June 20, 2025: For the moment, the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® may be the best entry-level American Airlines credit card—at least until Citi takes over the American Airlines credit card portfolio in 2026. Here’s what you need to know about the card.
AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® at a glance
Annual fee: $99
Foreign transaction fee: None
The AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® is the only Barclays American Airlines card you can get directly and is probably the best American Airlines credit card to keep long-term if you’re not interested in lounge access, thanks to the card’s travel insurance protections.
Sign-up bonus
Best sign-up bonus: Earn 60,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles after making your first purchase and paying the $99 annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days.
This bonus is earned as American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles.
Rewards
- 2x on American Airlines purchases.
- 1x on all other purchases.
Rewards are earned American Airlines miles.
Benefits
American Airlines benefits
- First checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for the primary cardmember and up to 4 companions on the same reservation.
- Up to $25 back as statement credits on in-flight Wi-Fi purchases each account anniversary year.
- Earn an annual companion certificate each account anniversary year if you spend $20,000+ on purchases and your account remains open 45 days after your anniversary date. Companion certificate allows 1 guest at $99 plus taxes and fees.
- 25% statement credit for American Airlines in-flight food and beverages charged to your card.
- Preferred boarding for primary cardmember and up to 4 companions on the same reservation on American Airlines flights.
- Earn 1 Loyalty Point for every $1 you spend on the card.
Travel benefits
- Travel Accident Insurance.
- Trip Cancellation and Interruption coverage.
- Baggage Delay Insurance.
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver.
How to maximize the card
Spending: When to use the card
Like most other airline credit cards, you won’t get great rewards for most spending on your card, but there’s some nuance here since American Airlines miles are relatively hard to earn. If your American Airlines mileage redemptions are getting you massive value—we’re talking well over 2 cents per point on average—then general spending on the Aviator Red card might make sense.
The other cases when it might make sense to put spending on the card include if you’re trying to top off your Loyalty Points to get to the next level of status and if you get good value out of the card’s companion certificate. If you’re using the companion certificate, spending $20,000 on the card each cardmember anniversary year is a sweet spot that maximizes value.
Do use the card for…
- Booking American Airlines flights. The card offers decent travel protections and 2x miles on these purchases. If you’re collecting American Airlines miles and loyalty points, the card can be a reasonable choice to use for booking your American Airlines flights.
- Wifi on American Airlines. You’ll get up to $25 a year as statement credits to offset these purchases.
- Up to $20,000 of general purchases. If your spending patterns let you put $20k on the card in a calendar year, it might be worth it for you to earn the annual companion certificate, especially if the 20,000 loyalty points you’d earn would also be useful.
Don’t use the card for…
- General spending if not earning the companion certificate. You can do much better than 1 American Airlines mile per dollar on your general spending if you’re not working toward earning the companion certificate.
Should you upgrade, downgrade, or cancel?
Barclays may offer you the option to upgrade or downgrade your account. In most cases you’ll be able to upgrade to the AAdvantage® Aviator® Silver World Elite Mastercard®. You may also be able to downgrade to the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Blue Mastercard®, but the last time we checked, we were not offered this option.
Upgrading to the Aviator Silver Mastercard
The AAdvantage® Aviator® Silver World Elite Mastercard® isn’t available to new cardmembers, but it an option that you should seriously consider if you’re a frequent American Airlines flyer. You’ll pay an increased annual fee of $199, but you’ll get plenty of perks that more than make up for that cost.
First, you can get up to $25 per day as statement credits for inflight food and beverage purchases. That alone can make up for the annual fee increase in just a few flights. You’ll also get 3x points on your American Airlines flights and the first checked bag and preferred boarding benefits will extend to up to 8 people in your reservation.
The card also offer an even more valuable companion certificate than the Aviator Red card. If you spend $20,000 on the Aviator Silver card in an anniversary year, you’ll earn a companion certificate that can be used for two companions instead of just one, plus you’ll earn an additional 5,000 Loyalty Points. And you’ll earn up to two additional 5,000 Loyalty Point bonuses when you spend $40,000 and $50,000 in total purchases on the card.
Downgrading to the Aviator Blue Mastercard
The AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Blue Mastercard® carries an annual fee of $49 per year. You’ll lose the checked bag and preferred boarding benefits if you downgrade.
But you’ll still be able to earn Loyalty Points on your purchases and you’ll earn 2x redeemable miles for American Airlines purchases and 1x points on other purchases. And you’ll still get a 25% statement credit on inflight food and beverage purchases.
Canceling the Aviator Red
If you decide to cancel, you’ll keep your American Airlines miles, but keep in mind that American Airlines miles expire 24 months after the last activity on your AAdvantage account.
Barclays will typically refund your renewal annual fee if you cancel within 60 days of the annual fee being charged to your account.
Our experiences: How use used the Aviator Red card
I am publishing this article as I am canceling the Aviator Red. I don’t really have anything against the card—I think that it’s a good entry-level American Airlines card—but I just don’t fly American Airlines enough to justify keeping the card.
The most valuable benefit for me with the card’s free checked bag benefit, since I prefer to check bags when I’m traveling.
I do think that this is the best card that you can get directly within the American Airlines family of cards for anyone who flies American often and doesn’t want need or want lounge access. And the Aviator Silver card, an upgrade option, can be a fantastic value for the right kind of American Airlines flyer. But being based in Minneapolis, that’s just not me.
Bottom line: A great card for American Airlines flyers
If you fly American Airlines often, the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® can be a great companion. If you don’t have status with the airline, you’ll benefit from the card’s free checked bag benefit. And if you do, the card can help you earn the next level of elite status, since it earns Loyalty Points for purchases. Unless you’re getting American’s top-tier credit card for lounge access, the Aviator Red is probably the card to have.
