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For the past few days, the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® application page has been unavailable on the Barclays website. Such an outage can happen temporarily as card issuers adjust the welcome offer. However, as the outage stretched on, we reached out to Barclays to inquire about the situation. On Friday, Barclays confirmed to AwardWallet that the Aviator Business card will remain unavailable indefinitely.
Barclays Confirms Aviator Business Card Application “Pause”
In response to our inquiry, Barclays provided us with the following statement about the Aviator Business card:
We’re currently pausing new applications for the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® as we explore future enhancements.
Using recent history as a guide, “future enhancements” is typically a euphemism for some sort of negative change — whether that's an increased annual fee or removal of benefits.
For example, the AAdvantage Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® was recently “enhanced” with a higher $595 annual fee. In exchange, cardholders now get a higher earning rate on American Airlines and purchases through aa.com/hotels and aa.com/cars, plus new monthly statement credits. However, cardholders are going to have to take advantage of several of these to offset the annual fee increase of $145.
Read more: Changes to American Airlines Citi AA Executive Card
What this means for current Aviator Business cardholders
Already an Aviator Business cardholder? No need to worry about changes to your card… at least for now. Barclays confirmed to AwardWallet that you'll still be able to use your card as you have been:
There are no changes for existing business cardmembers who can continue to earn miles and loyalty points and take advantage of the other great benefits and rewards the card offers as they do today.
That's good news for current cardholders who appreciate the current offering earning rates and perks. Just keep in mind that these offerings will likely change once the “future enhancements” take effect.
Other American Airlines Credit Cards Still Available
Thankfully, American Airlines flyers — and those who want to take advantage of the many American Airlines partners — have other options for earning AAdvantage® miles while we wait for the return of the Aviator Business.
American Airlines business credit card option
Small businesses currently have just one American Airlines business credit card option: The Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® issued by Citi.
This card currently offers a 75,000-mile bonus after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening. Plus, earn 2 AAdvantage® miles on eligible American Airlines purchases, plus 2 miles on purchases at telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants, and at gas stations, plus earn 1 mile per $1 spent on other purchases:
- Free checked bags for you and up to 4 companions on domestic itineraries
- Priority boarding to help you win the race for overhead bin space
- A 25% discount on inflight food, beverage, and Wi-Fi purchases
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on cable and satellite providers
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent at gas stations
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on select telecommunications merchants
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on car rentals
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
- Earn 1X mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
Personal American Airlines credit card options
You have a lot more options if you aren't limited to an American Airlines business credit card. Here are the currently available personal American Airlines credit card options and current bonuses:
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: For a limited time, earn 100,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $10,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 60,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening..
- AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 70,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after making your first purchase and paying the annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days.
- American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Card: Earn 15,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after making $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
Need help with deciding between them? Check out our guide to which Citi American Airlines AAdvantage credit card is right for you.
Bottom Line
It's unfortunate that the Aviator Business isn't currently available — especially as this card previously offered a bonus of up to 75,000 bonus miles. Hopefully, the pending “future enhancements” are good news for travelers. However, based on recent experience, it's more likely that the card will be re-launched with a higher annual fee with new perks that may or may not be worth the annual fee increase.
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