{"id":91506,"date":"2023-01-05T05:00:49","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T05:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/?p=91506"},"modified":"2026-04-08T13:45:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:45:35","slug":"aadvantage-aviator-world-elite-business-mastercard-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/aadvantage-aviator-world-elite-business-mastercard-review\/","title":{"rendered":"AAdvantage\u00ae Aviator\u00ae World Elite Business Mastercard\u00ae Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>In October 2023, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/news\/american-aadvantage\/aviator-business-card-paused\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Barclays closed applications for the AAdvantage<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Aviator<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> World Elite Business Mastercard<sup>\u00ae<\/sup><\/a>, and applications haven't reopened since then. Small business owners wanting to <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/airlines\/american-aadvantage\/earn-american-miles\/\" rel=\"noopener\">earn AAdvantage miles<\/a> should consider the <a data-ccid=\"3004019\" href=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/credit-cards\/american-aadvantage\/american-airlines-business-credit-card\/\">Citi<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> \/ AAdvantage Business\u2122 World Elite Mastercard<sup>\u00ae<\/sup><\/a> instead. Or, here's a list of the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/credit-cards\/best-business-credit-cards\/\" rel=\"noopener\">best small business credit card offers<\/a> currently available.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The <a data-ccid=\"52\" href=\"\/blog\/link\/AAdvantageAviatorBusinessMasterCard\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\">AAdvantage<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Aviator<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> World Elite Business Mastercard<sup>\u00ae<\/sup><\/a><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>is one of two small-business credit cards for the AAdvantage program (the other being the <a data-ccid=\"3004019\" href=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/credit-cards\/american-aadvantage\/american-airlines-business-credit-card\/\">Citi<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> \/ AAdvantage Business\u2122 World Elite Mastercard<sup>\u00ae<\/sup><\/a>, which we'll compare to this card below).<\/p>\n<p>Although the Aviator Business from Barclays is not the most rewarding ever seen, it is still a great all-around card. It provides a wide range of benefits to improve your travels, help you earn American Airlines miles, and help you earn Loyalty Points toward American Airlines elite status.<\/p>\n<p>The card also features a companion certificate, a generous welcome bonus, and a reasonable $95 annual fee. Here's everything you should know about the Aviator Business so you can decide if it's a good card for you.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Aviator_Business_Pros\">Aviator Business Pros<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Preferred boarding access<\/li>\n<li>Free checked bag benefit<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span id=\"Aviator_Business_Cons\">Aviator Business Cons<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Earning the annual companion certificate requires significant spending<\/li>\n<li>Low earning rates compared to other small business cards<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span id=\"Aviator_BusinessWelcome_Offer\">Aviator Business\u00a0Welcome Offer<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>New applicants for the <a data-ccid=\"52\" href=\"\/blog\/link\/AAdvantageAviatorBusinessMasterCard\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\">Aviator Business<\/a> can earn up to 75,000 bonus American Airlines miles. Earn 60,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. Plus, earn 15,000 bonus miles after spending a total of $15,000 on purchases in the first 12 months.<\/p>\n<p>This generous bonus is higher than those offered on most other American Airlines co-branded credit cards, and you don't need a premium card with a large annual fee to earn a large pile of miles.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Aviator_Business_Benefits\">Aviator Business Benefits<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span id=\"Free_first_checked_bag\">Free first checked bag<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Card members receive the first checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries.<\/p>\n<p>This is a significant card benefit and can save card members a bundle. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aa.com\/i18n\/travel-info\/baggage\/checked-baggage-policy.jsp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Typically AA charges $30 for the first checked bag<\/a> on domestic itineraries. Card members who take several flights per year can easily see the saving add up. The savings from just 3 flights per year almost covers the entire cost of the card's annual fee.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Preferred_boarding\">Preferred boarding<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Cardmembers receive Preferred Boarding when traveling on domestic itineraries. The perk is valid for the card member and up to 4 people traveling on the same reservation.<\/p>\n<p>Preferred Boarding is not the same as Priority Boarding (groups 1-4), and it actually means you board in Group 5 along with some other AA credit card holders or those who purchased Main Cabin Extra fares. The benefits are estimated to be worth around $20 per flight, which is how much you would need to pay for Main Cabin Extra.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Companion_certificate\">Companion certificate<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Receive a companion certificate annually when you spend $30,000 or more on your card. The certificate is valid for round-trip economy fares on domestic American Airlines flights. Using the certificate incurs a charge of $99 in taxes and fees.<\/p>\n<p>Your mileage may vary with this benefit. However, it can easily be valued at several hundred dollars if you redeem it for one of the more expensive domestic routes.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Aviator_Business_Earning_Rates\">Aviator Business Earning Rates<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>AAdvantage<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Aviator<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> World Elite Business Mastercard <\/strong>is a solid earner but not outstanding. You earn the following for purchases on your card.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Earn 2 AA miles per dollar spent on eligible goods and services with American Airlines.<\/li>\n<li>Earn 2 AA miles per dollar spent on eligible goods, office supplies, telecoms, and car rental.<\/li>\n<li>Receive 1 AA mile per dollar spent on everything else.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>While the rate is generous, it is by no means outstanding, and you have much better options as a small business. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/credit-cards\/best-business-credit-cards\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Cards<\/a> like the <strong>Ink Business Preferred<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Credit Card <\/strong>are a much better fit if you want to maximize your return and are not too bothered about earning AA miles. <strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>However, if you want to maximize your AA mileage, you have far more options. You can <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/airlines\/american-aadvantage\/earn-american-miles\/\" rel=\"noopener\">check out our comprehensive guide to earning AA miles<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Redeeming_Miles_With_the_Aviator_Business\">Redeeming Miles With the Aviator Business<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When it comes to redeeming AAdvantage miles, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/airlines\/american-aadvantage\/best-ways-to-use-american-miles\/\" rel=\"noopener\">program has several sweet spots<\/a> and multiple options open to you. Some of the best redemption options available include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><\/li>\n<li>The US to Japan in first-class for 80,000 miles one way plus taxes and fees.<\/li>\n<li>Europe to the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent for 42,500 miles one way in business class plus taxes and fees.<\/li>\n<li>The US to Africa on Qatar Qsuites for 75,000 miles one way plus taxes and fees.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span id=\"Application_Restrictions_and_Strategy\">Application Restrictions and Strategy<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Understanding the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/credit-cards\/rewards-card-application-rules\/\" rel=\"noopener\">various rules and restrictions on credit card application<\/a>s enforced by different institutions is key to a successful application. However, Citi cards are subject to the following rules and restrictions.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Barclays_Rules_and_restrictions\">Barclays Rules and restrictions<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Barclays&#8216; rules about welcome bonuses are opaque, to say the least. Anecdotal data points suggest that if you have held the card before, you need to wait for 6 months after closing the account. At that point, data suggests you are eligible again. However, Barclays has some language on their <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.barclaycardus.com\/applycontent\/TnCs.jsp?tc44546\" rel=\"noopener\">T&Cs page<\/a> indicating that that may not be the case:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;You understand and agree that you may no longer be eligible for any bonuses and\/or incentives in connection with a new American Airlines AAdvantage<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Aviator<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Red Mastercard account after this Card Account is opened.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Evidence suggests Barclays does not apply this rule rigorously, as long as you wait a good amount of time before reapplying for the card.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Cards_That_Compete_With_the_Aviator_Business\">Cards That Compete With the Aviator Business<\/span><\/h2>\n<h2><span id=\"Final_Thoughts\">Final Thoughts<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you are a regular AA flyer and own a small business, then the <a data-ccid=\"52\" href=\"\/blog\/link\/AAdvantageAviatorBusinessMasterCard\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\">AAdvantage<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Aviator<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> World Elite Business Mastercard<sup>\u00ae<\/sup><\/a><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>is a great way to make the most of your travel expenses. Although other cards have better earning rates and more perks, they also carry a much higher annual fee. If you are looking to leverage your business spending or a good starting point with AA co-branded credit card, you can't go wrong with AA's business card offering.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ftoc\"><div id=\"toc_container\" class=\"toc_light_blue no_bullets\"><p class=\"toc_title\">Page Contents<\/p><ul class=\"toc_list\"><li><a href=\"#Aviator_Business_Pros\">Aviator Business Pros<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Aviator_Business_Cons\">Aviator Business Cons<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Aviator_BusinessWelcome_Offer\">Aviator Business\u00a0Welcome Offer<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Aviator_Business_Benefits\">Aviator Business Benefits<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#Free_first_checked_bag\">Free first checked bag<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Preferred_boarding\">Preferred boarding<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Companion_certificate\">Companion certificate<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#Aviator_Business_Earning_Rates\">Aviator Business Earning Rates<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Redeeming_Miles_With_the_Aviator_Business\">Redeeming Miles With the Aviator Business<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Application_Restrictions_and_Strategy\">Application Restrictions and Strategy<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#Barclays_Rules_and_restrictions\">Barclays Rules and restrictions<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#Cards_That_Compete_With_the_Aviator_Business\">Cards That Compete With the Aviator Business<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Final_Thoughts\">Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The AAdvantage\u00ae Aviator\u00ae World Elite Business Mastercard is AAdvantage&#8217;s main small business co-brand card. The card offers a generous welcome bonus and 2X earnings per dollar spent on AA. The card also features decent benefits, including a free checked bag and Preferred Boarding for a reasonable $95 annual fee.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":112245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12055],"tags":[12776,12788],"coauthors":[36383],"class_list":["post-91506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-credit-cards","tag-american-aadvantage","tag-barclays"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91506"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255808,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91506\/revisions\/255808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91506"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=91506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}