AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® review: Straightforward rewards and solid travel benefits
You’ll get a decent welcome bonus after making a purchase and paying the annual fee, along with free checked baggage and other solid travel benefits.
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Snapshot
4.4
Bottom line
The AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard is a good choice for American Airlines loyalists who may not fly enough to earn frequent flyer status, but still want to earn rewards from their eligible American Airlines purchases. The card lacks reward flexibility, but it carries a generous welcome bonus and solid benefits for travelers.
Intro offer
60,000 miles
Rewards rate
1X - 2X
Annual fee
$99
Regular APR
20.49% - 29.99% (Variable)
3.9
Cardholder rating
Extra perks
Online tools
Rewards value
Customer service
4.4
Bankrate score
Rewards value
APR
Rewards flexibility
Features
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AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard Card overview
The AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard is attractive for anyone who regularly travels with American Airlines. You’ll earn miles on all your spending, including 2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases, which you can use toward flights to destinations around the globe. On top of its easy-to-earn welcome bonus, this American Airlines credit card also comes with handy perks that offer additional savings and comfort during your travels. However, it has a high annual fee for a lower rewards rate.
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Rewards
- 2X miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
- 1X miles on all other purchases
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis -
Welcome offer
- 60,000 AAdvantage miles after making one purchase and paying the $99 annual card fee in full, both within the first 90 days
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis -
0% intro APR offer
- 0 percent for 15 billing cycles for balance transfers made in the first 45 days
- No purchase intro APR offer
- 20.49% - 29.99% (Variable) ongoing APR
- Balance transfer fee: 5 percent or $5, whichever is greater
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis -
Rates and fees
- $99 annual fee
- No foreign transaction fee
- Cash advance fee: Either $10 or 5 percent of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater
- Late payment fee: Up to $40
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis -
Other cardholder perks
- Flight Cents (activation required)
- Inflight savings
- Preferred boarding
- First checked bag free
- Travel protection and insurance coverage
- Anniversary Companion Certificate
- Boosted American Airlines status with your spending
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis
AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard pros and cons
Pros
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The generous welcome bonus is easy to obtain and requires no minimum spending.
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The card comes with a solid balance transfer offer, which isn’t common on airline credit cards.
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Cardholders get access to a number of travel perks like inflight savings and free checked bags with this card.
Cons
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The $99 annual fee is high for a card that only earns 1X miles on everyday purchases.
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The spending requirement to earn the companion certificate is high, especially considering the lack of bonus categories.
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You’ll only earn elevated AAdvantage miles on American Airlines purchases, making it difficult to accrue miles through card spending alone.
Why you might want the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard Card
The AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard comes with a decent welcome offer, an intro APR offer on balance transfers, a solid rewards rate toward American Airlines purchases and a nice suite of travel perks.
Welcome bonus: Earn easily with one purchase and the annual fee
The AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard has one of the easiest welcome offers to earn — just pay your $99 annual fee in full and make one purchase on your AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard within the first 90 days of opening your account to get 60,000 bonus miles. While other travel cards have larger offers available, this is a great pick because it’s simple to earn. The best airline credit cards usually require a spending minimum of at least $2,000 for a comparable number of bonus points or miles. Meanwhile, this one can easily cost you under $200 since there’s no minimum placed on the purchase you have to make to earn the bonus.
According to Bankrate's most recent points and miles valuations, an AAdvantage mile is worth around 1.0 cents. Depending on how you redeem your welcome offer, those 60,000 AAdvantage miles (when you pay your $99 annual fee in full and make a purchase on your card within the first 90 days) could be worth approximately $600. A domestic round-trip award flight with American Airlines can cost as little as 7,500 miles, so this bonus could be enough for multiple flights, depending on your travel plans.
Intro APR: A fairly lengthy offer for balance transfers
Travel rewards credit cards don’t often have introductory APR offers, but the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard offers an intro 0 percent APR for 15 billing cycles on balance transfers made within the first 45 days. There’s a balance transfer fee of either $5 or 5 percent of the transfer amount, whichever is greater. An APR of 20.49% - 29.99% (Variable) will apply after the introductory period.
This offers the rare opportunity to consolidate debt on a credit card and continue earning rewards after the intro period ends. Only a handful of other reward cards on the market offer the same flexibility, making this card a great choice for those who want to use it for travel later after paying down their debt.
Cardholder perks: A decent variety of travel benefits
The card offers a solid lineup of travel perks. These perks can help offset the card’s modest annual fee and let your earned miles go toward travel sooner.
- First checked bag free: You and up to four companions on the same reservation can enjoy one checked bag for free on select domestic American Airlines flights.
- Preferred boarding: You and up to four companions are also eligible to receive preferred boarding on all American Airlines flights.
- Inflight savings: You can get $25 back in statement credits every year for inflight Wi-Fi purchases on American Airlines, plus save 25 percent on food and beverage purchases on American Airlines flights.
- No foreign transaction fees: You pay no fee on foreign transactions when making purchases abroad with this card.
- Flight Cents: You can round up purchases to the nearest dollar to earn miles faster (activation required).
- Travel protection and insurance: By paying for your trip with this card, you’ll get travel protections such as trip cancelation and interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, travel accident insurance, and collision and theft insurance on rental cars.
- Earn American Airlines status with your spending: It’s possible to earn elite status on American Airlines solely with your credit card spending.
- Anniversary Companion Certificate: If you spend at least $20,000 on your card and your account remains open for 45 days after your anniversary date, you can receive a Companion Certificate for $99 (plus taxes and fees), which you can use for a domestic economy fare and which offsets the annual fee.
Why you might want a different airline card
While the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard has many appealing features, it does have some drawbacks, such as an annual fee, limited rewards and rewards restrictions.
Rates and fees: The annual cost can be hard to justify
The AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard Mastercard comes with an annual fee of $99, which is charged when the account is opened. If you don’t travel with American Airlines enough to justify paying an annual fee, then it may not be worth it.
This isn’t uncommon with travel cards with elite perks, as many have annual fees, but general travel cards provide more flexibility. For example, for a similar annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers superior rewards in several bonus categories, better travel protections and benefits and up to $50 in annual statement credits toward hotel stays. You have to book through Chase Travel℠ to earn the highest rewards rate, but you can still earn 2X points on other travel. You’d also get bonus points on your account anniversary equal to 10 percent of your total purchases the previous year. Points are also valued at 2.0 cents with the best transfer partners. These all add up to a much more valuable credit card package for the same cost as the AAdvantage Aviator.
Rewards: No bonus categories and limited redemptions
Like other co-branded airline credit cards, you’ll earn the highest bonus miles by making purchases with the airline. You earn 2X AAdvantage miles on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1X miles on all other purchases. Due to the lack of bonus categories, this card isn’t an ideal choice for everyday spending.
The AAdvantage Program currently has more than 20 partner airlines, including those in the Oneworld Alliance, so you can redeem miles with various other airlines. You can also gift or transfer miles for a fee. However, partner award redemptions can be complicated and difficult to utilize. If you don't want to redeem miles toward airline travel, you don’t have many alternative redemption options available. You’re also subject to award availability restrictions, which can be more difficult to find on popular routes or dates.
Finally, you can earn unlimited AAdvantage miles, but they will expire if you don’t keep your account active by making a purchase with your AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard or flying with American Airlines at least once every 24 months.
Companion Certificate: Difficult to earn
Cardholders who spend at least $20,000 on the card each year will earn an annual Anniversary Companion Certificate. With it, someone can travel with you on a flight for just $99 (plus taxes and fees) if your account remains open for 45 days after your anniversary date.
While this perk can be highly valuable if redeemed for an expensive flight, it requires high spending to earn. And since the card has no bonus categories, spending $20,000 is a value loss compared to the rewards you could earn by spending the same amount on a card with larger rewards categories. It could work if you are spending significantly with American Airlines already, but in that case, you’d be better served by making those purchases with a card that earns more rewards.
We tried it: Here’s what our experts say
If you’re in an American Airlines hub, you can get significant value from the AAdvantage Aviator Red Mastercard. Bankrate writer Ryan Flanigan opened the card for the sign-up bonus, and he leverages the perks for his American flights.
“What drew me to the card was the sign-up bonus was easy to obtain and gave me a quick mileage boost. I feel like I can never have enough American miles, as I’m in an American Airlines hub and fly with them frequently, so any way to stock up on more miles is appreciated. Plus, the inflight perks and free baggage for my family give me the value I need to justify the annual fee. While I don’t always spend a ton on this card, I always use this to pay for my American flights.”
— Ryan Flanigan, Writer, Bankrate
How the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard compares to other airline credit cards
Compared to other co-branded airline cards, the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard’s reward potential is fairly limited. There are other travel cards that have better perks and rewards that allow you to spend less for better value.
AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®
Annual fee
Intro offer
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.
Rewards rate
Earn 2X AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases. Earn 1X AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Earn 50,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Rewards rate
Earn 2X Miles on Delta purchases, at U.S. Supermarkets and at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
Annual fee
Intro offer
Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
Rewards rate
Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants. Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Best cards to pair with the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard
To build AAdvantage miles rewards faster, you could pair this card with another travel rewards card or airline credit card.
Who is the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard right for?
The AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard could be a good option if you're a fan of American Airlines or want to consolidate debt while still earning rewards.
Bankrate’s Take — Is the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard worth it?
If you fly with American Airlines at least a couple of times a year, then this card could be a great addition to your wallet. Although there’s a $99 annual fee, you can easily offset this with the checked-bag benefit. Plus, the ability to earn a Companion Certificate each year is excellent for couples or family members who often travel together, provided you don’t mind the spending requirement for the certificate.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, please click here.
All information about the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®, Citi® AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard® has been collected independently by Bankrate and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.
How we rated this card
We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.
Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest).
We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review:
Frequently asked questions
What cardholders think
AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®
In May 2024, Bankrate collaborated with third-party SliceMR to survey 6160 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are based on individual cardholder’s product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Users received an incentive for their feedback. User ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers, nor do these ratings reflect Bankrate’s own reviews of these cards.
Community Reviews
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Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.
