In this article I will go over some of my favorite cards for earning American Airline miles.
I’m going to briefly cover four Credit cards. With their sign up bonuses you can net up to 24,5000 AA miles. More if you get targeted offers with higher bonuses. But for this article I’m only going to list current offers. I will also list a few of each card's benefits.
Note: These card sign up bonues can and will change.
First and foremost don't try and get all these cards at the same time. Only get as many at one time as you can make the spending requirements on and pay off the monthly balance. If you can't pay them off each month, I'd say don't do it because the interest charges could add up fast. You could end up not making the bonuses and just have a lot of debt and high interest charges.
Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red MasterCard
The first card is the Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red MasterCard. This is one of my favorite cards currently. Why? Well It offers a sign up bonus of 60k AA miles. All you have to do is pay the $99 Annual Fee (this posts after you get your card) and then make one purchase. A cup of coffee will accomplish this task! You might say but it’s almost a hundred dollars up front! Just imagine what you can do with 60k miles. It’s a no brainer to me.
Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Business MasterCard
The next card is relatively new and is also from Barclays. It's the Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Business MasterCard. This card has a current sign up bonus of 75k AA miles. Earn 65k miles after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days. Earn 10,000 miles when a purchase is made on an employee card. All you have to do is pay the $99 Annual Fee that posts after you get your card. See the link above for more details.
Note: You may not be approved for this card if you had more than 5 new credit cards open in the last 6 months and other factors as well. Let me know if you get approved and you have above this limit because I'd like to hear about it please!
CITI AAdvantage Platinum Select
The next card on my list is the CITI AAdvantage Platinum Select. This is a personal AA branded credit card issued from CITI bank. Earn 50k American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $2500 within the first 3 months of account opening. Once you reach the spend limit these miles are deposited into your AAdvantge account between 4 to 8 weeks. This card has a $99 a year fee but is waived for the first 12 months. Here are some the benefits for this card:
Zone 5 preferred boarding on American Airlines flights.
First Checked Bag is free. With this perk you can fly basic economy, save money, and bring a normal sized bag. Although you will have to check it.
For every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases you earn 2 miles. For example: You purchase an AA flight or upgrade.
The card will earn you 1 mile per 1 dollar spent for everyday spending.
No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases.
Receive a 25% savings on eligible in-flight food and beverage purchases when you use your card on American Airlines flights.
Also: Reduced Mileage Awards. Fly to great destinations on American Airlines operated flights for up to 7,500 fewer AAdvantage® miles! So you'll save your AAdvantage® miles for another trip. Visit aa.com/reducedmileageawards for more information.
Note: American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have had any Citi® / AAdvantage® card (other than a CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® card) opened or closed in the past 24 months.
CITI AAdvantage Business
The next card on my list is the CITI AAdvantage Business. You can Earn 60k American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $4,000 within the first 4 months of account opening. This card has a $99 a year fee but is waived for the first 12 months. Here are some the benefits for this card:
Your first eligible checked bag is free of charge for you and up to 4 traveling companions on your reservation, when traveling on domestic itineraries operated by American Airlines.
You earn 2X points for every $1 spent on purchases at telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants and at gas stations.
Preferred Boarding.
No foreign transaction fees.
You won't pay any foreign transaction fees while traveling abroad.
AMERICAN AIRLINES COMPANION CERTIFICATE: Earn a companion certificate on your card anniversary date after you spend $30000 in eligible purchases in the calendar year. This will cost you $99 plus taxes. It could pay for itself if you fly to Asia in first class round trip!
Total with spending on the four cards is over 245k AA miles. Not a bad start, right? Where would you like to go with these miles? For more information on each card, please feel free to click in the links above.
Note: These offers fluctuate regularly so keep your eyes peeled for higher or lower bonuses!
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