There's no easier way to earn a huge welcome bonus than with the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®: Forget spending a few thousand dollars, you can get 60,000 miles with one quick purchase.

Yes, it's really that simple. All you need to do is make a single purchase within 90 days of opening the card (whether it's a cup of coffee or a candy bar), pay the $99 annual fee, and voila … you've got 60,000 AAdvantage miles. 

If you've got a good use for AAdvantage miles – and trust us, there are plenty – don't let this offer pass you by. These are some of the easiest miles you'll ever earn.

Just keep in mind: Credit cards are serious business, even if you don't have to spend thousands of dollars to earn a big stash of points and miles.

It's a fantastic value and one of the easiest ways to get miles for some incredible travel – and not just with American Airlines, but with amazing partner airlines like Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines, and many more. Read on for why this card is worth your attention if you're eligible.

Read more: 7 Reasons American AAdvantage Miles Have Huge Value

 

Aviator Red Mastercard
 

Learn more about the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).

 

AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard Card Benefits

Welcome Bonus Offer

Earn 60,000 bonus miles after making a purchase of any dollar amount in the first 90 days of opening your card and paying card's $99 annual fee in full.

Buy breakfast, a newspaper, a pack of gum, or spend any amount of money on your new card and you'll earn the 60,000-mile bonus.

Beyond that, there is no hefty minimum spending requirement like those you'll encounter with nearly every other travel rewards credit cards. That alone sets this card apart: It makes it easier (and cheaper) to earn a huge bonus than any other card.

 

First Checked Bag Free

For the primary cardmember and up to four companions on eligible bags when traveling on domestic itineraries operated by American Airlines. You don't even need to pay for your flight with the card to get free bags.

But note that caveat: This free bag benefit only applies on American's domestic flights. 

 

Preferred Boarding

For the primary cardmember and up to four companions that are booking on the same reservation for all American Airlines operated flights.

 

A Companion Certificate

Starting in year two, you can earn a companion certificate once you've spent $20,000 in a calendar year and keep your account open for at least 45 days after your card renewal date. You'll pay just $99 for your companion to tag along on the flight.

 

Onboard Wi-Fi credit

If you pay for inflight Wi-Fi with the Aviator Mastercard, you will get up to $25 back in statement credits each year.

 

Earn 2x AAdvantage miles

You'll earn 2x the AAdvantage miles for every dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, and 1x AAdvantage miles for every dollar spent on all other purchases.

 

Flight Cents Program

There's a novel option to round up your purchases to the nearest dollar to earn more miles at a rate of 2 cents per mile.

Here's an example: Let's say you make a $1.50 but decide round up to $2. Since the round-up earns 1 mile for every 2 cents rounded up, you would earn 25 additional AAdvantage miles.

Cardholders can set a maximum they'd like to round up each statement period, from $1 to $500. By default, this option is turned off. You'll have to log in and activate it yourself.

 

25% Inflight Savings

You can get 25% back in the form of statement credit for purchases of in-flight food and beverages. There is no limit to the number of times you can use this benefit.

 

$99 Annual Fee

The card has a $99 annual fee. From time to time we see offers that waive the fee for the first year but that isn't the case this time around. You'll have to pay that $99 fee straight away in order to get your big bonus.

 

Aviator Red Mastercard
 

Learn more about the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).

 

Who is the Aviator Red MasterCard Best For?

Almost anyone, because this is a phenomenal offer.

These will be some of the easiest miles you will ever earn. American AAdvantage miles are among the most valuable in the world of points and miles.

That said, there are a few things you will want to consider before you apply. First, if you are currently underneath Chase Bank's 5/24 restriction meaning you haven't opened more than five new credit cards in the last 24 months it may not be worth a 5/24 spot if you eventually plan to open Chase credit cards – and you probably should.

The 5/24 rule is one of the most restrictive rules out there when it comes to opening credit cards. It's a big reason why we always suggest starting with Chase credit cards.
 

aviator red mastercard 

 

While the welcome offer on this card is great, keeping the card open for the long run may or may not make sense. If you often fly with American Airlines and check a bag domestically, you can easily offset those fees just by holding this card by saving on bag fees. But if that isn't you, there will be little reason to hold this card past the initial first year.

Thankfully, even if you close the card before your second year, the miles you've earned will be safe and sound in your AAdvantage account.

Read More: The Best Credit Cards if You Are Under the Chase 5/24 Rule

 

Are You Eligible to Apply?

Barclays has a few application rules you'll want to be aware of before applying for their credit cards. Yet these rules seem to be inconsistently applied in practice according to data points. Here's what you need to know.

Similar to Chase's 5/24 rule, Barclays also has a rule in place to limit approvals from people who have recently been approved for a lot of new credit cards.

The bank's 6/24 rule applies if you have more than six new credit card accounts on your credit report in the last 24 months. In the past, that rule was believed to have been as high as eight new accounts.

But in practice? Data points suggest that you can still get approved for Barclays cards if you are above their 6/24 rule. At best, the rule seems inconsistent and that Barclays may consider your existing banking relationship when applying this rule.

Notably, Barclays allows you to earn a welcome bonus multiple times … you'll just need to wait 24 months to do so. Barclays states that you need to wait 24 months from when you last closed the card to be eligible to earn a welcome bonus again. It isn't enough to simply wait 24 months to earn a bonus again: You must have closed that card at least 24 months prior.

Did you have this card more than two years ago? It's likely you're eligible to earn the bonus again.

 

How Far Can 60K AAdvantage Miles Take You?

American Airlines AAdvantage miles are some of the most valuable miles out there. Not only can you use them for flights with American Airlines, but you can also redeem them for incredible experiences for flights on their Oneworld alliance partners.

Want to fly in a Qatar Qsuite? Or how about flying Japan Airlines first class? AA is unique among the major domestic airlines in that it doesn’t charge more to redeem miles on partner airlines… at least for now. In our mind, this advantage alone makes American Airlines miles worth collecting. So what can you fly?

Qatar Airways Qsuites is widely considered the best business class seat in the world. These flights cost 70,000 AA miles one way from the U.S. You won't find a nicer business-class product in the world, period. That means that with this sign-up bonus alone you'd have nearly enough miles to book a one-way flight all the way to the Middle-East.

Because of these reasonable rates, it's one of the best ways to fly to the Maldives on points and miles. It's become far more difficult to find the award availability to actually book these suites with AAdvantage miles lately, but if you can make it work, it's tough to beat.

 

qatar airways qsuite

 

Oneworld partner airlines Japan Airlines (JAL) and Cathay Pacific offer two of the best ways to fly business or first class to Asia. For example, a flight to Tokyo in Japan Airlines business class costs just 60,000 AAdvantage miles. That's right: Buy a pack of gum or a coffee and you'll have enough miles to book a business-class flight to Japan.

 

finding award space 

Read more: The Best Ways to Redeem AAdvantage Miles

 

Pair with the AAdvantage Platinum Select Card to Earn 135K AA Miles

American Airlines is unique in the fact that they have co-branded credit card relationships with both Citi and Barclays. Most airlines have exclusive relationships with just one bank: United and Southwest have Chase while Delta teams up with American Express.

This is significant because you can earn the welcome offer bonus on two cards from different banks, netting you 135,000 American Airlines miles and spending only $3,500 on the Citi® AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Card World Elite MasterCard® in the first three months of card membership.

The Citi AA Card even waives the $99 annual fee in the first year, so you can easily pile up American Airlines miles without paying double the annual fees in the first year.

Related: The Best American Airlines Credit Cards for Travelers
 

aviator red and citi AA cards

 

Bottom Line

Now is a great time to pick up the American Airlines Aviator Red card.

Earning up to 60,000 miles after making a quick purchase and paying a modest $99 annual fee is pretty unbeatable. You simply won't find an easier way to earn a big pile of miles. 

 

Aviator Red Mastercard
 

Learn more about the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).