One benefit of the Barclays-issued American AAdvantage Aviator cards (including both the AAdvantage Aviator Red and invite-only AAdvantage Aviator Silver) is a companion certificate to bring a companion or two for $99 plus taxes each on a domestic economy class round trip ticket after you spend $20,000 in a cardmember year (the Aviator Red card gets one companion with $20K cardmember year spend vs two companions for the Aviator Silver card with the same spend). I completed $20,000 in purchases on my Aviator Silver card ahead of my card anniversary date in early October and just finally received my companion certificate. This post will eventually become a complete guide to the certificate, but I wanted to get a post out with some key details and first impressions (and take any reader feedback/suggestions into consideration for future updates). Since we expect this benefit to continue even when the Barclays Aviator Silver card transitions to Citi in early 2026, knowing about this benefit should be valuable long-term.
Aviator Companion Certificate requirements
In order to earn a companion certificate with an American AAdvantage Aviator card, you’ll need to spend $20,000 on the card within a cardmember year and then renew your card and pay the annual fee.
If you have the Aviator Red card and you spend $20,000 on purchases in your cardmember year and you renew the card, you’ll earn a companion certificate good for one companion at a cost of $99 plus government taxes and fees.
If you have the Aviator Silver card (like I do) and you spend $20,000 on purchases in your cardmember year and you renew the card, you’ll earn a companion certificate good for two companions at a cost of $99 plus government taxes and fees.
The Aviator Silver additionally offers the opportunity to earn 5,000 bonus Loyalty Points after $20,000 in purchases. However, it is important to note that the spending window for the bonus loyalty points and the spending window for the companion certificate are not the same.
The companion certificate benefit is based on spend during your cardmember year.
The Loyalty Point boost benefit is based on spend during the elite year.
In my case, I earned the companion certificate, but not the Loyalty Point boost since my spending was split over two separate elite years. Keep in mind that American’s elite year runs from March 1st through February 28/29 each year.
My card’s anniversary date is October 2nd, so I had from October 2, 2023 and October 1, 2024 to complete $20,000 in purchases in order to earn a companion certificate. However, I essentially made ~$10,000 in purchases between October 2, 2023 and February 28, 2024 and then ~$10,000 in purchases between March 1, 2024 and October 1, 2024. That meant that I haven’t earned a Loyalty Point boost since I haven’t yet completed $20,000 in purchases during a single elite year. I mention this for anyone planning out spend who wants to double-dip and earn both — you’ll want the $20K spend to occur during your account anniversary year and during a single elite year in that case.
When does your Aviator companion certificate post?
The short story is that ours posted after the second statement after the annual fee was billed.
Officially, the landing page for the Aviator Red card says that you need to keep your account open for 45 days beyond your renewal date and materials for the Aviator Silver card said the same. In practice, you get an email a few days before your anniversary confirming that you’ve met the spending requirement and that your companion certificate will be deposited in your AAdvantage account 8-10 weeks after your account anniversary date. In reality, my certificate took a little longer than that to post.
As an example, here’s my timeline:
- October 2, 2023: Barclays Aviator Red card opened
- February 1, 2023: Upgraded Aviator Red to Aviator Silver. Had already completed some spend on the card. All spend (both before and after upgrade) counted toward the $20K threshold.
- September 30, 2024: Email arrived confirming I’ve met the spend and saying that the certificate would be deposited in my AAdvantage account 8-10 weeks after October 2, 2024 provided that I kept the account open and in good standing.
- October 2, 2024: First anniversary passed
- October 31, 2024: $199 Aviator Silver annual fee was billed to my account
- November 15, 2024: Statement cut that included $199 annual fee charge with payment due December 12, 2024. I paid in full.
- December 15, 2024: Statement cut
- December 16, 2024: Received regular monthly “Your statement is ready” email
- December 17, 2024: Received an email from American Airlines AAdvantage confirming that my companion certificate was added to my account
To add a bit more precision, I had been checking my AAdvantage account frequently for the companion certificate. I last looked at my AAdvantage account shortly after midnight Eastern time on December 17, 2024 and did not have the certificate in my account. About 3 hours later, the email came in noting that the certificate was deposited into my account.
My wife also opened the Barclays Aviator Red and upgraded to the Silver on the same timeline and her certificate came through timestamped 5 minutes later than mine.
I believe that the certificate probably doesn’t come until your second statement after the annual fee to be sure that you have paid that fee and kept the card open beyond the cutoff to cancel and get an annual fee refund before they give you the certificate.
For what it’s worth, 10 weeks from October 2nd would be December 11th. Forty-five days after my anniversary date would have been November 16th, but 45 days after my annual fee was charged on October 31st is closer in that it would be December 15th — the second statement cut date after the annual fee was billed. In reality, the benefit didn’t show up in my AAdvantage account until two days after that.
Aviator Companion Certificate Key Terms
For a full list of terms, see this page. I’ll highlight a few that you’ll definitely want to know:
- No upgrades are allowed on tickets issued using a certificate
- Reservations must be booked in L, M, N, Q, S, V, G or O inventory
- Both the fare-paying passenger and the companion(s) must be booked in the same booking code on the same itinerary. In other words, if you’re bringing two companions, there need to be 3 seats available in a single qualifying fare class.
- You can not book with your certificate online. Reservations must be made by calling American Airlines Meeting Services at 800-433-1790.
- Companions cost $99 each plus $37.23 to $55.83 in government taxes and fees based on itinerary, for each round-trip qualifying economy fare ticket for up to two companions when an individual round trip qualifying economy fare ticket is purchased by and for the primary cardmember using the AAdvantage® Aviator® Silver World Elite Mastercard®
- Only the primary cardholder can use the certificate and both companions must come on the same trip (you can’t use it two separate times).
- The certificate is not transferable and is not refundable. If you cancel a ticket purchased with a companion certificate, you do not get the certificate back.
- Tickets must conform to the advance purchase rules of the applicable fare used or be purchased at least 48 hours prior to departure, whichever is the most restrictive.
- The individuals using the companion tickets will not earn AAdvantage® miles
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For residents of the 48 contiguous United States, valid for round trip travel within the 48 contiguous United States. For residents of Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, the certificate is valid for round trip travel from the region of those where you reside to the 48 contiguous states and back.
- Travel must be complete by midnight on the expiration date (you can’t book for travel after it expires)
That does create some “gotchas” that are worth knowing.
Personally, I don’t love that you have to call to use the certificate. The more time I have to spend trying to book travel with the certificate, the less the cert is really saving me. The requirement to have seats for all passengers in the same qualifying fare class could certainly also be frustrating. I don’t yet know how often that will cause a problem.
American AAdvantage Aviator companion certificate blackout dates
Perhaps even more frustrating is the quantity of blackout dates. Here are the blackout dates for 2024, 2025, and 2026:
- 2024 Travel Embargo dates: January 1-3; February 15-19; March 8-11, 15-18, 22-24, 30-31; April 1-2; May 22-25, 27-28; June 28-30; July 1, 5-8; November 22-24, 29-30; December 1-2, 20-23, 26-27.
- 2025 Travel Embargo dates: Jan 1-3; Feb 13-17; Mar 7-10, 14-17, 21-24; Apr 18-21; May 23-26; Jun 27-30; Jul 5-7; Nov 21-23; Nov 28-Dec 2; Dec 20-23, 26-27
- 2026 Travel Embargo dates: Jan 2 -5; Feb 12-17; Mar 6-9, 13-16, 20-23; Apr 2-6; May 21-23, 25-26; Jun 26-28; Jul 2-7; Nov 19-21, 24-25, 28-30; Dec 17-20, 26-28
I didn’t check ChatGPT’s math for all three years (just the first one), but it tells me that the total blackout dates are:
- 2024: 50 blackout dates
- 2025: 53 blackout dates
- 2026: 56 blackout dates
That’s potentially very frustrating. Blacking out nearly two calendar months worth of dates from a certificate that is only valid for 12 months (and requires $20K in credit card spend!) seems like really poor form. And keep in mind that those are just the dates that American blacks out even if a required fare class is available. In reality, there may be other days when a qualifying fare class isn’t available. That said, with most of the “Main Cabin” fare classes eligible for using a companion certificate, maybe it won’t be so hard to use outside of the blackout dates.
In fact, I believe that all but two “Main Cabin” fare classes are eligible. Basic economy is not a valid fare class for a companion certificate.
AAdvantage Aviator Companion Certificate first impressions
I completed the spending for this certificate mostly out of curiosity. I had read some reports of the certificates being difficult to use but then other reports that the fare classes had been widened in recent years. I wanted to find out whether the certificate would be valuable enough to make for a benefit worth the spend.
My initial impressions are very mixed.
On the one hand, the majority of “main cabin” economy class fare buckets qualify for use of the certificate. That’s great. In my initial handful of searches, I found the “Main Cabin” fare to be a qualifying fare class on each itinerary I checked. I want to caution that I’ve only looked at a few and my sample size of two or three destinations on one set of dates each is not enough to be taken as a broad representation but rather as a pleasant surprise.
The certificate certainly could save some real money, though perhaps not as much as you may guess. For instance, here’s a look at basic economy and main cabin pricing on a real example itinerary I checked where American’s Basic Economy price of $266 was less than the next closest competitor’s economy class pricing on the same route and dates by about $125 (so their Main Cabin price of $346 was still cheaper than everyone else on the same route)
Keep in mind that to use the certificate, you’ll have to book the main cabin fare (since a “B” class fare, which is the fare class for basic economy, is not a qualifying fare class. You’ll then pay $99 per companion plus taxes of ~$37-$50. Let’s assume the low end on this domestic economy class example. Adding two companions would cost a total of $618 round trip for three passengers:
- $346 for passenger #1
- $136 for passenger #2 ($99 + $37 in taxes)
- $136 for passenger #3 ($99 + $37 in taxes)
- Total = $618
The average cost per passenger becomes $206 round trip. That’s $60 less than the basic economy fare and $140 per passenger less than the main cabin fare. That’s obviously some real cost savings if you were going to book that trip anyway. On the flip side, if you would have booked the basic economy ticket, the total savings is only $120 (sixty each times two passengers). That’s barely more than the additional $100 I had to pay in annual fee to renew an Aviator Silver vs an Aviator Red card — and since I’d have gotten one companion with the same spend on that card, the Silver card would only be saving me an additional $60….not enough to justify its annual fee based on that benefit (and perhaps not enough to justify putting $20K spend on the card).
That’s a single example. There are certainly situations where one could save more and I intend to dig into a bit more research there.
While potential savings are real, my first impression is also that the blackout dates will be a problem for many folks. My family has far more flexibility than most and yet the first couple of trips where I had hoped to possibly use this certificate are out because we can’t work around the blackout dates.
I don’t love that you lose the certificate if you have to cancel your trip. I don’t know why American couldn’t reinstate the certificate with the original expiration date. The forfeiture of the certificate if you need to cancel makes me value it less, particularly as someone with school-aged children. I don’t know when one of them may become sick. As it is, I only have 12 months from the date the certificate is issued to complete travel and I can’t use it for travel during more than 50 days during that year because of blackout dates. The fact that I’ll forfeit it if we need to cancel the trip where we use it just increases the chance of breakage, where the certificate won’t have any value.
In reality, I think we may use it on a trip where the cost savings will be more significant, but based on first impressions alone, I’m very split as to the value of the certificate. I look forward to a deeper dive into how much it can save you in various circumstances.
If readers have used one of these certificate recently, please share your experiences in the comments. Was it easy to use? Did it save you money? Did it take a long time to book over the phone? Share your thoughts on the Aviator companion certificate below.
This is my dilemma with these companion certificates (like the Alaska Airlines Companion Fare). You want to get good value out of the certificate, which means you have to book an expensive ticket (so you can save the most money). But if the perfect flight for you is really cheap (around $100), then the certificate has no value (since you have to pay the $99 fee + taxes).
Therefore, the goldilocks zone is the sweet spot here. Nick, how do you think about this dilemma?
Excellent post, Nick. I have the Silver, but now wonder if I should downgrade to the Red. Have done the $20K spend on the Silver, wonder if Barclay’s would let me “keep” the $20K spend if I downgrade and pay the Red renewal fee (i.e. and give me the one-person Red companion certificate for the $20K+ spend I did on the Silver card). I know the spend tracker kept my Red spend and applied it to Silver when I upgraded.
Am I interpreting correctly that you were able to upgrade to the silver just 4 months after receiving the aviator red?
It was a little less than 4 months actually. I previously wrote about the decision to upgrade here: https://frequentmiler.com/should-nick-upgrade-to-the-aviator-silver-card/
I agree with what everyone has said so far, this absolutely dissuades me from reaching the $20k spend threshold. It’s a no for me. Too much effort for not enough payout.
also, the fact that the loyalty point spend dates and the companion spend dates don’t match up is extra irritating.
I think saying 50ish days is actually being somewhat generous to AA here. I think the better framing is that they’re blacking out 12 weekends out of 52 weeks. Most working people traveling for leisure will be flying out Friday-Monday and AA blacking out a full quarter of weekends massively reduces how much use this could get.
Either way, I absolutely want to thank you for this write up because before reading I would have likely considered going for this as a family of 3 but knowing that AA blocks off about 25% of weekends, it’ll be a big old nope from me now.
The other thing I didn’t mention is that you can’t book within 48 hours of departure, so you really only have 363 days of use (nitpicky, but true!) and most normal people probably aren’t planning a trip that includes a plane ticket within a month of departure anyway, so you’re realistically looking at 11 months to use it. And since the terms say that you have to pay for the trip with the Aviator Silver card (I haven’t confirmed whether that’s enforced), you’re going to need to at least book it before your anniversary if you don’t want to keep the card again for another year — and since my certificate arrived exactly 2.5 months after my anniversary, that really means that I’ve got about 9.5 months (maybe a bit more because the fee posted almost a month after the anniversary) to use it if I don’t want to renew.
It’s definitely not great. Like I said in the post, I’ll probably use it to good value (there are a couple of trips on the docket where it would work). But it’s definitely not as good as it sounds on the surface.
Obviously trying to make these certs as painful to use as possible. The percentage of people reaching $20k in spend is probably already small. Those who bother to attempt to use the cert only a fraction of those who get them. Those who actually are able/willing to fit the cert into a useful and not incremental trip fewer still. And some clawback accruing to AA for those who use them and then have to cancel with no refund. On net, I’ll bet the cost to AA/Barclays is negligible.
Would you pay more than $25 for one without a specific use in mind? I wouldn’t.
American has encumbered these certificates with so many restrictions: economy, quantity of blackout dates, both companions on the same itinerary in the same booking class, booking 48 hours in advance, nonrefundable, expires. Seems like they want to promote a benefit that sounds useful to card customers, but doesn’t cost AA anything.
Thanks for the write-up! With the Citi AA companion certificate, do they have the same blackout dates (or no?).
Thank you for this in depth article about the Aviator Silver. I have been eager to read content like this. Additionally, I recently upgraded to it. Gotta collect them all like Greg the Frequent Miler!
I used the Aviator companion certificate via the Aviator Red. It was easy to use on a trip that didn’t get affected by the blackout dates. However, the rules regarding blackout dates does bother me. The $150 savings from the companion cert was nice, which amounted to a 0.75% back from the required spend. This savings isn’t great, but it’s better than forgetting to use the cert and losing out altogether. I don’t remember how long the phone call was to make the reservation, but nothing sticks out in my memory about it taking excessively long.
Hat tip to Mr. Fedora!
Glad to hear that the phone call wasn’t memorable!
Wow with all the restrictions, it makes southwests look like such a steal – valuable and simple. AA has a long way to go with this companion cert. thanks for the write up
The Southwest Companion Pass is certainly far, far superior. But, in fairness, for those earning it “the hard way”, it would require far more spend. Those attuned to credit cards are positioned well to get the Southwest Companion Pass with far less effort and it is indeed a far better deal.
For as long as my wife and I have each held these cards, we’ve never used these companion certificates. It’s just been about the miles, LPs, and WiFi credits. Nothing more.