Are you an Alaska Airlines loyalist? Here's why you need the Citi / AAdvantage Executive

When thinking about cobranded airline cards, it's easy to only think about the cards from airlines you frequently fly with. After all, some of the key benefits of airline cards include priority boarding, free checked bags and a faster path to elite status with the affiliated airline.

I often encourage people to think beyond a card's airline or hotel partner when deciding whether it makes sense for them.

Take the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees), for example. This card provides a complimentary Admirals Club membership to help cardholders justify its $595 annual fee. On the surface, it seems like that would only be useful for American Airlines' biggest fans.

But an Admirals Club membership offers something extra: complimentary access to Alaska Airlines lounges. Here's how Alaska loyalists can maximize this card without ever setting foot on an American Airlines flight.

Alaska Airlines lounge access

Through the Admirals Club membership you receive with your AAdvantage Executive, you'll enjoy complimentary access to Alaska lounges whenever you're flying on a same-day American, Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines flight. Note that this access isn't extended to authorized users, and you must have your physical card with you to enter.

A standard Alaska Airlines lounge membership costs $595 a year, the same as this card's annual fee. By putting that money toward the AAdvantage Executive instead of a lounge membership, you'll enjoy Alaska lounge access plus all of this card's other benefits.

Regardless of whether you're flying with American, Alaska or a Oneworld airline, you can also get into Admirals Club lounges for no added fee.

To access partner lounges with just an Alaska Airlines lounge membership, you'd have to pay $795 each year for the Alaska Lounge+ membership, $200 more than what the AAdvantage Executive charges.

While an Alaska Lounge+ membership provides access to a few lounges that the AAdvantage Executive doesn't, such as three United Clubs, the majority of its partner lounges overlap with what you can access with this card.

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Both an Alaska Lounge+ membership and the AAdvantage Executive provide access to The Qantas Club and Admirals Club locations. I see no reason to pay $200 more each year for a sliver of extra lounges to access.

You can book Alaska Airlines flights with American Airlines miles

The AAdvantage Executive earns American Airlines miles. While that might initially seem useless to an Alaska loyalist, it's actually the opposite.

American Airlines miles can easily be used to book Alaska Airlines flights, meaning you may never even have to step on American Airlines metal to get more value out of this card beyond lounge access. That said, there are some great itineraries that blend Alaska and American Airlines flights.

For example, you could book a one-way business-class ticket from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Heathrow Airport (LHR) for 57,500 miles plus $5.60 in taxes and fees. If you were to book this itinerary with cash, you'd pay $3,483. That's a value of 6 cents per point.

If you often fly domestically, there's plenty of availability there, too. You could book a nonstop economy flight on Alaska via American from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) for 12,500 miles plus $5.60 in taxes and fees.

If you were to book with cash, this flight would cost $304, netting you 2.4 cents per point in value. That's great for a domestic economy flight.

To learn more about what American Airlines miles are worth, check out our full guide to the AAdvantage program.

How to earn American Airlines miles

You can earn 70,000 bonus miles after spending $7,000 in the first three months from account opening with the AAdvantage Executive. That's a ton of miles to use toward Alaska flights, or even an American flight or two if you find a great deal.

Aside from its welcome bonus, this card offers simple earning rates to help you rack up more American miles. You'll earn 10 miles per dollar spent on hotels booked through aadvantagehotels.com and car rentals booked through aadvantagecars.com. Plus, you can earn 4 miles per dollar spent on other American Airlines purchases and 1 mile per dollar spent on everything else.

If you spend $150,000 a year or more on this card, you'll earn 5 miles per dollar spent on American Airlines purchases instead of 4 through the end of the calendar year.

While I generally don't recommend using this card for non-American Airlines purchases, if earning miles toward award flights on Alaska is at the top of your priority list, it may make sense to pull this card out for certain purchases. That's especially true if you're making a purchase that doesn't fall under a bonus category covered by one of your other cards.

Related: How I use Seats.aero every day to find the best airline award availability in seconds

Other useful benefits

Despite being an American Airlines-branded card, the AAdvantage Executive has additional benefits you can use without booking a flight.

If you often rent cars on your vacations, you'll enjoy this card's rental car statement credit. You can earn up to $120 back every year on eligible prepaid rentals from Avis or Budget. Just keep in mind that you'll have to book your rental online to receive the credit.

If renting a car isn't something you usually do, this card can still help offset your transportation costs. You can receive up to $120 back each year for Lyft rides. You have to take three rides to receive your $10 monthly credit, so this benefit is best for those who naturally use Lyft multiple times a month.

Finally, you can receive up to $10 each billing statement for Grubhub purchases. This is great for anyone who likes to order takeout, even just once in a while. To make your credit stretch further, order pickup instead of delivery.

While these credits are lifestyle-dependent, they can still provide outsize value for anyone who can easily take advantage of them.

An easy credit for any traveler to use is this card's TSA PreCheck/Global Entry application fee credit. Even if you already have TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, you can use your AAdvantage Executive to pay for someone else's application.

Finally, this card offers a range of important travel protections. You don't have to fly with American Airlines to use these protections, so they can help safeguard your next flight with Alaska. Trip cancellation and interruption protection, lost baggage insurance, and trip delay protection are a few important benefits that you can rely on.

Bottom line

To get Alaska lounge access with a standard membership, you'd have to pay $595 a year. For the same price, you can get Alaska, Admirals Club and Qantas lounge access; American Airlines miles to use for Alaska flights; statement credits; and travel protections with the AAdvantage Executive.

It's a no-brainer for any Alaska loyalist to seriously consider applying for the AAdvantage Executive. It's a great way to supercharge your next Alaska flight, especially with its welcome bonus. Plus, if you're ever curious about trying American Airlines, this card is ready in your wallet to help you out.

To learn more, check out our full review of the Citi / AAdvantage Executive.

Apply here: Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard