• Get 4 Admirals Club^® Globe™ lounge passes annually, each valid for 24 hours, and enjoy access to nearly 50 Admirals Club^® lounges worldwide.
• Receive an Annual Companion Certificate with every card renewal, redeemable for $99 plus taxes and fees, which is eligible for a single round-trip qualifying domestic flight in Main Cabin.
• Earn up to $100 inflight purchase credits when using your card on American Airlines flights.
• First checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for the primary cardmember and up to 8 traveling companions on the same reservation.
• Enjoy Group 5 boarding on American Airlines flights for the primary cardmember and up to 8 traveling companions on the same reservation.
• Receive up to $120 Global Entry^® or TSA PreCheck^® credit every four years.
• Cardmembers receive 5,000 Loyalty Points after every 4 qualifying American Airlines flights, for up to 15,000 additional Loyalty Points each qualification year.
• Earn up to $100 annual Splurge Credit℠ with a choice of up to two of the following: eligible AAdvantage Hotels™ bookings, 1stDibs, Future Personal Training and Live Nation^®.
• Earn up to $30 in statement credits on each eligible trip with Turo, up to $240 in credits each calendar year.
• No foreign transaction fees
• $350 annual fee
• Various travel and shopping protections

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.99% – 29.99% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: $0

For those who don’t need or want unlimited access to Admirals Club lounges, the AAdvantage Globe card is worth considering. The card provides 4 Admirals Club Globe passes annually, which can be used solely by the cardholder or the cardholder and one or more guests (the cardholder and each guest will require 1 pass, so if they brought 1 guest with them 2 times a year, that would use up the 4 passes). The cardholder must be present when a pass is being used; they cannot gift it to someone else.

Additional perks and benefits of the AAdvantage Globe card include an annual American Airlines Companion Certificate, first checked bag free on domestic flights, travel protections like enhanced trip cancellation and trip interruption and lost or damaged luggage, up to $100 back in statement credits for inflight purchases each year, up to $100 annual Splurge Credit, no foreign transaction fees, and Flight Streak, which can make reaching elite status easier.

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

The Citi Strata Elite card is a great option if you’re looking for a card with Admirals Club lounge access that earns flexible rewards. The card earns Citi ThankYou points, which can be transferred to 20 hotel and airline loyalty programs – including American AAdvantage.

Citi Strata Elite cardholders get 4 annual Admirals Club lounge passes, which is ideal for those who aren’t exclusively loyal to American Airlines and won’t need lounge access continuously. Of course, the card’s $595 annual fee is the same as the AAdvantage Executive World Elite card, which offers unlimited lounge access.

So why opt for the Citi Strata Elite card? Because it offers a larger welcome bonus offer and higher rewards on travel and everyday purchases. Cardholders earn 12x points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through Citi Travel; 6X points on air travel booked through Citi; 6X points on restaurants on Citi Nights purchases (Friday and Saturday between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. ET), 3X points at restaurants at all other times, and 1.5X on all other eligible purchases.

The Citi Strata Elite also includes Priority Pass Select membership, along with up $700 in annual statement credits.

Other Ways To Access Admirals Clubs

Aside from holding the AAdvantage Executive World Elite card, here are the other ways that you can access Admirals Club lounges.

Day Pass

Select Admirals Club lounges sell day passes that allow you to access the lounge without a membership, so long as you are flying on a flight operated by American or one of its partners. The price of the day pass is $79 or 7,900 miles.

Paid Membership

As with most airline lounges, American Airlines allows you to purchase a yearly membership to the Admirals Club at the following rates based on your AAdvantage status level with the airline.

As you can tell from the chart, unless you have ConciergeKey status, purchasing Admirals Club access is going to cost you anywhere from $750 to $850 each year. In our view, it feels silly to pay this price when you could pay $595 for the AAdvantage Executive World Elite card, which is much less, and still receive Admirals Club access along with all of the other perks the card offers to boot.

When you consider the mileage price the value proposition is even worse. We value American Airlines miles at 1.4 cents per mile, so redeeming them at a rate of 1 cent per mile towards a lounge membership would be a suboptimal use of those hard-earned miles in our opinion.

Elite Status

If you hold Platinum status or above in the AAdvantage loyalty program, you can access Admirals Clubs no matter what class of service you are flying on, as long as it is a long-haul international flight operated by American Airlines or one of its partners.  These include American’s signature Flagship Lounges that provide an elevated experience above the standard Admirals Club.

Further, those who have Oneworld Sapphire via an airline other than AA can access Admirals Club lounges on eligible long-haul itineraries, and those with Oneworld Emerald status can access business and first class lounges like AA’s Flagship Lounges.

Hot Tip: Check out our guide on how to get American Airlines AAdvantage elite status!

Premium Cabin Tickets

Lastly, if you are flying in a premium cabin on a qualifying international American or Oneworld partner flight, or a premium cabin on a qualifying transcontinental flight between NYC and Boston to Los Angeles or San Francisco, you’re able to access both Admirals Club and Flagship First lounges.

Final Thoughts

While it is true that you have multiple options for achieving Admirals Club access, in our view, the best option by far is simply holding the AAdvantage Executive World Elite card. The annual fee can be justified from the membership alone.