Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red Mastercard Review: 60,000 AA Miles (Single Purchase, No Annual Fee First Year)

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Offer now has no annual fee for the first year. The Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red Mastercard is a co-branded American Airlines credit card from Barclays. This offer is notable because the bonus can be triggered by a single purchase of any amount (no spending hurdle) and waives the annual fee for the first year. Various perks for AA fliers are also included. Here are the card highlights:

  • 60,000 bonus AA miles
  • First checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for the primary cardmember and up to 4 companions traveling with you on the same reservation.
  • Preferred boarding (Group 5) for the primary cardmember and up to 4 companions on the same reservation for all American Airlines operated flights. “Eligible cardmembers will board after priority boarding is complete, but before the rest of economy boarding.”
  • Up to $25 back in inflight Wi-Fi statement credits every anniversary year on American Airlines operated flights.2
  • Anniversary Companion Certificate each anniversary year; earn a Companion Certificate good for 1 guest at $99 (plus taxes and fees) if you spend $20,000 on purchases and your account remains open for 45 days after your anniversary date.
  • 2X AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases.
  • 1X AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees
  • $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $99.

Anniversary Companion Certificate details. From the fine print:

At each card anniversary, you will be eligible to earn 1 domestic economy fare companion certificate redeemable for 1 companion ticket at $99 (plus taxes and fees) if you spend $20,000 or more on eligible Net Purchases with your Card Account that have a transaction date within your cardmembership year (each 12-month period through and including your Card Account anniversary month) and your Card Account remains open for at least 45 days after your anniversary date. After the companion certificate is earned, please allow 1-2 weeks for it to be deposited to the primary cardmember’s AAdvantage® account.

When the companion certificate is used according to its terms, you will pay a $99 companion ticket fee plus government taxes and fees, the amount of which will depend on the itinerary (as of the date of these Card Account Reward Rules government taxes and fees range between $21.60 and $43.20), for a round-trip qualifying domestic economy fare ticket for a companion when an individual round-trip qualifying domestic economy fare ticket is purchased and redeemed through American Airlines Meeting Services. Companion certificate eligible travel must be booked and purchased from select economy inventory. The Companion certificate will be valid one year from the issue date. Companion certificate eligible travel is defined as travel on flights within the 48 contiguous United States, on flights marketed and operated by American Airlines, or on flights marketed by American Airlines and operated by Envoy Air Inc., Republic Airline Inc., SkyWest Airlines, Inc., Air Wisconsin Airlines, PSA Airlines, Inc., or Piedmont Airlines, Inc. This is not available for travel on codeshare flights booked with an American Airlines flight number but operated by another airline. For residents of Alaska and Hawaii, companion certificate eligible travel is defined as round-trip travel originating in either of those two states and continuing to the 48 contiguous United States. For residents of Puerto Rico only, valid for round trip travel originating in Puerto Rico and continuing to the 48 contiguous United States. For residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands only, valid for round trip travel originating in the U.S. Virgin Islands and continuing to the 48 contiguous United States. Applicable terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Details, terms and conditions, certain restrictions, and restricted dates apply and will be disclosed on the companion certificate.

Additional bonus details. Note the following language if you have had this card previously. However, I have been able to get a new Barclays card in the past, as long as my old account was closed for at least roughly a year.

From time to time, we may offer bonuses of AAdvantage® miles or other incentives to new American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator® Red Mastercard cardmembers in connection with an application for a new card account. These bonuses and/or incentives are intended for applicants who are not and have not previously been American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator® Red Mastercard cardmembers. You understand and agree that you may no longer be eligible for any bonuses and/or incentives in connection with a new American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator® Red Mastercard account after this Card Account is opened. If you receive a bonus or incentive for which you are not eligible due to your status as a current or former American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator® Red Mastercard cardmember, we may revoke the bonus or incentive, or reduce your AAdvantage® miles by the amount of the bonus or incentive, or charge your Card Account for the fair value of the bonus or incentive, in our sole discretion.

Bottom line. The Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red Mastercard is a co-branded American Airlines credit card that offers a relatively simple and straightforward sign-up bonus and free checked bags on domestic AA flights for you and up to 4 travel companions. The $99 companion certificate also has potential value, but you’ll have to spend $20,000 on the card within a year (and then wait for your next card anniversary and thus pay the $99 annual fee) to get it.

I will be adding this offer to Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

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Comments

  1. Johnathan to confirm you have received this offer twice. Their verbiage is fairly strong about taking away the points if a person has had the card before. It has been a few years for me

  2. The bonus is awesome.. worth maybe $600 at no cost.

    For future years, the $99 annual fee quickly pays for itself in checked bags, as each bag costs $60 per round trip. If you fly AA, check bags, and especially if you fly with your family and have several checked bags, then it’s definitely worth having an AA-branded card.

    After that, though.. the rewards are not appealing at all. AAdvantage miles are worth only about 1 cent each. I’d much rather have 2% cashback from another card (at a minimum, as my average cashback is much higher).

    Spending $20k on this card would get you $200 worth of AA miles, where a 2% card would get you $400 cash. The companion ticket is valid for round-trip domestic economy class tickets… so if you’re able to get a $500 flight for $99 (plus fees… so maybe $130), then you’ve received an additional $370 in value, so you’ve come out ahead over the 2% card. There’s some headaches to get there though, and for me certainly isn’t worth it.

  3. brian anderson says

    hi—can the 60,000 points be redeemed for a statement credit or cash back or is it only used for travel ?

  4. I’ve had this card in the past and have the business version of it now.

    The offers themselves aren’t bad. One thing that bugged me was paying my bill. For whatever reason, Barclays didn’t take ACH from my payor banks (I tried two different banks). It had to be sent as a check when paying by online billpay. And even though my bank sent the check days before, Barclays would send me notices indicating it was late. Barclays was also a pain to get to waive the fees. I found myself setting up the payment to go earlier and earlier as a buffer.

    My solution ultimately was to set up an ACH pull from Barclays website whenever I had to pay the bill. So workable, but some extra work and a bit annoying.

    • So you linked your Barclay account to your bank and pulled money out to pay your bilL?

      • Yes. I linked my checking account on the Barclay site and “pulled” the ACH for whatever amount would be due, since Barclay wouldn’t let Ally “push” via ACH when I tried to pay using Ally’s online billpay.

        • Thanks, unbelievable a bank won’taccept incoming funds.
          I have billpay with PNC and will see what happens. At least I have a backup thanks to you?

  5. BRIAN ANDERSON says

    hi—can the 60,000 points be redeemed for meals at the hotel ?

  6. Does Red Barclays or silver get you admiral lounge access, seat upgrades, and/or priority bording beyond group 5?

  7. Can anyone tell me how long these 60,000 bonus miles will last? I won’t be able to use them for at least 12 months.

    • Join AA dining program easy to do! Then link any credit card to restaurants that are part of the program in your area. Dine at the restaurant receive points and then your current points won’t expire! This also applies to some restaurants with take out.

  8. Moderate flyer says

    I was on an American Airlines flight where the attendant handed out the applications. The code written on it says 871410 if anyone else needed the code

  9. The 70k Aviator card offer is over. It’s 50k now.

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