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American Airlines offers an array of co-branded credit cards ranging from a no-annual-fee option to a Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®-per-year premium credit card that includes access to the airline’s Admirals Club airport lounges. If you fly American Airlines, even occasionally, a co-branded American Airlines card could make sense for earning miles toward award flights and enjoying benefits like a free checked bag and the ability to board the plane before most other travelers.
American Airlines credit cards are even more useful now that the AAdvantage program awards elite status based on Loyalty Points. For every dollar you spend on a co-branded AA card, you’ll earn 1 Loyalty Point toward elite status (in addition to redeemable miles).
With all those choices, the right airline credit card for your travel style depends on the benefits and perks that are most useful to you. Here’s what to know to help you decide.
Compare the best American Airlines credit cards
The best American Airlines credit card reviews
Best for earning American Airlines miles: Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard®
If your primary goal is to rack up American AAdvantage miles quickly on everyday purchases, the earning rates on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® can’t be beat. That’s because it accrues 2x miles not only on eligible American Airlines purchases but also at restaurants and gas stations, two major expense categories for a lot of consumers.
Aside from that, cardholders get a free checked bag on domestic AA itineraries for themselves and up to four companions, preferred boarding, and 25% back on inflight food and beverage. Those who spend $20,000 or more on purchases in a calendar year and renew the card can earn a $125 flight discount certificate.
American Airlines miles are worth, on average, 1.4 cents apiece according to Insider’s points and miles valuations. If you get that rate or higher when you compare the number of miles needed for a redemption to the cost of a paid flight, you can feel confident that you’re getting a solid deal.
The card’s annual fee is $99, waived for first 12 months, and it’s currently offering a welcome bonus of 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
You can read our review of the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select here.
Best for budget travelers: AAdvantage MileUp card
Want to earn miles on everyday purchases without the burden of a high annual fee? American Airlines introduced its no-annual-fee American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Carda a couple of years ago to target less-frequent flyers on a budget.
The card earns a respectable 2x miles on both eligible American Airlines purchases and at grocery stores, and 1x on everything else. Its only day-of-travel benefit is 25% back as a statement credit on inflight food and beverage, so don’t expect free checked bags or priority boarding.
The American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card is currently offering American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card.
The American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card may be your best bet if you’re just interested in earning Loyalty Points for your spending, because it doesn’t charge an annual fee like other American Airlines cards do.
You can read our review of the Citi AAdvantage MileUp Card here.
Best for lounge access: Citi / AAdvantage Executive card
If you’re a frequent American flyer and value access to the airline’s Admirals Club airport lounges, then the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is the right card for you. It does have a $450 annual fee, but that is still hundreds of dollars cheaper than Admirals Club membership costs if you buy it outright.
Unlike other airlines’ club cards, which merely offer lounge access, Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® cardholders enjoy full Admirals Club membership privileges including entry to some partner lounges. Cardholders can also bring immediate family or up to two guests with same-day boarding passes on American or partner airlines. Not only that, but you can also add up to 10 authorized users at no cost, each of whom can also access Admirals Clubs with up to two guests.
Cardholders are eligible for up to a $100 statement credit to cover the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee once every five years. They also get free checked bags for themselves and up to eight companions on American Airlines domestic itineraries, are entitled to priority boarding, and get 25% back on inflight food and beverage purchases. This card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.
The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is currently offering an elevated welcome bonus of Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®.
You can read our review of the Citi AAdvantage Executive here.
Best for elite status: AAdvantage® Aviator® Silver Mastercard®
The AAdvantage® Aviator® Silver Mastercard® is not open to new applicants, but you can upgrade to it if you have the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red Mastercard®. The reason this card wins in this category is that it allows you to earn Loyalty Points toward American Airlines AAdvantage status.
You can earn 5,000 bonus Loyalty Points if you spend $20,000 on purchases, another 5,000 bonus Loyalty Points if you spend $40,000 on purchases, and another 5,000 bonus Loyalty Points if you spend $50,000 or more on purchases between January 1, 2022, and February 28, 2023. If you need a boost to reach the next level of elite status, those extra Loyalty Points might be just what you need.
This card’s other value-packed perks include up to a $100 credit to cover the application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck once every five years, up to $25 back per day on inflight food and beverage purchases, and up to $50 refunded for Wi-Fi purchases on American flights each year.
Cardholders also enjoy preferred boarding, free checked bags on domestic American Airlines itineraries for the cardholder and up to eight companions on the same reservation, and two $99 (plus taxes) companion certificates after spending $20,000 in purchases each account year that they can redeem toward round-trip domestic economy itineraries.
The card earns 3x miles on American Airlines purchases, 2x miles on hotels and car rentals, and 1x on everything else. Its annual fee is AAdvantage® Aviator® Silver Mastercard®.
Best for discounts: AAdvantage® Aviator® Red Mastercard®
While the Aviator Silver offers more significant onboard discounts, you might still want to consider the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red Mastercard®instead for a few reasons. First and foremost, it’s open to new applicants and currently has a welcome bonus offerof AAdvantage® Aviator® Red Mastercard®.
In addition to offering 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases, it will also reimburse you up to $25 each year for inflight Wi-Fi. However, since it’s also a World Elite Mastercard, you can take advantage of perks recently added to that program including a $5 Lyft credit after taking three or more rides each month, cell phone protection (with a $50 deductible per claim) against loss or damage on up to $800, and more.
The card waives foreign transaction fees and earns 2x miles on American Airlines purchases and 1x on everything else. Day-of-travel benefits include preferred boarding and a free checked bag for the cardholder and up to four companions on the same domestic American Airlines reservation. If you spend more than $20,000 on purchases per account year, you will also receive a $99 (plus taxes) companion certificate good for a round-trip domestic economy ticket.
Here’s our AAdvantage Aviator Red card review with more details.
Best for business travelers: CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®
Your other small-business option is the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®. It’s offering new cardholders 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening, and has an annual fee of $99, waived for first 12 months.
The bonus earning categories include 2x on eligible American Airlines purchases, gas stations, cable and satellite services, telecommunications, and car rentals. This card has the same checked bag and boarding benefits as the Barclays version, though its inflight purchase discount includes Wi-Fi.
Those who spend $30,000 or more on purchases in an account anniversary year and renew their card receive a $99 companion travel certificate, too (provided their account remains open for at least 45 days after the account anniversary).
You can read our review of the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select here.
Best for annual bonus miles: AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard®
The AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® comes with a generous limited-time welcome bonus offer of AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard®.
This card offers 2x categories like its small business sibling, the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®. You’ll get 2 miles per dollar for American Airlines purchases and for eligible office supply, telecom, and car rental merchants. However, this card gives you a 5% bonus on all the miles you’ve accrued (except for the welcome bonus) after each account anniversary. If you make meaningful spending, this could be a lucrative perk.
You’ll continue to get the standard American Airlines benefits, such as a free first checked bag on American Airlines domestic itineraries, preferred boarding on American Airlines flights, a25% savings on American Airlines inflight purchases, etc. You’ll also get a companion certificate to anywhere in the continental US after spending $30,000 in a cardmember year. It allows a companion to fly with you on a round-trip coach fare for a flat fee of $99, plus taxes.
Here’s our review of the AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard.
Best if you’re not loyal to American: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
If you know you’ll fly American once or twice this year but want to keep your options open with rewards that you can use across multiple airlines (and hotels), a card that earns transferable points is your best bet. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a good option thanks to its reasonable $95 annual fee and the valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards® points you’ll earn.
The card currently has a welcome bonus offerof 60,000 points. You’ll earn 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards (2x points on all other travel purchases), 3x points on dining, 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), 3x points on select streaming services, and 1 point per dollar on everything else.
While American Airlines isn’t a Chase transfer partner — meaning you can’t move your Chase points into the AAdvantage frequent flyer program — you can use your rewards from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to book American Airlines flights directly through the Chase travel portal. Even better, your points are worth 25% more when you redeem them for travel, so you’ll get 1.25 cents in value toward flights.
If you prefer a premium credit card, you could consider the Chase Sapphire Reserve® instead. It earns 5x total points on air travel and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards (after earning the $300 travel credit) and 3x points on other travel and dining, and your points are worth 1.5 cents apiece toward American Airlines flights booked through Chase. The card has a $550 annual fee, but up to $300 in annual travel credits help offset that cost.
You can read our review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred here.
American Airlines credit card frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What credit score do you need for an American Airlines credit card?
All of the co-branded American Airlines cards mentioned above typically require at least a good credit score in order to be approved. Some, like the premium Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®, usually look for an excellent credit score — that is, anything above an 800 FICO score.
If your credit isn’t quite where you want it to be yet, be sure to read about how to improve your credit score and why using credit cards can help boost your score.
Is an American Airlines credit card worth it?
It definitely makes sense to open an American Airlines credit card, particularly one that offers money-saving benefits like a free checked bag and preferred boarding, if you fly the airline — even a couple of times a year. The perks you receive can more than offset the annual fee on these cards, and you’ll earn miles you can redeem for free flights on American and its partners.
American Airlines credit cards are even more compelling if you’re working toward earning AAdvantage elite status. Because status is now awarded based on earning Loyalty Points, using an American Airlines card for everyday spending can give you the boost you need to achieve the next status tier.
Do you earn more Loyalty Points for spending in bonus categories on an American Airlines credit card?
All co-branded American Airlines credit cards earn 1 Loyalty Point per dollar you spend, regardless of category — so spending more in bonus categories isn’t going to make a difference in that regard.
For instance, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® earns 2x miles per dollar spent on American Airlines purchases and at gas stations and restaurants, but you’ll only earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible mile earned from purchases even in these categories.
Do American Airlines card welcome bonuses count as Loyalty Points?
Any welcome bonus miles you earn from opening an American Airlines credit card will not count toward earning Loyalty Points and elite status. You’ll just earn redeemable miles.
Do you get priority boarding with an American Airlines credit card?
Most co-branded American Airlines cards (except the American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card) come with early boarding privileges.
The premium Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® includes Group 4 priority boarding, and the rest of the co-branded cards offer Group 5 preferred boarding.
Which credit card can transfer points to American Airlines?
None of the major transferable points currencies (Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Capital One miles) have American Airlines as a transfer partner.
However, you can transfer some hotel program points — most notably Marriott Bonvoy — to American Airlines. In addition, the Bilt Rewards program has American Airlines as a 1:1 transfer partner.
Do American Airlines miles expire?
American Airlines miles expire after 24 months of account inactivity. This means if you don’t earn or redeem AA miles within that time frame, you could lose your miles.
Using an American Airlines credit card is a great way to generate earning activity in your account and keep your miles from expiring.
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