AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard Review — Roaming Cactus - Travel

When it comes to airline fees, the easiest way prevent paying them is by getting a co-branded credit card. The AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard from Barclays represents a great value for travelers that plan on flying American Airlines a couple of times every year.

For those who are new to travel credit cards and those who plan on traveling more than once per year on American Airlines, we love this card.

The main benefits of the AAdvantage Aviator Red card are:

$99 yearly fee
Earn 50,000 AAdvantage miles (at the time of writing this)
First checked bag free on domestic flights
Preferred boarding
$25 credit for WiFi on American flights every year

$99 yearly fee on the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard

We’ve seen the yearly fees on a lot of travel credit cards skyrocket in recent years, and at $99/year, the fee on the AAdvantage Aviator Red card presents excellent value. This fee is quickly offset if you take more than a few flights on American, and expect to check a bag.

Earn 50,000 AAdvantage miles from the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard

There is no easier way to earn 50,000 AAdvantage miles. Again, while other travel cards have massive spending requirements to get the welcome bonus, the AAdvantage Aviator Red only requires:

Make a single purchase
Pay the $99 yearly fee

After both of those simple requirements have been met, you’ll get your 50,000 AAdvantage miles credited to your account. These miles can easily be worth a couple hundred dollars. American has many one-way, economy flights that cost only 7,500 miles + $5.60 (taxes and fees). In this case you would be able to use the miles to book six, one-way flights! This benefit is easily worth $500.

First Checked Bag Free on American Airlines Domestic Flights

Here’s where the real value of the card comes into play. If you plan on flying more than one round-trip ticket on American Airlines, you’ll save money by having this card.

First checked bags on American Airlines domestic flights cost $40. That fee is for each direction on a round-trip itinerary. Therefore, if you’ve bought a round-trip ticket, and plan on checking a bag in both directions, you’ll end up spending $80. Therefore, if you plan on doing this more than once every year, the saving on baggage easily offsets the card’s $99 yearly fee

Preferred Boarding with the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard

The AAdvantage Aviator Red gives you the ability to board earlier for you American Airlines flight. Boarding in Group 5 will give you a better opportunity to find overhead bin space, and get settled in your seat before the flight.

$25 WiFi credit with the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard

When you pay for WiFi on your American Airlines flight with the AAdvantage Aviator Red card, you’ll get a yearly credit of $25 toward these fees. This can be a great little treat if you find yourself on a long, transcontinental flight during the year.

Other Benefits of the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard

While those are the main reasons to get the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard, the card also offers:

Earn 1x AAdvantage miles on purchase
Earn 2x AAdvantage miles on American Airlines purchases
Anniversary companion certificate after spending $20k on the card annually
No foreign transaction fees
25% off food & beverage purchased in flight using the card

Conclusion

We think that the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard presents a great value for the average American Airlines flyer. If you’re new to the travel credit card game, or are simply looking to save some money over the course of the year, definitely check out this card.