The Barclays Business AAdvantage Aviator card is now offering its best welcome offer ever. With this new offer you can earn up to 75,000 miles with very little spend. This is a fantastic offer if you’re looking for AA miles and while I don’t receive any sort of commission for this card, I’d recommend it for people trying to rack up AA miles. I’ll break down the offer below.
The offer
- Earn 65,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days
- Earn 10,000 miles when a purchase is made on an employee card
- $95 annual fee
75,000 miles for only $1,000 in spend (plus a single purchase with an authorized user) is fantastic. Plus, you don’t have to pay an additional annual fee to add an authorized user (employee).
While I’m a fan of the AAdvantage Aviator at 75K, if I were pursuing a business card with great rewards, I might look into other options.
How far can the miles take you?
75,000 AA miles could cover a one-way business class ticket all the way to the Maldives on partners like Etihad or Qatar. If you want to get an idea on how to maximize AA miles then check out my article on AA sweet spots here.
Additional perks to applying
What I really like about this card is that it does not report to your personal credit report. So if you are under 5/24, you can pick up this card without burning a 5/24.
Also, if you’re just looking to give your personal credit report a rest, this can be a good option since the account won’t show up and bring down your average age of accounts.
And finally, Barclays likes to pull from TransUnion, so applying for their cards can help you avoid getting hard pulls on bureaus that are used more often like Experian or Equifax (though this all depends on where you live and some other factors).
Note that Barclays sometimes imposes its own version of the 5/24 rule: the 6/24 rule. And if you have a lot of inquires, you may have trouble getting approved.
Other options to consider
The Chase Ink Cash or Chase Ink Preferred which offer more flexible points with better value (Chase Ultimate Rewards). Both of those cards come with great offers right now, especially the Chase Ink Preferred at 80,000 points after meeting the minimum spend.
(You could always transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to British Airways and use them for AA flights which isn’t a bad deal for shorter flights.)
Additional perks
The Barclays AAdvantage Aviator card also comes with some additional perks you might be interested in.
Bonus earning
- 2X on AA purchases
- 2X on office supplies, telecom, and car rental merchants.
The bonus earning isn’t all that great for the Barclays AAdvantage Aviator card though it’s pretty standard for a co-branded airline card.
If you’re wanting to maximize points via spend with a business card then the Chase Ink cards mentioned above could be a much better fit. You could also look into cards like the Amex Business Gold Card which has some fantastic bonus categories.
First checked bag free
First checked bag free for you and up to 4 companions on eligible bags when traveling on domestic itineraries operated by American Airlines.
For this benefit to apply, the card account must be open 7 days prior to air travel AND the reservation must include the Signing Individual’s AAdvantage number 7 days prior to air travel.
Companion Certificate
Companion Certificate good for 1 guest at $99, issued each year after your account anniversary after spending $30,000 or more on eligible purchases (taxes and fees apply). This is only good for roundtrip domestic economy fares and you will pay a $99 companion ticket fee plus $21.60 to $43.20 in government taxes and fees, depending on itinerary.
$30,000 is a lot of spend for a discounted companion certificate of $99 so I’m not sure that I’d be too excited about this option. I guess it could be valuable for an expensive economy flight around the US but you could put $30,000 towards two Hilton Ascend cards and earn two free nights which could be worth much more than an economy ticket (less the fees).
Mileage bonus
5% annual mileage bonus earned every year after your account anniversary date on the total number of miles earned using your card.
Preferred boarding
Preferred boarding for you and up to 4 companions on your reservation when traveling on itineraries operated by American Airlines. You will board after Priority boarding is complete, but before the rest of economy (Main Cabin) boarding.
For this benefit to apply, the card account must be open 7 days prior to air travel AND the reservation must include the Signing Individual’s American Airlines AAdvantage® number 7 days prior to air travel.
Elite Qualifying Dollars
Earn $3,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars after spending $25,000 on purchases each calendar year. This can help you out if you struggle to meet the spend requirement for elite status.
Inflight savings
Receive 25% inflight savings on food and beverages when you use your card on American Airlines operated flights.
Eligible purchases include the inflight purchase of food and beverages on American Airlines operated flights when purchased using the card account. Savings does NOT apply to any other inflight purchases, such as wireless internet access or inflight entertainment.
Final word
Overall, this is a compelling offer at 75,000 miles. If you’re in the market for AA miles then you should definitely consider this card, especially since it doesn’t report to your personal credit report. But if you’re still at the stage of trying to seek out the most valuable travel rewards credit cards then you’ll want to consider alternative options which will set you up with more flexible rewards that will be easier to use and that come with better bonus earning potential.
H-Town based Attorney turned credit card rewards expert. Founder of UponArriving.com.
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