| Card Details and Application Link |
|---|
AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite MasterCard 70K Miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate 70K miles after 1st purchase and paying the annual fee within 90 days $99 Annual Fee Click Here to Apply This is NOT an affiliate offer. We always present the best offer even when it means less revenue for Frequent Miler Recent better offer: Up to 75K: 60K miles after first purchase and 15K after adding an authorized user and making one purchase on that card [Expired 2/24/24] Earning rate: 2X AA ✦ 1X everywhere else Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Barclays. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Earn $99 + tax domestic companion certificate with $20K membership year spend. Noteworthy perks: First checked bag free ✦ Preferred boarding for the primary cardmember and up to 4 companions traveling on the same reservation ✦ 25% off in-flight purchases ✦ $25 wifi credit per membership year ✦ Flight cents: round up purchases to earn more miles |
Overview
The AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite MasterCard is a decent choice for anyone who wants an AAdvantage card that offers free checked bags, but you may prefer one of the three other similarly priced AAdvantage cards on the market. See the card comparison section of this post for details.
Perks
The AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite MasterCard offers the following perks:
- No foreign transaction fee
- 25% inflight food and beverage discount
- $25 annual inflight Wifi Credit
- Free first checked bag for you and up to 4 travel companions on the same reservation
- Preferred boarding for you and up to 4 travel companions on the same reservation
- $99 + tax domestic companion certificate after $20K membership year spend
- Travel protections: Travel Accident Insurance, Trip Cancellation and Interruption coverage, Baggage Delay Insurance, and Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver.
Earn Miles and Loyalty Points
This card offers 2 redeemable miles per dollar for American Airlines spend. Regardless of the category of spend, the card earns just 1 Loyalty Point per dollar.
| Card Info Name and Earning Rate (no offer) |
|---|
Earning rate: 2X AA ✦ 1X everywhere else |
About AAdvantage Elite Status
This card earns both redeemable miles and Loyalty Points through spend. You’ll earn just one Loyalty Point per dollar spent even if the card offers extra redeemable miles. For example, if you spend $300 on an American Airlines flight where this card offers 2x miles, you’ll earn 600 redeemable miles and 300 Loyalty Points.
Below you’ll find a summary of the benefits you can earn from Loyalty Points. Loyalty Points are earned from March through February each year.
| AAdvantage elite status | Gold | Platinum | Platinum Pro | Executive Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loyalty Points Required | 40K | 75K | 125K | 200K |
| Mileage Bonus | 40% | 60% | 80% | 120% |
| Preferred Seating | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Main Cabin Extra Seating | Upgrade at Check In | Y | Y | Y |
| Domestic First Class Upgrade | 24 hour window | 48 hour window | 72 hour window | 100 hour window |
| Upgrade on Alaska Airlines | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Free checked bags | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| OneWorld Status | Ruby: Access to biz class check-in, preferred seating | Sapphire: Access to OneWorld Business Class lounges | Emerald: Access to OneWorld First and Business Class lounges | |
In addition to earning elite status from Loyalty Points, the following benefits can be earned at various spend-tiers:
| Loyalty Points Earned | Loyalty Point Rewards |
|---|---|
| 15K | Automatic Benefit: Group 5 Boarding Choose 1: • Priority privileges & Group 4 boarding for a trip • 5 Preferred seat coupons • 1,000 Loyalty Points |
| 40K | Automatic Benefit: AAdvantage Gold Status |
| 60K | Automatic Benefits: • 20% Loyalty Point Bonus (AA Vacations, SimplyMiles, AAdvantage eShopping, AAdvantage Dining, and AA Hotels) • Avis Preferred Plus |
| 75K | Automatic Benefit: AAdvantage Platinum Status |
| 100K | Automatic Benefits: • 30% Loyalty Point Bonus (AA Vacations, SimplyMiles, AAdvantage eShopping, AAdvantage Dining, and AA Hotels) • Avis President's Club |
| 125K | Automatic Benefit: AAdvantage Platinum Pro Status |
| 175K | Choose 1: • 2 systemwide upgrades • 20K bonus AA miles (25K w/ AA credit card) • 6 Admirals Club One-Day Passes • $200 Trip Credit ($250 w/ AA credit card) • Carbon offset • $250 donation to select nonprofit organization • 15% award rebate • 2 gifts of AAdvantage Gold status • 35K AA miles towards a Mastercard Priceless Experience • 5,000 Loyalty Points |
| 200K | Automatic Benefit: AAdvantage Executive Platinum Status |
| 250K | Choose 2: • 2 systemwide upgrades • 20K bonus AA miles (30K w/ AA credit card) • 6 Admirals Club One-Day Passes • Admirals Club membership (requires 2 choices • $200 Trip Credit ($250 w/ AA credit card) • Carbon offset • $250 donation to select nonprofit organization • 2 gifts of AAdvantage Gold status • Bang & Olufsen product (requires 2 choices) • 1 Flagship lounge single visit pass (2 passes w/ AA credit card) • 35K AA miles towards a Mastercard Priceless Experience • 15,000 Loyalty Points |
| 400K | Choose 2: • 1 systemwide upgrade • 25K bonus AA miles • Admirals Club membership (requires 2 choices) • $200 Trip Credit ($250 w/ AA credit card) • Carbon offset • Gift of AAdvantage Platinum status • Bang & Olufsen product (requires 2 choices) • 2 Flagship® Lounge Single Visit Passes • 1 Flagship First Dining pass • 40K AA miles towards a Mastercard Priceless Experience |
| 550K | Choose 2: • 1 systemwide upgrade • 25K bonus AA miles • Admirals Club membership (requires 2 choices) • $200 Trip Credit ($250 w/ AA credit card) • Carbon offset • Gift of AAdvantage Platinum status • Bang & Olufsen product (requires 2 choices) • 2 Flagship lounge single visit passes • 1 Flagship First Dining pass • 40K AA miles towards a Mastercard Priceless Experience |
| 750K | Choose 2: • 1 systemwide upgrade • 25K bonus AA miles • Admirals Club membership (requires 2 choices) • $200 Trip Credit ($250 w/ AA credit card) • Carbon offset • Gift of AAdvantage Platinum status • Bang & Olufsen product (requires 2 choices) • 2 Flagship lounge single visit passes • 1 Flagship First Dining pass • 40K AA miles towards a Mastercard Priceless Experience |
| 1M | Choose 1: • 4 systemwide upgrades • Carbon offset • Gift of AAdvantage Platinum Pro status • Up to 100K miles back on award redemptions • 150K AA miles towards a Mastercard Priceless Experience |
| 3M | Choose 1: • 6 systemwide upgrades • Carbon offset • Gift of AAdvantage Executive Platinum status • Up to 300K miles back on award redemptions • 350K AA miles towards a Mastercard Priceless Experience |
| 5M | Choose 1: • 10 systemwide upgrades • Carbon offset • Gift of AAdvantage Executive Platinum status • Up to 500K miles back on award redemptions • 550K AA miles towards a Mastercard Priceless Experience |
AAdvantage Credit Card Comparison
There are seven different American Airlines AAdvantage credit cards available in the United States which are worth considering (there are also a few additional uninteresting options available only via product changes). All seven share some standard features and perks:
- Issued by Mastercard
- 25% inflight food and beverage discount (except the Silver card which offers $25 back per day)
- Earn 1 AA Loyalty Point per dollar spent (details about Loyalty Points can be found in the Elite Status section of our AA guide).
- No foreign transaction fees
- Free first checked bag and preferred boarding for you plus multiple companions on the same ticket
| Card | Annual Fee | Bonus Categories | Additional Perks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citi AAdvantage MileUp Card | $0 | 2X AA, Grocery | None |
| Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select | $99 | 2X AA, Gas, Dining | $125 AA Flight Discount with $20K membership year spend |
| Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red | $99 | 2X AA | $99 + tax domestic companion certificate after $20K membership year spend; $25 annual inflight Wifi Credit; |
| Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Silver | $195 | 3X AA, 2X Hotel, Car rental | $25 per day inflight food and beverage credit; $50 annual inflight Wifi credit; Companion certificate good for 2 guests at $99 each (plus taxes and fees) after $20K membership year spend. Up to 15K bonus Loyalty Points: 5K at $20K spend, 5K at $40K spend, and 5K at $50K spend during the status qualification period; $100 Global Entry application fee credit |
| Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive | $595 | 4X or 5X AA, 10X via AA.com/Hotels and AA.com/Cars | Admirals Club membership; 10K Loyalty Points when reaching 50K Loyalty Points during the status qualification period and another 10K when reaching 90K; Up to $120 Avis/Budget rebate per calendar year; Up to $10/Month Grubhub rebate; $100 Global Entry application fee credit |
| CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select | $99 | 2X AA, Gas, Telecom, Car rental | $99 plus taxes domestic companion certificate after $30K membership year spend |
| Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Business | $95 | 2X AA, Office supply, Telecom, Car rental | $99 plus taxes domestic companion certificate after $30K membership year spend. Earn 5% AAdvantage mileage bonus each anniversary. |
AAdvantage Credit Card Offers
Below you’ll find the best public offers for American Airlines credit cards in the United States. See our Best Offers page to see a much wider variety of cards.
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
75K miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate 75K miles after $5K spend in first 5 months$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 Alternate Offer: There is an alternative offer of 30K + $400 credit that can be found when doing a dummy booking on aa.com. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: This card usually has a great welcome bonus, but if you're looking for a card to keep long term, you'll find better options. Earning rate: ✦ 2X AA ✦ 2X certain telecommunications merchants ✦ 2X car rental merchants ✦ 2X gas Card Info: Mastercard World issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Earn $99 plus taxes domestic companion certificate after $30K spend Noteworthy perks: ✦ First checked bag free ✦ Priority Boarding ✦ Save 25% on inflight purchases |
70K Miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate 70K miles after 1st purchase and paying the annual fee within 90 days $99 Annual Fee Recent better offer: Up to 75K: 60K miles after first purchase and 15K after adding an authorized user and making one purchase on that card [Expired 2/24/24] Earning rate: 2X AA ✦ 1X everywhere else Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Barclays. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Earn $99 + tax domestic companion certificate with $20K membership year spend. Noteworthy perks: First checked bag free ✦ Preferred boarding for the primary cardmember and up to 4 companions traveling on the same reservation ✦ 25% off in-flight purchases ✦ $25 wifi credit per membership year ✦ Flight cents: round up purchases to earn more miles |
50K Miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate 50K miles after $2,500 spend in first 3 months $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: 75K miles after $3,500 spend in 3 months (ended 10/14/24) FM Mini Review: Excellent choice for a great intro bonus. Plus it offers the usual collection of perks for flying AA (free checked bag, priority boarding, etc.) Earning rate: 2X restaurants ✦ 2X gas ✦ 2X AA Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: $125 AA Flight Discount with $20K membership year spend Noteworthy perks: ✦ First checked bag free ✦ Priority Boarding ✦ Save 25% on inflight food and beverage purchases |
75K miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate 75K miles after $7,500 spend in first 3 months$595 Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: Good choice for those who need Admirals Club® access and those who value the Loyalty Points boosts at 50K and 90K Loyalty Points earned. Plus, it offers the usual collection of perks for flying AA (free checked bag, priority boarding, etc.) and some handy credits for Avis or Budget rentals and GrubHub. Earning rate: 4X AA ✦ 10X hotels booked through AA.com/Hotels ✦ 10X car rentals booked through AA.com/Cars ✦ 1X everywhere else Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: ✦ First Checked Bag Free ✦ Admirals Club® access for both primary and authorized users ✦ Up to $120 per 12 monthly billing cycles for GrubHub purchases (up to $10 per monthly billing cycle) ✦ Up to $120 back on eligible Avis or Budget prepaid car rentals every calendar year ✦ $10 monthly Lyft credit after you take 3 Lyft rides that calendar month ✦ 10K bonus Loyaty Points after earning 50K Loyalty points through all channels and another 10K bonus Loyalty Points after earning 90K Loyalty Points through all channels ✦ 25% savings on eligible in-flight purchases on American Airlines flights ✦ Up to $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit every 4 years |
15K miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate Earn 15K AA miles after $500 spend in 3 monthsNo Annual Fee FM Mini Review: Not bad for grocery spend if you highly value AA miles Earning rate: 2X grocery ✦ 2X AA ✦ 1X everywhere else Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: Save 25% on inflight food and beverage purchases |
Looks like the 70k offer is expired
Do you keep the Aviator Red long term? Or apply, get bonus, and downgrade or cancel?
Can I do this Barclays AA offer even if I already have a Barclays AA card?
I have a friend that was hit with some situations that caused his credit score to take a beating. Are any of these cards an option for someone with a poor to average score?
Yes, but I probably wouldn’t recommend starting with Barclays. They tend to be a bit more conservative. With poor to average credit, I would probably recommend starting with Capital One (they tend to be easier on approvals for people with credit blemishes / limited credit history, though I’d probably start with something like a SavorOne — I wouldn’t expect to get approved for like a Venture / Venture X necessarily) OR Amex pay-over-time cards (the Green, Gold, or Platinum). Those cards traditionally required paying off the balance in full every billing cycle, which presents less risk to the card issuer than a revolving balance. These days, you can opt in to pay over time, but the issuer retains the ability not to let you do that — so, again, likely easier approval because they are taking on less risk than a revolving credit line.
That’s where I’d start and I’d build from there. Amex actually has a “know if you’re approved before you apply” feature that you’ll find on the consumer card application pages where they’ll let you know if you’ll be approved before the do a hard inquiry (if you choose to continue of course there will likely be a hard inquiry).
Note that if your friend has “burned” Amex in the past (i.e. claimed bankruptcy / didn’t pay the Amex bill), my understanding is that Amex won’t let them back in until Amex has been paid (even if it’s an old and no longer collectible debt). Essentially, my understanding is that they blacklist you until they get your money.
On this topic, Doctor of Credit really has the most extensive resources in the blogosphere, so I’d recommend seeking out more info there.
[…] Frequent Miler – AAdvantage® Aviator Red World Elite MasterCard® […]
How would I find my own referral link if I want to send to P2?
When you’re logged in to your account with Barclays, click the ‘Offers’ button. If you’re targeted for being able to refer to this offer, you’ll see it there.
Thanks, it looks like they don’t give the offers to people who only make the one required expense for the SUB 🙂
Did you get the card during this current increased bonus period? If so, I think that might be why – I think the people who were able to refer to it had the card before the 60k + 15k offer went live.
No, I got it last June when the sub was 70k and only required making one purchase and paying the annual fee
Is this American aviator offer for 75k still available ? This link states 75k but when I look up random Barclay 75K offers online only the 60,000 offer comes up and it looks like this 75K offer is expired? Not worth applying is 75k is not good? Confused on how to tell.
Just click the green click here to apply button on this page and it takes you directly to the 75k offer. It’s 60k after first purchase plus 15k after you add an authorized user and they make a purchase.
If you Google, I’m sure you’ll find links to other offers. Our site has a policy to only list the best publicly available offer, whether or not that pays us a commission, which differentiates Frequent Miler from other sites. As a general rule of thumb, you’ll often find better offers here than you’ll find on other random sites.
Link does open the application page but when I click apply nothing happens. Tried different browsers and incognito as well. Can you confirm if application is successful.
I’m afraid we don’t have access to your application – you’d need to contact Barclays in order to find out if your application was successful.
I understand but when i click “apply now” on the final page it doesn’t go further to next screen ( application status/review etc. page. ). I wonder if its a glitch in their system.
Update: called Barclays and they had no clue. They said they have had issues with online applications. Finally was able to get through on different browser. Application is pending review. Are instant approvals common/typical?
Thank you for the post. I applied using the link and got approved.
I could only open the Aviator link by right clicking and opening an incognito window.
I just used the link and it works perfectly fine
my annual fee just hit for the Barclays World Elite Aviator card. I don’t see any benefits worth paying the fee for as other cards I have already give the same benefits (i.e. I have priority pass through Capital One Venture). I don’t think its worth keeping this one. Am I missing something? Is there a suggested no fee card to downgrade to? Thanks
Links don’t work. Have tried though here and other sites and nothing comes up. i guess offer not available now.
Not sure what you mean. I just clicked the link and it went right to the application page.
I guess it is just me. I click on link and get unable to connect to server. I have tried multiple browsers, incognito and using vpn with same result for past 24 hours. also tried on link from other sites with same result.
Are you outside the United States perhaps?
I’ve tried in multiple browsers on multiple devices, both mobile and desktop, and I haven’t received any error. It just goes straight through to the landing page. Seems perfectly fine.
In USA and just tried on my iPhone with same result. Not sure what to make of this.
same thing for me. Link not working…. been trying for days. I thought the deal is dead.
Is there any lifetime language on the Aviator Red card? Since I’m not able to find any I’m hoping that’s good news for me
Yes, there is, but it is meaningless. My wife and I were both approved despite having had the card before. With Barclays, if you get approved, you will get the bonus.
are you sure? What if you do get approved and after meeting the spending requirements, they deny the bonus? I am asking coz I have had the card prior to 2 years and earned the bonus. Have you already received the bonus again?
I have never in my years in this game heard of a data point of someone being approved for a card, meeting the spending requirements, and later denied the bonus with any issuer other than Amex (apart from perhaps someone shut down for MSing too hard during the minimum spending requirements I guess). So no, I can’t say for “sure” that you’ll get the bonus if you’ve had the card before, but I can say that if you didn’t get the bonus you would be the first report I’ve ever heard of it. I haven’t yet received the card to do the spend and pay the annual fee, but I see a bonus tracker in my account that shows the 60K after first purchase and 15K after an AU makes a purchase.
Perfect! The terms said otherwise and hence was confused. Thanks for clarifying. Bonus tracker is a strong indicator.
Hi Nick, Can you update if your bonus got posted ?
I only just got charged the annual fee yesterday. I just paid it. I assume it’ll take a while for the miles to post, but the welcome bonus tracker shows the steps I’ve completed (made first purchase, added, AU, etc). I assume it’ll update in a day or two showing the annual fee has been paid. I’ll let you know, but I seriously am almost as sure that I’ll get the bonus as I am that the sun will rise tomorrow.
Thanks Nick. I went with your word and got approved for the card again after 6 yrs.
Can confirm that my latest CC statement shows that they’ve sent the full 75K to AA.
Thank you for the follow-up
Does AU add to 5/24? I can’t take the risk of going over…
Looks like the Aviator Red link is down.
Thanks, I’ve updated that. Unfortunately, it’s only a 50K offer now.