The many flavors of Barclays’ AAdvantage Aviator credit cards
American Airlines is among the few carriers that offer cobranded credit cards through two different banks. Citi has a line of AAdvantage credit cards, but American also offers five cards with Barclays under the AAdvantage Aviator name. Even though some of these cards aren't available to new applicants, there's still a pathway to get them — and some offer compelling value propositions, especially for frequent American travelers.
Today, we'll take a look at all your Aviator credit card options from American Airlines and Barclays.
The five flavors of Aviator
The Aviator cards come in five different varieties, including four consumer cards and one for small-business owners.
AAdvantage Aviator Mastercard: No annual fee (not available to new applicants)
This entry-level product is one of the few airline cards with no annual fee. It offers 1 mile per dollar spent on purchases from American Airlines and (a paltry) half a mile per dollar spent elsewhere (essentially, you earn 1 mile for every $2 spent). The only other benefit to travelers is a 25% discount on inflight food, beverage and headset purchases.
Since this card has no annual fee and there's no application available for new accounts, it seems to exist only to be offered to existing AAdvantage Aviator cardholders who are thinking of closing an account because of an annual fee. Barclays is then likely to offer this card through a product change for those looking to downgrade.
This card could be valuable for its 25% discount on inflight purchases, but it would be a poor choice for any other purchase because of its extremely low mileage-earning rate.
The information for the AAdvantage Aviator Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
AAdvantage Aviator Blue Mastercard: $49 annual fee (not available to new applicants)
The Aviator Blue card represents a slight improvement over the standard Aviator. It offers 2 miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 mile per dollar spent elsewhere. There's a $49 annual fee for this card and no foreign transaction fees.
You can certainly do better with other cards, as you should expect to earn double points on some other purchases, such as hotels or restaurants, and not just airline purchases. On the other hand, most entry-level airline cards now have annual fees in the $95-$99 range. The Aviator Blue also offers a 25% savings on inflight purchases. But this card isn't available to new applicants, so again, it is just a choice for existing cardholders when they are considering a product change.
The information for the AAdvantage Aviator Blue Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
AAdvantage Aviator Red Mastercard: $99 annual fee
The Aviator Red card is one of two Aviator cards that are currently offered to new applicants. You can earn 60,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after making just a single purchase within 90 days and paying its $99 annual fee.
Like the Aviator Blue card, it offers 2 miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases. Also, like the Blue card, you receive a 25% savings on inflight purchases. In addition, you can earn a companion certificate each account anniversary year, which is good for one guest at $99 (plus taxes and fees). However, you can only receive this certificate after spending $20,000 on purchases in that year, and your account has to remain open for 45 days after your account anniversary date. So, if you were thinking about canceling the card right after receiving the certificate, they're way ahead of you.
This card also offers an optional program called Flight Cents. This allows you to round up your purchases to dollar amounts between $1 and $500. The added amount will be used to purchase additional AAdvantage miles for two cents each. Considering that TPG's current monthly valuations peg American Airlines AAdvantage miles at just 1.4 cents, I don't see much value to cardholders here. Thankfully, this program is completely optional.
Valuable benefits include your first bag checked for free for yourself and up to four companions on the same reservation. Preferred boarding is also included as are travel and shopping discounts through the World Elite Mastercard program. You also get up to $25 in statement credits toward inflight Wi-Fi charges on American Airlines-operated flights, and there are no foreign transaction fees.
The information for the AAdvantage Aviator Red Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Choosing the best credit card for American Airlines flyers
AAdvantage Aviator Silver World Elite Mastercard: $199 annual fee (not available to new applicants)
This top-of-the-line card features 3 miles per dollar spent on American Airlines purchases and double miles for hotel and rental car purchases. You can only apply for it by request if you already have the Aviator Red card. Like the Aviator Red card, it also offers the optional Flight Cents benefit, effectively allowing you to purchase miles at 2 cents each. In addition, it offers numerous travel benefits, including:
- Upgraded boarding: Travelers receive preferred boarding for themselves and up to eight companions on the same reservation for flights operated by American Airlines.
- Free checked bag: You also receive a free checked bag for the cardholder and up to eight others on the same reservation.
- Elite qualifying miles: You earn 5,000 elite qualifying miles for each $20,000 in annual purchases (up to 10,000 EQMs per year). You also earn 3,000 elite qualifying dollars after spending $50,000 on purchases in a calendar year.
- Companion certificate for two: You earn one certificate each cardholder year when you spend $20,000 or more and your account remains open for 45 days after your anniversary date. This certificate offers one or two additional tickets for $99 (plus taxes and fees) on paid flights operated by American Airlines.
- Global Entry credit: Receive a $100 statement credit to cover the application fee for Global Entry. You can receive the credit once every five years (which is how long your Global Entry membership lasts), so you can use it for a new application or renewal.
- Free inflight food and beverages: You receive up to $25 per day in statement credits toward inflight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines flights.
- Wi-Fi statement credits: You get up to $50 in statement credits toward inflight Wi-Fi charges on American Airlines-operated flights.
All of these benefits come with a reasonable $199 annual fee.
The information for the AAdvantage Aviator Silver Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Should you upgrade from the AAdvantage Aviator Red to the AAdvantage Aviator Silver?
AAdvantage Aviator World Elite Business Mastercard: $95 annual fee
The Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard — the other Aviator card available to new applicants and one of the few Barclays cards for small-business owners — is most similar to the Aviator Red card. New applicants can earn up to 75,000 bonus AAdvantage miles. You receive 65,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days and another 10,000 miles when a purchase is made on an employee card.
It offers 2 miles per dollar on both American Airlines purchases and spending at eligible office supply, telecom and car rental merchants. You earn just 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases, but the card also features a 5% mileage bonus earned every year after your account anniversary date, based on the total number of miles earned using your card.
Benefits include:
- Anniversary companion certificate: Receive one each account anniversary year, good for one guest at $99 (plus taxes and fees), after spending $30,000 on purchases in that year and keeping your account open for 45 days after your anniversary date.
- Free checked bag: This benefit is valid for yourself and up to four companions on the same reservation.
- Preferred boarding: Again, this benefit applies to both yourself and up to four companions on the same reservation.
- Elite qualifying dollars: Earn $3,000 elite qualifying dollars after spending $25,000 on purchases each calendar year.
- Inflight savings: Receive 25% inflight savings as a statement credit on food and beverages when you use your card on American Airlines-operated flights.
The information for the AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Which card should you get?
If you don't already have one of these cards, your choice falls between the Aviator Red and the Aviator Business Mastercard. The business card offers the 5% bonus, elite qualifying dollars and potentially a better sign-up bonus.
But once you have the Aviator Red card, you could potentially upgrade to the Silver card, which is full of valuable benefits. Instead of a 25% discount on inflight purchases, you'll receive a 100% discount on up to $25 in purchases per day. And the annual Companion Certificate is good for up to two people. And when you consider the 5% annual mileage bonus, the ability to earn elite qualifying miles and elite qualifying dollars, and the Wi-Fi and Global Entry credits, this card is easily worth $100 more than the Aviator Red. Even if you already have Global Entry, you can use the $100 application fee credit for your renewal or gift it to a friend, family member or co-worker.
But if you aren't a regular AA flyer, you have little to lose by downgrading to the standard (colorless) Aviator card with no annual fee. By keeping the account, you leave the door open to upgrade later to one of the higher-end cards if you need it. You also maintain your line of credit, which preserves your debt-to-credit ratio (for a given amount of debt) while continuing to build your credit history by increasing the average age of your accounts.
The AAdvantage Aviator Blue Mastercard isn't terribly attractive for spending, as you only get the 2x miles for AA purchases, the 25% discount on inflight purchases and the foreign transaction fee waiver.
As a fan of transferable point currencies, I'd rather use a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card to earn 2x Ultimate Rewards points on travel purchases (including American flights). Still, I suppose the Aviator Red card could make sense if you prefer AAdvantage miles and purchase enough tickets to justify the 2x rewards but don't fly American enough to justify the $199 annual fee for the Aviator Silver and all of its benefits.
Bottom line
The standard no-annual-fee Aviator and the Aviator Blue aren't very useful to most cardholders, but the Aviator Red and Aviator Business cards are competitive entry-level products. And once you have an Aviator Red card, you can potentially upgrade it to the Aviator Silver, which is an exceptional offer for frequent AA flyers. However, there are many other top credit cards out there for airfare purchases, so be sure to carefully consider which would be the best fit for your wallet.
Additional reading:
- Choosing the best credit card for American Airlines flyers
- Best credit cards for airfare purchases
- Credit cards that can help you earn airline elite status
- Credit card review: AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard
Additional reporting by Stella Shon.