The AAdvantage® Aviator® Business Mastercard is a great card for business owners who frequently fly on American Airlines. The benefits offered can really help you save time and money! On top of earning 80,000 American Airlines miles after meeting a manageable minimum spending requirement, you also get perks such as free checked bags, priority boarding and a 5% annual mileage bonus.

Who is this card for?

The card is targeted to business owners who choose American Airlines as their carrier of choice. With perks like free checked bags and priority boarding, owning this card will certainly enhance your travel experience.

You can apply for the AAdvantage® Aviator® Business Mastercard here.

Card Features

Bonus Offer

You’ll earn 80,000 miles after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. That’s more than enough to get you a MileSAAver round-trip award ticket in business class to some areas in South America!

Annual Fee

The card comes with a $95 annual fee, but it’s waived for the first year.

Earning Rates

The AAdvantage® Aviator® Business Mastercard earns:

• 2 miles per $1 spent on purchases from American Airlines
• 2 miles per $1 spent at eligible office supply stores, telecom and car rental merchants
• 1 mile per $1 on all other spending

The earning rates are nothing special, but they are in line with other similarly priced business cards. If you’re looking to build up your American AAdvantage® miles balance, this is a decent way to do it.

Redeeming Miles

American Airlines makes it very easy to redeem miles on their website. Plus, you can use them to book travel on OneWorld partners, like British Airways, Air Berlin, Iberia, Japan Airlines and more.

American Airlines and its OneWorld partners fly to more than 1,000 destinations in more than 150 countries. With a network like that, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to redeem those miles!

Card Benefits

This Card has some nice benefits and those that fly American Airlines even once a year will get good value.

Free First Checked Bag

Cardholders will get the first checked bag for you and up to four traveling companions on the same reservation for free. The value here depends on how many people are traveling, but at $30 per checked bag, a family of four can save up to $240 per roundtrip! And because this benefit is linked to your AAdvantage® account, you can still pay for tickets using any credit card you want.

Priority Boarding

As a Cardholder, you and up to four traveling companions on the same reservation will receive boarding Group 5 access for your flights. American Airlines has 9 boarding groups now, so this puts you right in the middle. In my experience, this will give you more than enough access to overhead bin space that could be difficult to come by if you board in the later groups.

25% back on In-flight Purchases

When you use your card to pay for food and beverages onboard American-operated flights, you’ll get 25% back as a statement credit. This doesn’t include Wi-Fi.

Companion Certificate

Your business can earn a certificate for domestic main cabin travel after spending at least $30,000 on the card during your membership year and each time the card is renewed. To redeem the certificate, you must pay a $99 fee, plus taxes and fees.

5% Mileage Bonus

Every year upon account renewal, you’ll receive a 5% bonus on all miles earned from qualifying purchases on your card (not including your welcome bonus).

Cell Phone Protection

When you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your card, you can get up to $800 per claim and $1,000 per year if your cell phone is damaged or stolen. Coverage is limited to 2 claims in a 12 month period and each claim has a $50 deductible. As always, make sure you read the fine print for benefit terms and conditions. 

No Foreign Transaction Fees

For those who travel internationally, this card does not charge foreign transaction fees.

Dedicated Help

You have access to personal business assistants 24/7 for help with travel, hotel and dining arrangements.

Which cards compete with this card?

American Airlines has had co-branded cards through Citi for quite some time. But after their merger with US Airways, they maintained their banking relationship with Barclays as well. So in this case, the direct competitor to this card is the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® card.

Card	Sign-up Bonus	Annual Fee	Fee Waived in first year?
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® card	65,000 miles after $4,000 spent in first 4 months	$99	Yes
AAdvantage® Aviator® Business Mastercard	80,000 miles after $2,000 spent in first 90 days	$95	Yes

That card currently offers 15,000 less bonus miles even though it has a higher initial spending requirement. The annual fee is a wash since both cards have none for the first year. So in a direct comparison, the clear winner is the Barclays card.

Who should look for another card?

If you don’t live near an American Airlines hub or typically fly other airlines, then this card doesn’t make sense to own. I would encourage owning at least one airline card, however, so that you can take advantage of perks for your preferred airline. The free checked bag perk on these airline cards pays for the annual fee after just one round-trip flight. 

If you don’t have a preferred airline, stick with a credit card that earns flexible points like American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Points in those ecosystems are transferable to various airline partners and gives you virtually unlimited options.

Some good transferable points business cards to consider with similar annual fees are:

• Chase Ink Business Preferred Card
• Business Green Rewards Card from American Express
• American Express® Business Gold Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card

Bottom Line

The AAdvantage® Aviator® Business Mastercard comes with 80,000 bonus miles once you complete the minimum spending requirements. That’s enough to travel round-trip in coach within the continental United States or one-way to Europe, Asia or South America.

This card has some notable travel perks. You’ll save money with free checked bags and 25% back on in-flight purchases, and save time with priority boarding.

While the card’s earnings rate aren’t the best, if you’re a frequent flier on American Airlines, you can get good value. However, if the specific airline isn’t important to you, there are better business card options out there than the AAdvantage® Aviator® Business Mastercard.

Apply here for the AAdvantage® Aviator® Business Mastercard.