Aadvantage Aviator Mastercard: Cards with lots of benefits and privileges

The AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard and Aviator Silver World Elite Mastercard, both issued by Barclays, reward users who travel a lot on American Airlines.

In fact, American Airlines purchases are the only way to earn double AAdvantage Miles per dollar on Aviator Red every second purchase earns you just 1KM / $. Compared to other co-branded plane tickets, this is a bit silly. For example, the Explorer Card United earns 2 KM / $ not only for United purchases, but also for restaurants and hotel stays.

But when you upgrade to the AAdvantage Aviator Silver World Elite Mastercard, you can earn more, especially if you fly frequently: 3KM / € for American Airlines, 2 miles per dollar for hotels and rental cars, and 1 mile for all other purchases. The only way to get the Aviator Silver World Elite is to switch to the Aviator Red World Elite to which you are entitled once you have been in possession of this card for more than 90 days.

The Aviator Red World Elite has an annual fee of $ 99, while the Aviator Silver World Elite has an annual fee of $ 199. Here are five other things you should know about the two cards.

Get a bonus by signing up for this program

Qualifying for a five-digit sign-up bonus typically involves issuing a four-digit amount within a short period of time. Depending on how much you typically charge a credit card each month, it can be difficult to spend enough without spending frivolous money just to get the points.

This is simply not the case with the AAdvantage Aviator Red as it offers an easy to use sign up bonus. You will receive 50,000 bonus miles plus an introductory companion certificate valid for a guest for € 99 (plus tax and fees) after you make your first purchase within the first 90 days and pay the annual fee of $ 99. The same is true here: any purchase of any amount is sufficient. This means that purchasing a pack of gum can result in a sign-up bonus large enough that you and a friend can go on vacation saving miles for $ 198 plus taxes and fees.

You can bring a friend with you after the first year of your program membership

This consignment note is not just a one-off service. Each year you keep the AAdvantage Aviator Red card if you spend $ 20,000 or more, you receive an accompanying ticket for the trips priced at 99 dollars plus taxes and fees. If you have the Aviator Silver card, you will receive two companion certificates for $ 99 each.

Even if you don’t earn or use the consignment note, you and other passengers with the same booking can save annoying travel expenses: baggage fees. AAdvantage Aviator Red cardholders can receive free checked baggage on American Airlines domestic flights, along with up to four companions. This saves you $ 60 each round trip. You’ll also get priority boarding for yourself and up to four companions, which is a great way to feel more stylish while riding the bus.

If you have this card, you can offer eight of your loved ones free baggage and priority boarding, virtually ensuring that you are the one paying for the plane ticket to the next destination bachelorette party. At least you can keep the extra miles if someone forgets to refund you.

You save on your purchases during the flight

Paying for in-flight Wi-Fi seems like a bummer, especially since in-flight Wi-Fi service can be inaccurate at best. But sometimes you have to stay logged in from a distance of 90,000 feet and the two Aviator cards have you covered. With the Aviator Red, you can get back up to $ 25 if you purchase bank statements for in-flight Wi-Fi purchases each year. The AAdvantage Silver doubles that credit to $ 50. With on-board Wi-Fi starting at $ 10, it provides free internet access on some flights.

And if a cocktail made it more enjoyable to check those business emails on your return trip, the Red Card can get you 25% off food and drink purchases during the flight. The Silver Card goes one step further and offers bank statement credit up to $ 25 per day for in-flight purchases. So go ahead: buy a ride for your rank.

What benefits does Mastercard bring to Barclays?

In principle, Barclays is changing the benefits of Mastercard by improving the availability of rental car insurance provided by Mastercard and adding an identity control center in these times when identity theft is a global problem.

What the latter will provide us with is access that many other providers are already advertising as a perk, be it Discover or even free services, that is to say the possibility of being alerted in real time to publications and databases of personal information stolen.

The advantage that we like to see effectively is that of cell phone protection. We explained this benefit to you previously and essentially what it offers you is repair insurance in the event of falls or accidents that physically damage your phone. For this, you must pay the full monthly cost of the line on the card that offers the protection.

The evolution of benefits is always a tightrope between the incentive for corporate profit and the protections that users actually use. Many of these protections are inherited from another era without streaming or carpooling.

What doesn’t seem logical, however, is the elimination of travel benefits exclusively for airline co-sponsored cards. Removing the travel delay benefit from an American Airlines card reduces the incentive to use it amid the hassle of delays with AA.