Best American Airline Business Cards

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When the American AAdvantage program was unveiled in 1981, it was one of the first airline loyalty programs in the entire world. These days, you can use this program to travel to nearly 1,100 global destinations. If you fly frequently enough with American Airlines, you can earn elite status and qualify for special perks like priority check-in, priority boarding on your plane, free checked bags and more.

If you’re a business owner, you’ll be happy to know you can earn American AAdvantage miles on business-related flights and on each dollar you spend. This is made possible thanks to the American AAdvantage program’s co-branded business credit cards. 

Unfortunately, there is only one business card currently open to applications, but that does not mean there aren’t other options for those who frequently fly with American Airlines. Select consumer and business cards can be a great addition to your wallet despite not being co-branded cards.

Best American Airlines Business Card

Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®

Rating: 4.1 stars out of 5

4.1

• Bankrate View

  The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® offers quite a few cardholder perks, including a free checked bag for you and up to four companions on domestic American flights along with 2X miles on eligible American purchases; on purchases with telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants and gas stations.

  This card charges an $99 annual fee, but it’s waived the first year. You can add employees as authorized users, access a personal business assistant to help with travel needs and view streamlined online account summaries. Finally, the initial bonus on this card is extremely generous as you earn 65,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on your card within four months of account opening.

• Pros and cons

  

  Pros

  • Cardholders can earn a 65,000-mile bonus after spending $4,000 within the first 4 months
  • The $99 annual fee is waived the first year

  

  Cons

  • This card can be hard to qualify for if you don’t have an excellent credit score
  • Redemption options are limited since you can’t redeem miles for cash or a statement credit

Best card for frequent flyers

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®

Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5

4.7

• Bankrate View

  For American Airline loyalists, Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard  may be a great fit for you. You earn 10X miles for car rentals and hotels along with 4X miles on eligible American Airline purchases. Plus, there are new benefits added like trip protections, loyalty point bonuses, statement credits on Lyft and much more. This is on top of valuable perks like Admiral Club membership and TSA PreCheck or Global Entry statement credit.

• Pros and cons

  

  Pros

  • Card includes Admiral Club membership, which is higher than the annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees

  

  Cons

  • The card lacks flexibility
  • High annual fee

Best welcome bonus offer

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

5

• Bankrate View

  The consumer version of the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® has fewer perks but also a much lower annual fee. It still has key travel perks, such as free checked bags for domestic flights, preferred boarding and savings on in-flight purchases when you use your card. It also has a generous welcome offer of 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening, which can easily cover a domestic flight.

• Pros and cons

  

  Pros

  • Great mid-tier option for American Airline loyalists
  • No foreign transaction fees

  

  Cons

  • The annual fee goes up to $99 after being waived the first year
  • You can only redeem points for American Airline flights

Best general business travel card

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5

4.4

• Bankrate View

  For on-the-go business travelers, the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card can be especially rewarding. You earn 3X points on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year, then 1X points). On top of this, you also have perks including free employee cards, trip cancellation/interruption insurance and cell phone protection. Because this card is part of Chase Ultimate Rewards, points can be redeemed up to 1.25 cents when you redeem through the Ultimate Rewards portal.

• Pros and cons

  

  Pros

  • Card carries useful travel protections
  • Rewards redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards are higher than points redeemed through AAdvantage program.

  

  Cons

  • There are few business perks outside of the free business cards
  • The card comes with quite a few fees

How to choose an American Airlines business credit card

When deciding between the two American Airlines business credit cards above, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with the details. After all, both cards offer very similar basic travel and mileage benefits and let you rack up miles for each dollar your business spends.

With that in mind, here are some factors to consider as you choose the best business credit card for your needs:

• Which sign-up bonus is easier to earn? The sign-up bonus on the AAdvantage Aviator World Elite Business Mastercard is definitely easier to earn, and it requires less monthly spending to earn the bonus. With this card, you can earn 75,000 miles after spending $5,000 within 90 days of account opening (plus another 15,000 miles when you spend $15,000 in the first year). With the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard, you can earn 65,000 miles after spending $4,000 within four months of account opening. If your business doesn’t make many purchases each month but you want to earn a generous bonus, the spending requirements for each card are definitely worth considering.
• How do the categories align with your spending? Both cards have similar categories that let you earn 2X miles for each dollar you spend, but the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard includes gas stations. This makes it a better option if your business spends a lot of money on fuel each year.
• Will you use the cardholder perks? Both American AAdvantage business credit cards offer free checked bags, priority boarding, 25 percent off select in-flight purchases, a companion certificate and similar earning structures. But the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard offers 2X miles at gas stations, whereas the AAdvantage Aviator World Elite Business Mastercard offers a 5 percent AAdvantage mileage bonus each account anniversary.
• Do you want to pay an annual fee the first year? Don’t forget that the annual fee on the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard is waived the first year (then $99), whereas the $95 annual fee on the AAdvantage Aviator World Elite Business Mastercard is not waived.

Manage your business expenses

See our picks for cards for all your business needs View all business cards

Should you get a business card and a personal card?

If you’ve been researching American Airlines credit cards, you may have noticed that some versions are geared toward individuals while others are geared toward business owners. Either a personal card or a business card can be a good option if your goal is to score frequent flyer perks and free flights, but keep in mind you can also pick up a personal card and a business card to earn even more miles over time.

For example, you could consider pairing an American AAdvantage business credit card with an American Airlines consumer credit card like the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®*. This card lets you earn miles on all of your spending, as well as 50,000 bonus miles when you spend $2,500 within three months of account opening. The $99 annual fee is waived the first 12 months. This card offers a free checked bag on domestic flights for yourself and up to four companions, preferred boarding, 25 percent off select in-flight purchases and other perks, similar to its business card version.

While having both a personal and a business credit card may seem complicated, this strategy actually works rather well. Using a business credit card for business purchases can help you keep your expenses separate, thus simplifying your finances for bookkeeping and tax purposes.

Having both types of cards can also help you double up on bonus offers and gain access to different perks and earning rates that can help you grow your miles balance over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What’s the credit score needed for an American Airlines business card?

  An excellent score (740 – 850 FICO) is recommended for the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard. This card might be hard to get for those just starting so a better option may be other American Airline cards, which only recommends having a good score (670 – 850).

• How much are miles worth with an American Airlines business card?

  American Airlines AAdvantage program is currently valued at 1 cent per mile when redeemed. While not the highest around, this is still a solid rate as you don’t lose value by redeeming the miles. 

• Can I upgrade my current American Airlines business card?

  As there is only one American Airlines business card, this would not be possible. However, should American Airlines introduce a new card, this may be an option. The best way to know is to call American Airlines’ customer service line

The bottom line

If you’re a business owner interested in earning miles for free flights with American Airlines, you may want to consider getting the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercards. Alternatively, getting business and personal cards can help you maximize earnings and perks for your next American Airlines flight. If you still don’t see the card for you, our CardMatch feature can help you find a card that better fits your needs.

*The information about the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard®, CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® and Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.