Barclay’s is out with a great sign up bonus on their American Airlines Aviator Red Mastercard. You can earn up to 70,000 American Airlines miles with no minimum spending requirement!

Barclays American Airlines Aviator Red Mastercard

While this isn’t a card I would recommend putting much if any spend on after making your first purchase, this is a great card to keep for the added benefits.

I value American Airlines miles at 1.5 cents per mile so this sign up bonus alone is worth $1,050! So what can 70,000 American Airlines miles get you? A one way business class flight on Qatar Airways cost me 70,000 miles plus $5.60 from the US all the way to the Maldives.

Quick Facts

Signup Bonus: 70,000 American Airlines miles. Make one purchase within 90 days of account opening and earn 60,000 miles. Earn an additional 10,000 miles after adding an authorized user and making a purchase with that card within 90 days. Note: There is no minimum dollar amount for either purchase so you could buy a pack of gum and it would qualify.

Points Earned: American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

Status Earned: Earn 1 Loyalty Point per dollar spent. Loyalty Points are American’s system for earning elite status. You also earn Loyalty Points for flights as well as a number of other partner activities.

• AAdvantage Gold: 40,000 Loyalty Points

• AAdvantage Platinum: 75,000 Loyalty Points

• AAdvantage PlatinumPro: 125,000 Loyalty Points

• AAdvantage Executive Platinum: 200,000 Loyalty Points

Earnings Structure:
2x miles American Airlines purchases
1x points on all other purchases

Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Authorized User Fee: None

Annual Fee: $99

Benefits

WiFi Credit: Earn up to $25 back per year on WiFi purchased on American Airlines Flights

Inflight Purchases: Receive 25% back on any inflight purchases of food or drinks

Travel Protections: Receive Travel Accident Insurance, Trip Cancellation and Interruption coverage, Baggage Delay Insurance, and Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver when making the purchase on your card.

Checked Baggage Benefits: Receive a free checked bag on domestic American Airlines itineraries for the primary cardmember and up to 4 companions traveling with you on the same reservation. With checked baggage fees now $40 ($35 if you pay online) each way, this card will pay for itself after only 3 one way flights where you check a bag.

Group 4 Boarding: Board with group 4 for yourself and up to 4 companions on the same reservation.

Anniversary Companion Certificate: After spending at least $20,000 on the card each year you will earn one companion certificate where you can add a companion on any domestic economy ticket with you for only $99.

Should You Apply?

This is without a doubt an incredible sign up bonus for this card. You’re essentially getting $1,050 worth of miles for only $99. That doesn’t count the annual $25 WiFi credit, free checked bags which are now $40 ($35 if you pay online) each way, and priority boarding. If you fly American with any regularity, this card is a keeper for those benefits alone. The earning structure is quite unremarkable so I would not recommend spending any money on this card outside of your first purchase.

Companion Certificate

After spending $20,000 on the card you get one companion certificate where you can add a companion onto your domestic economy ticket for only $99. Depending on the price of the ticket you buy, this has the potential to save you hundreds of dollars less the $99 fee to use it. Does it make sense to spend the $20,000 for this companion certificate?

If you were to spend $20,000 on a card like the Citi Double Cash or Capital One Venture X that gets 2 points per dollar you would earn 40,000 points which I value at $680. While spending $20,000 on this Aviator Red card you would earn 20,000 American Airlines miles worth $300. That also doesn’t include the Loyalty Points you’d earn if you’re chasing status on American. Factoring in the $99 fee to use this, you would come out ahead for a flight $479 or more ($680-$300+$99 fee) which shouldn’t be too difficult to find these days.

Wrapping Up

Barclays a sign up bonus for the AAdvantage Aviator Red Mastercard where you can earn 70,000 American Airlines miles. All you need to do is make a purchase of any size. This isn’t a card I necessarily recommend putting much if any spend on but it has some solid perks for the American Airlines flyer.

Barclays American Airlines Aviator Red Mastercard

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