The American Aviator credit card offers many benefits including 60,000 bonus miles when you spend $1 in the first 3 months.
We rate cards based on value, cost, and perks.
Our ratings for this card are:
Annual fee considerations
There is an annual fee of $99 which is not waived the first year. We value American miles at $0.01 each, so a 60,000 mile bonus is worth $600. That more than covers the first year's annual fee. Even if you did not make use of any of the other benefits, this card is worth having for a year. You need to cancel before the 1 year anniversary in order to avoid paying the $99 annual fee again. Also consider the American Platinum card with a 50,000 mile bonus and a waived annual fee the first year.
Barclays vs Citibank
All the American credit cards except this one are issued by Citibank. American is the only airline with credit cards issued by 2 different banks. The Barclays card exists because it issued cards for US Airways which American acquired in 2013 and has kept the program going to this day. American has been negotiating for an exclusive deal with Citibank, so this card might not offered much longer.
Lounge access & companion certificate
This card does not give you any lounge access. If you want lounge access, then pay the higher annual fee on the Executive card. This card also doesn't give you any companion certificates. Only the Platinum card offers a companion certificate benefit.
2x miles earned on American purchases
If you spend a lot on American flights, the 2x miles earned per dollar is a nice perk. That's like earning 2% back on American flights. The Executive card earns 4x per dollar on American, so get the higher level card if you want to earn more miles. The Mileup card also earns 2x miles per dollar on American, so switch to that card after the first year if you want to avoid an annual fee.
Priority boarding & other savings
This card gives you priority boarding and 25% in-flight purchase discounts like the Platinum card. But there are different levels of priority boarding. The Executive card with a higher annual fee has the highest priority in the boarding sequence.
