Can I downgrade my Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard?

The Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard is a popular choice among frequent flyers of American Airlines, as it offers generous travel-related bonuses. Although this card has a hefty $450 annual fee, many cardholders are still willing to pay it, as this grants them and two guests full access to Admirals Club lounges.

Aside from this exclusive benefit, the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard also has no foreign transaction fee, and cardholders earn 2 AAdvantage miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 AAdvantage mile for every $1 spent on other purchases. This card also allows cardholders to check one bag for free on domestic American Airlines itineraries.

The Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard also offers a sign-up bonus of 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $5,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening, and cardholders can earn 10,000 AAdvantage Elite Qualifying Miles after spending $40,000 in purchases within the calendar year.

How do I downgrade my Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard?

Despite all these bonuses, cardholders may want to downgrade to a card with a lower annual fee. You can downgrade your Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard, although you need to have had your card for at least a year in order to do so. Although most issuers only allow you to downgrade within a family of cards, Citi may allow you to downgrade to cards outside the original card’s family, but the downgrade options may be limited.

One possible downgrade option is the American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Mastercard, which has no annual fee but doesn’t come with the travel-related bonuses you can get from the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard, meaning no free checked bag, no lounge access and it has a foreign transaction fee. However, the AAdvantage miles rewards system works the same except you also earn 2 AAdvantage miles for each $1 spent at grocery stores, including grocery delivery services. It also offers a sign-up bonus of 10,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles and $50 statement credit after making $500 in purchases within the first three months of account opening, along with 25% back on inflight food and beverage purchases when you use your card on American Airlines flights.

To downgrade your Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard, you can call the number on the back of your card (1-800-374-9700) and ask for options. You will then find out which downgrade options are available if there are any.