It’s understandable if you get confused by the co-brand credit cards offered by American Airlines for their AAdvantage program. For years, both Barclays and Citi issued AAdvantage co-branded cards. This arrangement dates back to the US Airways–American Airlines merger. But starting in 2026, Citi will become the exclusive issuer of AAdvantage cards, and Barclays’ Aviator products will be phased out or transitioned.
The standard card in the Barclays Aviator portfolio is the Red card.
AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard
Annual Fee
$99 per year
Sign Up Benefits
The current advertised offer for this card has a 50,000-mile bonus once you pay the $99 annual fee and make your first purchase. That’s right, no spending requirement. You can sign up on the Barclays website.
Barclays is no longer expected to take applications for this card after September 30, 2025. Citi will take over as the sole issuer of American Airlines cards in 2026.
Spending Bonus Categories
The American AAdvantage Aviator Red card earns 2X miles for every dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases. The card earns one point per dollar for all other types of spending.
No Foreign Transaction Fees
As a card that can be used on American flights worldwide, the American AAdvantage Aviator card doesn’t charge any foreign transaction fees.
Free First Checked Bag
The primary card member and up to four companions traveling on the same reservation may each check one bag free of charge when traveling on domestic itineraries marketed and operated by American Airlines or its affiliates. This is not available for travel on codeshare flights booked with an American Airlines flight number but operated by another airline.
The card account must be open 7 days prior to air travel and include the primary card member’s AAdvantage account number 7 days prior to air travel.
This means you’d be able to get the free checked bag benefit while still paying for the ticket with a card like the Sapphire Reserve to take advantage of the better trip delay and lost baggage insurance this card offers.
This benefit cannot be combined with any existing AAdvantage Program elite program benefits, or Premium cabin benefits, including any waiver of baggage charges. So you don’t get two free bags if you already get a free checked bag due to status.
The first checked bag benefit does not apply to overweight or oversized bags.
Your first checked bag on American costs $30, meaning this benefit alone can save more than the cost of the annual fee on a single round trip for 2 people.
Priority Boarding
The primary cardholder and up to four companions traveling with and listed in the same reservation as the primary cardmember are eligible to board at the same time as the primary cardmember. Eligible cardmembers will board after Priority boarding is complete but before the rest of economy boarding. The boarding benefit will display on your American Airlines boarding pass as Group 5 (Here’s a full list of boarding orders for all US airlines).
The same restrictions apply as with the free checked bag where the card account must be open 7 days prior to air travel, and include the primary cardmember’s AAdvantage account number 7 days prior to air travel.
Anniversary $25 Wi-Fi Credits
The Aviator Red card provides a Wi-Fi statement credit up to a maximum of $25 each card membership year (each 12-month period through and including your anniversary month) towards in-flight Wi-Fi sessions purchased on American Airlines flights and paid for with your card.
25% In-Flight Savings
Primary cardmembers save 25% on eligible inflight food and beverage purchases when purchased using the Card Account. Savings do not apply to any other inflight purchases, such as wireless internet access or inflight entertainment.
Anniversary Companion Certificate
You can earn a companion certificate good for 1 guest at $99 (plus taxes and fees) after spending $20,000 on your card in an anniversary year. The certificate is good for a domestic round trip itinerary and is good for one year from the issue date.
Chip + PIN
Barclays cards offer true Chip + PIN functionality. Combine that with a card having no foreign transaction fees and you have a perfect card to put in your wallet when traveling overseas, especially in Europe where many automated kiosks (gas stations and mass transit tickets) only take chip + PIN cards.
Travel Insurance Coverage
The AAdvantage Aviator Red provides several different types of travel coverage.
- Loss Damage Waiver for rental cars (as secondary coverage to your own car insurance)
- Trip Cancellation and Interruption coverage
- Baggage Delay coverage
AAdvantage Dining
Aviator cardholders are automatically enrolled in the AAdvantage Dining program. That’s a nice gesture as other cards typically make you register your card yourself. When visiting a restaurant that is a part of the program, cardholders receive:
- Basic members earn 1 mile per dollar
- When opting in for receiving emails from AAdvantage Dining, you’ll earn 3 miles per dollar
- VIP members (who have 12 qualified visits in a calendar year and receive emails) earn 5 miles per dollar starting with the 12th visit.
Use of Miles on Partner Airlines
While you can use your miles to book flights on American, you can also use miles to book award travel on Oneworld and other partner airlines. In 2016, we flew on American from London to Miami in business class.
Final Thoughts
For years, the Aviator Red was one of the easiest airline co-brand cards to recommend. Between the first checked bag, priority boarding, Wi-Fi credit, and inflight savings, it was simple to get more value than the $99 annual fee.
However, the picture is changing. With Citi taking over as the exclusive issuer of American Airlines credit cards in 2026, it’s not clear what will happen to Barclays-issued Aviator accounts. Some cardholders may be transitioned into Citi products, while others may see benefits change or disappear.
That uncertainty makes it harder to call the Aviator Red a long-term keeper. If you fly American domestically more than once or twice a year and check bags, the benefits can still pay for the card in the short term. But if you’re looking for stability, it may make more sense to evaluate Citi’s AAdvantage lineup going forward.
As always, Your Mileage May Vary.
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