AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard Review

This is a quality airline business card if you fly and rent cars for work trips at least a few times each year, and best for someone seeking a large bonus to put toward a future trip, as that’s where this card shines. This card also may also be a good fit if your closest airport offers a variety of American Airlines flights, as you’ll be able to easily book award flights and enjoy this card’s airline perks. 

You don’t need a high-expense business to get value from this card, but to maximize your reward earnings, it’s best if at least some of your business costs fall into the extra purchases categories: office supplies, phone bills, car rentals, and of course American Airlines purchases.

Pros Explained

• Competitive bonus for new cardholders: Our research found the bonus is worth $1,530 (and about $1,734 if your firm makes a purchase using an employee card), based on our average point valuations, which makes it one of the best airline business card bonuses available now. You only have to spend about $334 each month to earn the bonus, which should be easy, even for a small, low expense business. More about this below.
• Free checked bag: The standard fee for a first checked bag with American Airlines is $30 each way. So, if you use this benefit for just two round-trip flights each year (or fewer, since up to four if travel companions on the same reservation can check their first bag free, too) you’ll recoup the annual fee cost. 
• Annual miles bonus: Each year you have this card, you’ll get a 5% miles bonus based on the total number of miles earned in the previous year. That’s a great boost and card feature regardless of how much you spend. For American Airlines frequent flyers in particular, 5% could be a significant chunk of extra miles. 

Cons Explained

• Annual fee: While the cost can be made up if you enjoy the free checked bag benefit—and annual fees are very common for airline cards—we still want to call out this fee. The other American Airlines business card waives its annual fee for the first year, after all. 
• Few premium travel benefits: This card lacks excellent perks other business travel cards have, like travel accident insurance, airport lounge access, primary rental car insurance, or reimbursement for Global Entry or TSA Precheck application fees. If those perks aren’t of interest, this is a moot point, but something to keep in mind if you travel often. 

Bonus for New Cardholders

Earn 50,000 miles after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. Plus, earn 30,000 miles after spending a total of $6,000 on purchases within the first 12 months. 

Overall, this is a great airline card welcome bonus, particularly because American Airlines miles are so valuable. It’s worth just as much as the other American Airlines business card bonus, but this card’s offer is much easier to earn. That makes it an all-around winner in our book. 

Earning Points & Rewards

You’ll earn 2 miles for each $1 spent on American Airlines purchases, like flights booked directly with the airline You’ll also get 2 miles per $1 spent at office supply stores, telecom providers, and car rental companies. All other purchases will earn 1 mile per $1.

These earning rates are in line with other airline business cards, including the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard. We like that this card offers extra miles on a variety of purchases, not just flights, which gives even occasional business travelers more earning options. 

You also have unlimited earning potential with this card, and AAdvantage miles won’t expire as long as you keep your account active, which means you earn or redeem miles at least once every 18 months.  

Redeeming Rewards

The miles you earn with this card should be used to book flights with American Airlines or one of its numerous partner airlines either online or through the American Airlines app. Our research found AAdvantage miles are most valuable when redeemed that way. Miles can also pay for seat upgrades on flights you’ve already booked. 

You can use miles to pay for rental cars, hotel stays, vacation packages, and gift cards, but just know they likely won’t go as far with those options.

To see how the American Airlines miles earned with the AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard stack up against other travel and credit card rewards, check out our in-depth analysis of what credit card points are worth.

How to Get the Most Out of This Card

Start by adding employees to your account right away so you can earn the extra bonus miles. Employees with cards can help you reach the bonus spending requirement even faster, too. Then use the card for at least $334 of business expenses for three months to earn the rest of the bonus. 

Going forward, use this card to book American Airlines flights and pay for all your office supplies, phone bills, and internet bills to really take advantage of the highest-earning rewards categories. Use this card to pay for rental car reservations, too, but note that this card doesn’t offer primary rental car insurance. 

AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard’s Excellent Perks 

The AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard offers several perks we think go above and beyond what’s offered by other cards. In addition to what was already highlighted above, this card offers:  

• Airline companion pass: Spend $30,000 in a year and get an American Airlines companion certificate for only $99 plus taxes and fees good for a domestic economy ticket. 
• Get closer to reaching elite airline status: Spend $25,000 on purchases each calendar year to earn $3,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars, which count toward a premium frequent flyer status with American Airlines.

AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard’s Other Features 

This card also offers these nice perks: 

• Preferred boarding (board after priority but before economy)
• Discounts on in-flight purchases
• Extra miles on select restaurant purchases via the AAdvantage Dining Program

Customer Experience

Barclays ranked ninth for customer satisfaction out of 11 major card issuers in the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. It scored 796 on a 1,000-point scale, which was below average. Barclays customer service can be reached 24/7 by phone, and you have the option to send a secure message to the bank through your online account. 

Security Features 

With this card you’ll get important industry-standard security protections such as $0 fraud liability and opt-in alerts to monitor account activity. 

Barclays also goes an extra step to prevent unauthorized account logins. If the bank doesn’t recognize the device being used to access your account, it will send you a code via text, email or phone call, whichever you prefer, via SecurPass, a two-step authentication program. 

Fees to Note

There’s a $95 annual fee, but if you take advantage of the card benefits, the cost is worth it. You won’t pay foreign transaction fees, which is great for international business travelers. There are a few things—like electronic payments ($15 per payment), extra statement orders ($3 per copy), or account research ($15 per hour)—that you’ll be nickel and dimed for. But if you maintain good records and use free payment options and you’ll avoid paying those extra little fees.