American Airlines and Barclays are out with a great offer on the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®: You can now earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles simply by opening the card and making a single purchase of any dollar amount.
The card does have a $99 annual fee which is no longer waived for your first year of card membership. But that's a small price to pay for 50,000 American AAdvantage miles.
Few credit cards offer a better welcome bonus than the American Airlines Aviator Red Card and no other card makes it so easy or cheap to earn a huge stash of miles. Rather than spending a few thousand dollars to earn a big bonus, just make one purchase – be it a pack of gum it's a pack of gum, a cup of coffee, or something more – pay the annual fee, and you're done: You'll have 50,000 AAdvantage miles in your account a few weeks later.
There's nothing in this for us: We don't make any money if you get this card. But it's a fantastic value and one of the easiest ways to get miles for some incredible travel – and not just with American Airlines, but with amazing partner airlines like Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines, and many more.
Read on for why this card is worth your attention if you're eligible.
Read more: 7 Reasons American AAdvantage Miles Have Huge Value
Apply Here (for full disclosure this is not an affiliate link).
AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard Card Benefits
Welcome Bonus Offer
Earn 50,000 bonus miles after paying the $99 annual fee and making your first purchase in the first 90 days. Buy a cup of coffee, a pack of gum, or anything and you'll earn the 50,000 miles.
Beyond that, there is no minimum spending requirement like those you'll encounter with other travel rewards credit cards.
First Checked Bag Free
For the primary cardmember and up to four companions on eligible bags when traveling on domestic itineraries operated by American Airlines. You don't even need to pay for your flight with the card to get free bags.
Preferred Boarding
For the primary cardmember and up to four companions that are booking on the same reservation for all American Airlines operated flights.
A Companion Certificate
Starting in year two, you can earn a companion certificate – but only if you spend $20,000 in a calendar year and keep your account open for at least 45 days after your card renewal date. You'll pay just $99 for your companion to tag along on the flight.
Onboard Wi-Fi credit
If you pay for inflight Wi-Fi with the Aviator Mastercard, you will get up to $25 back in statement credits each year.
Flight Cents Program
You will have the option to round up your purchases to the nearest dollar to earn more miles at a rate of 2 cents per mile. As an example, if you make a purchase that is $1.50, you will be charged $2. Since the round-up earns 1 mile for every 2 cents rounded up, you would earn 25 additional AAdvantage miles.
Earn 2x AAdvantage miles
You'll earn 2x the AAdvantage miles for every dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, and 1x AAdvantage miles for every dollar spent on all other purchases.
25% Inflight Savings
You will receive 25% back in the form of statement credit for purchases of in-flight food and beverages. There is no limit to the number of times you can use this benefit.
$99 Annual Fee
The card has a $99 annual fee which is not waived for your first year of card membership.
Apply Here (for full disclosure this is not an affiliate link).
Who is the Aviator Red MasterCard Best For?
This is a phenomenal offer. If you take advantage of this current welcome bonus, these will be some of the easiest miles you will ever earn.
That said, there are a few things you will want to consider before you apply. First, if you are currently underneath Chase Bank's 5/24 restriction meaning you haven't opened more than five new credit cards in the last 24 months it may not be worth a 5/24 spot if you eventually plan to open Chase credit cards – and you probably should.
The 5/24 rule is one of the most restrictive rules out there when it comes to opening credit cards, and it's a big reason why we always suggest starting with Chase credit cards.
Next, while the welcome offer on this card is great, keeping the card open for the long run may or may not make sense. If you often fly with American Airlines and check a bag domestically, you can easily offset those fees just by holding this card. But if that isn't you, there will be little reason to hold this card past the initial first year.
Thankfully, even if you close the card before your second year, the miles you've earned will be safe and sound in your AAdvantage account.
Read More: The Best Credit Cards if You Are Under the Chase 5/24 Rule
Apply Here (for full disclosure this is not an affiliate link).
Are You Eligible to Apply?
Barclays has a few application rules you'll want to be aware of before applying for their credit cards. But notably, these rules seem to be inconsistent in practice according to data points. Here's what you need to know.
Similar to Chase's 5/24 rule, Barclays also has a rule in place to limit approvals from people who have recently been approved for a lot of new credit cards.
The bank's 6/24 rule applies if you have more than six new credit card accounts on your credit report in the last 24 months. In the past, that rule was believed to have been as high as eight new accounts.
But in practice? Data points suggest that you can still get approved for Barclays cards if you are above and beyond their 6/24 rule. At best, the rule seems inconsistent. It seems likely that Barclays may consider your existing banking relationship when applying this rule.
Notably, Barclays allows you to earn a welcome bonus multiple times … you'll just need to wait 24 months to do so. Barclays states that you need to wait 24 months from when you last closed the card to be eligible to earn a welcome bonus again. It isn't enough to simply wait 24 months to earn a bonus again: You must have closed that card at least 24 months prior.
Did you have this card more than two years ago? It's likely you're eligible to earn the bonus again.
Pair with the AAdvantage Platinum Select Card to Earn 100K AA Miles
American Airlines is unique in the fact that they have co-branded credit card relationships with both Citi and Barclays. Most airlines have exclusive relationships with just one bank: United and Southwest have Chase while Delta teams up with American Express.
This is significant because you can earn the welcome offer bonus on each card, netting you 100,000 American Airlines miles total and spending only $2,500 on the Citi® AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Card World Elite MasterCard® in the first three months of card membership.
The Citi Card does waive the $99 annual fee in the first year, so you can easily get 100,000 American Airlines miles by only paying $99 out of pocket in your first year.
Related: The Best American Airlines Credit Cards for Travelers
How Far Can 50K AAdvantage Miles Take You?
American Airlines AAdvantage miles are some of the most valuable miles out there. Not only can you use them for flights with American Airlines, but you can also redeem them for incredible experiences for flights on their Oneworld alliance partners.
Want to fly in a Qatar Qsuite? Or how about flying Japan Airlines first class? AA is unique among the major domestic airlines in that it doesn’t charge more to redeem miles on partner airlines… at least for now. In our mind, this advantage alone makes American Airlines miles worth collecting. So what can you fly?
The Qatar Airways Qsuites is widely considered the best business class seat in the world. These flights cost 70,000 AA miles one way from the U.S. You won't find a nicer business-class product in the world. Period. That means that with this sign-up bonus alone you will have almost enough miles to book a one-way flight all the way to the Middle-East.
Because of these reasonable rates, it is one of the best ways to fly to the Maldives on points and miles.
Oneworld partner airlines Japan Airlines (JAL) and Cathay Pacific offer two of the best ways to fly business or first class to Asia. For example, a flight to Tokyo in Japan Airlines business class costs just 60,000 AAdvantage miles. That's right: Buy a pack of gum or a coffee and you'll have almost enough miles to book a business-class flight to Japan.
Read more: The Best Ways to Redeem AAdvantage Miles
Bottom Line
Now is a great time to pick up the American Airlines Aviator Red card if you haven't had it.
Earning 50,000 miles after making one purchase and paying the $99 annual fee is pretty unbeatable. You simply won't find an easier way to earn a big pile of miles.
Apply Here
You say “Now is a great time to pick up the American Airlines Aviator Red card if you haven’t had it.”
Is there any recent data from Barclays on earning a second bonus? I had a bonus in 2015, and closed that card 10 months ago.
Hi Ken,
Great question. Historically Barclays will allow you to get a bonus again 24 months after you last closed the card. If you earned the bonus back in 2015, you should be eligible.
If I open this card, but may not want to pay the $99 fee in year 2 and beyond, I cancel the card. However, this would affect my credit score, correct?
Hi Chris. Good question. Yes, closing a card will have a small temporary impact on your score. But the bottom line is that it will be in fact temporary as long as you continue to pay your bills on time and in full. And the hit you take will be small – generally a 5 to 10 point hit.
Do these things and your score should quickly rebound. These two things make up 70% of your credit score. This post is also worth a read:
https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/credit-card/cancel-a-credit-card/
Great resources and insight. Thank you!
Happy to help!
If my husband and I each got one of these cards, is there a way the points can be put into the same frequent flyer account on American?
You would have to pay to transfer the miles which is exorbitantly expensive. Your best bet would instead be to book tickets separately from your own accounts.
Offer doesn’t seam to be there anymore.
Nick
Hi Ni, it’s still working for me. What are you seeing?
Link fails to open. When I go to Barclays webpage there’s no mention of the fee being waived.
One member of our team is experiencing the same issue but everybody else is able to open it just fine. Very odd
Confused as to why the Chase rule has any effect on a card issued by Barclays or Citi.
“That said, there are a few things you will want to consider before you apply. First, if you are currently underneath Chase Bank’s 5/24 restriction, it may not be worth a 5/24 spot if you eventually plan to open Chase credit cards ……. “
Hi Ben. That’s because Chase 5/24 will impact you no matter what bank you get a card from. It isn’t specific to Chase cards. If you don’t plan on opening 5 cards over the next 24 months, don’t worry about it.
Got it, thank you Nick
How long after you make a purchase and pay the $99 annual fee can you expect to see the 60,000 bonus miles? I am trying to book a flight in January, and paid my annual fee/card in October. Should I see those miles before then?
Hey Matt. The points should post after your statement closes. Should be very soon.
I just got this card and made a purchase, but how do you pay the fee?
Hey Joe. They will automatically charge the fee after your first statement closes.
Which card is better, the Citi card or the Barkley’s card? They both seem very similar.
Outside of the welcome bonus offers, you are correct, they are pretty similar. I like the Barclays version better simply because of how much easier it is to earn the bonus points.
Dear Nick, first of all, a huge fan of your newsletter!
Now the real business, the link to apply fails to open for me. Can you post it again?
Hi Patty. Thanks!
Interesting. It seems to be working for me. Try the link below:
https://www.applyaviator.com/
Hello! I had a Barclay’s AA card, but it was several years ago. I did get a bonus of miles at that time. Can a person get this bonus again after a period of several years?
Swinging for the fences on this one…I’m currently 12/24, but AA miles are valuable enough and this bonus easy enough to reach that I don’t mind the inquiry. Application went to pending (for the first time in years, instead of an instant denial as usual), so hope springs eternal!
how long does it take to get the 70,000 miles once i have been approved
Once you make a purchase, you should get the miles after your first statement closes. So roughly 30-45 days after approval, assuming you make a purchase ASAP.
What if you closed the account but didn’t get the sign up bonus. Do you still have to wait 24 months or less before you can apply again?
In order to utilize the preferred boarding, does the ticket need to be purchased with the card or does it just need to be linked to my aa account. Planning to pay with a different card.
Just linked to the account. You don’t have to pay with the card.
I signed up for the AA card the other day as soon as I was offered the deal. I just was approved today 6/26. Do I have to make a purchase by the end of june to receive my points assuming my card doesn’t come in till after end of month
applied, but I got this error
We apologize for the inconvenience, but our website is experiencing technical issues.
Please contact us at 1-866-371-0107 or try again later.
Hi Nick – thanks for all the valuable info! Trying to apply for the AA Red Aviator with 70k bonus but I keep getting an error ‘our website is experiencing technical issues, please try again later or call 1-866-371-0107’. I kept trying on different browsers over several days but still get the error. So I called today and the person who answered said they were only authorized to provide 50,000 miles not the 70,000 miles. (I see Andrew above had the same issue on 7/15). Can you provide any insight – has the offer expired already? And if so, do you have a crystal ball on when it might be offered again? Thanks for your help!
Hi Sandy. Unfortunately it looks like the offer is no longer available. I wish I had a crystal ball, but I am unsure of when or if they will offer 70k points on the card again soon.