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The Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red MasterCard has is back with a very solid welcome offer of 70,000 miles after making only one purchase, 10K better than what’s otherwise available (without going through a referral). While this new offer does charge a $99 annual fee, the additional miles should more than make up for it. (h/t: DDG)
The Offer & Key Card Details
| Card Offer and Details |
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60K Miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate 60K 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 |
Quick Thoughts
This new offer is just shy of the best that we’ve seen for time on the Aviator Red, and it awards 10,000 more bonus miles than the previous public offer – and one purchase is as low as it gets for minimum spend. Our current reasonable redemption values have AAdvantage Miles at 1.3cpp, giving this offer a total value of ~$800-900…a great return for effectively no spend.
For those playing the AA Loyalty Games for elite status, it’s worth noting that the bonus miles you earn here will not earn a corresponding number of Loyalty Points. However, your base spend on the card does earn you 1 Loyalty Point per dollar and so cards like these can still help you towards AAdvantage status (although at sub-optimal return).
Barclays Application Tips
- 6/24 Rule: Similar to Chase, Barclays has a rule that you may not be approved for a new card if you have opened 6 or more cards (with any bank) within the past 24 months. However, this rule is inconsistently applied and there are data points of people being approved despite being over 6/24.
- 24 Month Rule: Barclays also has a rule that you can only get a welcome offer on a card for a second time if it's been more than 24 months since you last received a welcome offer on the same card. Like the 6/24 rule, this seems to be inconsistently applied and some cards display the following language: “You may not be eligible for this offer if you currently have or previously had an account with us in this Program.”
- No Duplicate Cards: Barclays won't let you have two of the same card. In order to reapply, you'll need to cancel the card first. It's generally thought that you need to wait at least six months after cancelling before attempting to reapply.
- Velocity Limits: It's generally thought that Barclays will usually only approve you for a new personal card every 6 months. However, there are examples of people being able to move faster.
- Card Limits: Barclays doesn't have a strict limit on the amount of cards that you can have, but it does place limits on the total amount of credit that they will issue you across all cards. It's also thought that the bank will use your spending on other Barclays cards as one of its approval considerations.
- Application Status: Call (888) 232-0780 to check your application status or use this link for personal cards and this link for business cards.
- Reconsideration: If denied, call (866) 408-4064 and ask for your application to be reconsidered.
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Expired now
P1 and P2 applied in Oct 2023 and then downgraded in Oct 2024, should we try one last time?
I applied for a 75000 one during a flight about 4 weeks ago and got denied because they said it’s been too recent since I got
my first Barclay Hawaiian card which was in October 2024. When do you think it’s safe to re-apply?
Thanks for the reminder! Applied on Feb 2nd and got put under review. Got a call next morning (888-232-0776) where the rep asked some basic verification questions and I was approved in less than 10 mins. I’m 5/24 with this card.
Thanks–applied 2/1 and got the “under review” sign. Hopefully it’ll get approved with the 70k.
Same thing for me.
800 FICO score…
Thanks Tim, I meant to apply for this because this is the last year for Barclays. But missed the other day.
Great, glad to stuck around for you! 🙂
just applied on Feb 2 and went into pending review. I just got the Hawaiian Barclay card in December, so this may be a bridge too far. But gotta give it a try. 2/24 before this application, but probably 6 or 7 hard pulls.
The 70K point offer is still posted and resolving. I went ahead and applied yesterday (Feb 1st) and my application went into under review status. I received a voicemail this morning and was told to call back (888-232-0776), which I did (after checking to see if the number was legit). They approved me for the card and verified that I was eligible for the 70K point offer.
Does the Aviator Red has a downgrade option with no annual fee after first yr ? Or should I close it out?
There is an Aviator Blue card with no AF – not sure if it’s still available via product change or not. With Citi planning to buy the Barclays book of AA cards I’d try to keep it around via downgrade rather than close it to have another Citi card in the future. As it stands now you can convert Citi AA cards to TYP earning cards like Double Cash or Custom Cash, which is probably a better way to get them than wasting a 5/24 slot on opening one with a fairly low SUB.
Thanks for the reminder! Wanted P2 to apply soon and wondered if the 70K offer might end with the month – glad I saw this. Instant approval at 6/24.
P2 got denied at 6/24. Recon said there was nothing they can do because too many accounts. Barclays is such a crapshoot
They are. P2 has never had their own Barclays card but has been an AU on one of my cards for over 5 years (an old Uber card converted to a no annual fee Barclays View). Not sure if that helps. I was approved for Hawaiian personal & biz a few months ago also at 6/24 but with multiple other Barclays accounts open.
Very timely @tim… I’ve been meaning to apply for this for a long time, got your blog post just now, applied and was approved!! You guys at FM are literally amazing!! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO
Does Barclays automatically credit the $25 Wi-Fi fee? Does it take awhile?
[…] the Barclays AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® that leads to an increased offer. HT to Frequent Miler for finding the link. Citi is offering an increased bonus on the Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ […]
Literally just opened this card for 60k on Monday and then the offer rose to 70k on Friday. Was anyone ever successful at getting Barclays to match a newer offer? Two reps said no. Also, I was approved for the Hawaiian card the same day. Any dp’s of Barclays combining the inquiries to only be one hard pull? Thanks a bunch
Nope. They ridiculed me for trying to match up to the improved offer a while back.
Closed the Red about 3 months ago and is still showing in my account profile as closed. I heard that if you do get approved for a new card, you WILL get the offer. Wondering if because the old Red account stills show up in my profile, I’ll get auto-rejected? Any DP’s of having their card closed under 6 months, still showing as closed in their profile and getting approved?
You can try but super unlikely. Plus hard pull.
Also, Barclay’s online application for any card has experienced very squirrelly errors that phone reps acknowledge are occurring. On this particular card, multiple reports from friends of bad mojo. On my most recent Barclays card application, different card, repeated errors and ultimately did phone application (approved).
If you’re going to apply, I suggest a pho e application.
Thanks.. Anyone know how long before the closed card disappears off the profile?
DP: Website indicates I have an account, neither approval nor rejection. It asks me to login and use my account. Card was closed in August. Profile still showing the card closed.