Difference between revisions of "American airlines credit cards"
(→Comparison Table) |
|||
| Line 43: | Line 43: | ||
{{Main|card}} | {{Main|card}} | ||
| + | <div class="middle"> | ||
| + | {{Card|AA|4in}} | ||
| + | </div> | ||
| + | |||
<br/> | <br/> | ||
| − | '''If you frequently travel on American Airlines, you should get the Barclays Aviator card (or the Citibank Platinum card) to take advantage of free checked bags and other American Airlines benefits. Even if you don't, you're likely to eventually sign up for several different American Airlines cards, just to collect the signup bonuses''' | + | '''If you frequently travel on American Airlines, you should get the Barclays Aviator card (or the Citibank Platinum card) to take advantage of free checked bags and other American Airlines benefits. Even if you don't, you're likely to eventually sign up for several different American Airlines cards, just to collect the signup bonuses. Just don't use them for your everyday spending.''' |
{{TOC|All}} | {{TOC|All}} | ||
Revision as of 18:43, 2 October 2020
$95-99, Citibank cards waive first year
Aviator Personal: 60,000 miles on initial purchase.
Aviator Business: 65,000 miles with $1,000 initial spend, plus an additional 10,000 miles with first purchase on an employee card. Offer Link.
Citibank Personal: 60,000 miles ($3,000 initial spend). Offer Link.
Citibank Business: 75,000 miles ($5,000 initial spend in first 5 months) via offer link.Aviator cards: 40,000 AA miles, on initial purchase.
Citibank Personal: 30,000 AA miles, with $1,000 initial spend.
Citibank Business: 50,000 AA miles, with $3,000 initial spend.
Signup Bonus Chart2x American Airline Purchases (3x with Aviator Silver)
2x Additional categories with some cards
1x Everywhere Else
No Foreign Transaction Fee
If you frequently travel on American Airlines, you should get the Barclays Aviator card (or the Citibank Platinum card) to take advantage of free checked bags and other American Airlines benefits. Even if you don't, you're likely to eventually sign up for several different American Airlines cards, just to collect the signup bonuses. Just don't use them for your everyday spending.
Jump to
Jump to:
American Airlines Credit Card Options
American Airlines has several different co-branded credit cards, from two different banks.
There are four versions of the "standard" card that offers free checked bags and other American Airlines benefits and have an annual fee of $95-99. If you are planning to keep one of these cards for the long term, the Barclays Red is a slightly better option. But, you might want to rotate through different versions to maximize the number of signup bonuses you receive.
|
Citibank AAdvantage Platinum. $99 annual fee, waived first year. This card comes in both a personal (Citibank Webpage, AA Webpage) and business (Citibank Webpage, AA Webpage, Signup Bonus Chart.) version. The personal version comes with an annual $125 discount with $20,000 of spend, instead of the personal Aviator's $99 companion certificate. The business version offers an annual $99 companion certificate with $30,000 of spend. |
|
Barclays Aviator Cards. $95-99 annual fee. The fee isn't waived the first year, but the normal signup bonus for these card are often better than for the Citibank version. This card comes in both a personal (Barclays Webpage, Signup Bonus Chart) and business {Barclays Webpage, Signup Bonus Chart) version. The personal card offers an annual $99 companion certificate with $20,000 of spend, instead of the personal Aadvantage's card's $125 fight discount. It also comes with an annual $25 WiFi credit. The business version offers an annual $99 companion certificate, good for up to 2 companions, with $30,000 of spend. |
In addition, there are three other American Airlines cards:
|
Barclays Aviator Silver Card. $195 annual fee. You can't apply for this card directly. Instead, you apply for the regular Aviator card, and then upgrade to the Silver card, which provides some additional benefits (covered in more detail below). Barclays Webpage. |
|
Citibank MileUp Card. No annual fee. Replaces the older AAdvantage Gold card. Like that card, it doesn't come with useful benefits. Citibank webpage. |
|
Citibank AAdvantage Executive Card. $450 annual fee. Includes some valuable additional benefits, such as an Admiral Club Membership, and is discussed in its own guide. American Airlines Executive Card |
Collecting American Airlines Signup Bonuses
- It is worth signing up for these cards, just to collect the signup bonuses. For example, a typical signup bonus of 50,000 American Airlines miles, is valued at $600. And somewhat better offers are sometimes available.
- You can take advantage of signup bonuses from multiple different American Airlines cards. You can collect a bonus from all of these cards. And, if you have any type of small business, you can collect bonuses for the Citibank and Barclay business cards as well. Unlock Extra Reward Points with Business Credit Cards
- You can only receive the signup bonus for each Citibank card once every 48 months. Each card has its own separate "clock". Some targeted offers bypass this rule.
- Barclays doesn't have a specific signup bonus limit, but it is hard to get more than one or two cards per year. This limits your ability to cancel and apply for the Aviator cards over and over again. If you are collecting signup bonuses, it is sometimes hard to get approved for new Barclays cards.
- If you are interested in the standard benefits and want to optimize your rewards, you can rotate through the various cards. Assuming you are willing and able to get business cards and aren't strongly inclined to use the Aviator Silver or AA Executive card, you can get a different "standard" American Airlines card every year. You can earn the signup bonus from each of the Citibank cards every four years. You can fill in the other two years with Barclays cards. There is a significant risk you might not get approved for a Barclays card down the road, and will need to eventually stick with Citibank cards. This is really only a drawback if you were planning on spending enough to qualify for the Barclays card's better companion fare offer each year.
Big Spend Bonus (Companion Certificates)
The main differences between the "standard" cards is the extra benefit you get for using the card for a lot of spending. Keep in mind that you only get these benefits weeks after you renew the card.
- The Citibank personal card gives you a very flexible $125 flight discount certificate with $20,000 of spending.
- The Barclays personal card give you a potentially more valuable $99+tax companion certificate with $20,000 of spending. This certificate can only be used on domestic economy flights, but is otherwise pretty flexible (and likely to be worth more than the $125 discount. Get 2 for 1 Airplane Tickets with Credit Card Companion Certificates.
- The business cards from Citibank and Barclays also gives you a $99 companion certificate, but they require $30,000 (instead of $20,000) of spending.
- The premium Barclays Silver card has a $195 annual fee, gives you a $99 companion certificate with $20,000 of spend, like the Barclays Red card. But, the Silver certificate can be used for up to two companions, rather than for one.
All of the certificates expire 1 year after you earn them.
Other Notable Benefits
Benefit List
The personal and business versions of the AAdvantage Platinum and Aviator Red card have the following benefits.
- Free checked bags. The first checked bag is free for the primary cardholder and up to four companion. Get Free Checked Bags with Airline Credit Cards.
- Priority boarding.
- Access to reduced mileage awards. Cardholders can book a rotating set of awards for 7,500 fewer miles than normal. This is in addition to the rebate you'll receive. Current set of reduced mileage awards.
- 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases.
- $25 inflight WiFi credit, every anniversary year. (Aviator Red card only).
- $3,000 elite qualifying dollars with $25,000 spend each calendar year (Aviator Business card only).
- Elite car rental status. As with all World Elite MasterCards, you get free National Emerald Club Executive and Sixt Platinum status. Instant Car Rental Elite Status.
- Access to Mastercard's luxury hotel program. Another benefit of high-end MasterCards is access to MasterCard's luxury hotel program. When you use the program to book one of the participating hotels, you'll get a number of valuable benefits, like free breakfast, a $100 hotel credit, a room upgrade, and late checkout.Take Advantage of Luxury Hotel Programs for Valuable Extra Perks.
- Free ShopRunner membership. Like all World Elite MasterCards, your card entitles you to a complimentary ShopRunner membership, which provides free two-day and return shipping from around 150 of the largest online retailers. ShopRunner.
- DoorDash and Hello Fresh discounts. Cardmembers who have a DoorDash membership get $5 off their first two orders each month when paid for by their Mastercard. If you don't have a free membership from Chase, you can get your first three months membership for free through Mastercard. You also get a 5% credit back on each HelloFresh purchase.
- Some additional discounts. If you pay for at least 3 Lyft rides each calendar month with your Mastercard, you'll receive a $5 Lyft credit good for the following month (once you enroll in the Lyft app). You also receive double Fandango points, a 5% reward rebate at Boxed, and $5 off every Postmates order of $25 or more.
- Primary Rental Car Insurance (Business Platinum Card only). The Business Platinum card comes with primary rental car insurance. Unlike the secondary insurance that comes with most other credit cards, if you get in an accident, you won't need to involve your personal auto insurance company. The personal version of the Premier card does not come with this benefit. Credit Cards That Provide “Primary” Rental Car Coverage.
- Flight Cents. (Barclays cards only). You have the option of rounding up your purchases to the nearest dollar, and using the extra money to purchase American Airlines miles at 2 cents each. In their example, if you bought a cup of coffee for $3.10, your purchase would be rounded up to $4.00, you would purchase additional 45 miles, plus earn the normal 3 miles from the original purchase. We wouldn't buy AA miles at this price, but some people may want to.
The MileUp version of the card doesn't provide the key benefits that make getting one of the other cards worthwhile. However, it does come with the Elite Mastercard benefits (rental car elite status and luxury hotel access), a smaller discount on reduced mileage awards, and the 25% inflight food and beverage credit.
Comparison Table
| Benefit | Platinum | Platinum Business | Aviator | Aviator Business | MileUp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free checked bag (total passengers) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
| Priority boarding | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
| Reduced mileage award discount | 7,500 | 7,500 | 7,500 | 7,500 | 5,000 |
| Inflight purchase discount | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| $25 annual WiFi credit | yes | ||||
| Elite car rental status | yes | yes | |||
| Luxury hotel program | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| $99 companion certificate | $30K spend | $30K spend | |||
| $100 flight discount | $20K spend | ||||
| $3,000 elite qualifying dollars | $25K spend |
Additional Benefits of the Aviator Silver
Once you've had your Aviator Red card for 90 days, you can call to upgrade it to the Aviator Silver card. Your annual fee will increase to $195, but you'll get a number of additional benefits. Aviator Silver webpage.
- Earn up to 10,000 qualifying miles per year. You'll receive 5,000 qualifying miles, for each $25,000 you spend, up to a maximum of 10,000 miles. You can combine these with qualifying miles from the premium AAdvantage Executive card, to earn up to 20,000 miles per year (by spending a total of $90,000).
- Earn additional qualifying dollars. If you spend $50,000 with the card, you'll earn $3,000 qualifying dollars.
- $99 companion certificate is good for 2 people. The certificate works for up to 2 companion, rather than 1
- $25 inflight food and beverage credit EVERY day you fly. Based on an EST calendar day. Only on American (and their regional affiliate) operated flights. This can add up if you fly American a lot. Plus your annual WiFi credit is $50, rather than $25.
- Earn 3x AA miles on AA purchases. This makes the card a much more competitive option for your American Airline purchases, compared to cards that generally earn good rewards on general airfare purchases. If you are a big American Airlines fan, this can be a reason to get this card.
- The free baggage benefits applies to nine, instead of five passengers.
- $100 TSA application credit, once every five years.
Bonus Categories
- You are better off making your American Airlines purchases with a card that earns a high reward rate on all your airfare spending, rather than with one of the American Airlines cards (other than the Aviator Silver). 2x American Airlines miles are better than what you'd earn from most general-purpose reward cards, but not as good as what you'd earn from a card that earns high bonus rewards on airfare purchases. However, the 3x rewards you can earn from the Aviator Silver card (if you have it), is more compelling, and better than what you can earn from most other cards. Best Credit Cards for Travel Spending.
- Most versions of these cards offers 2x miles on different categories. This is probably more valuable than what you can earn from your general-purpose card, but not as valuable as what you could earn from a card that earns good bonus rewards for these categories.
- The Citibank personal card offers 2x miles on restaurants. Best Credit Cards for Restaurant Spending.
- Both Citibank personal cards offer 2x miles on gas. Best Credit Cards for Gas Spending.
- Both business cards offer 2x miles on telecommunication providers and car rentals, and the Barclays business card offers 2x miles at office supply stores. This might be useful if you don't have any of the other business cards that offer more valuable rewards. Credit Cards that Offer Bonus Rewards on Less Common Categories.
- The Aviator Silver offers 2x miles on hotels and car rentals. Best Credit Cards for Travel Spending.
- You don't want to use these cards for your everyday spending. You'll earn higher rewards from a good general-purpose reward card. Get a Great General Purpose Reward Card and Use It for All of Your Spending.
Getting Rid of the Card
You can cancel without worrying about losing your American Airlines miles. Once you earn them, they are treated like any other miles in your account.
Citibank Cards
Instead of cancelling your personal Citibank card, you could convert it to the no-annual-fee MileUp card. But it really doesn't have any benefit, other than a 25% discount on inflight flood and beverages. You'll receive a prorated portion of your annual fee, even if you outright cancel your AAdvantage card at any point in the year.
You should consider converting to the discontinued no-annual-fee Citi Dividend card. It earns 5% back on your first $6,000 of spending in a rotating set of categories.
Barclays Cards
You can downgrade an Aviator card to the no-annual-fee version, and retain some minor benefits. However, if you keep it and don't spend on it, it can be harder to get approved for new Barclays cards.