All of The American AAdvantage Co-Brand Credit Cards Open to New Applicants

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When travel companies merge, there comes a question of which bank will get the co-brand card contract from the new company. Before the merger, both brands probably had their own co-brand card and those contracts with the banks will last past the merger date.

But as it has been said in Highlander, “There can be only one.”

Unless you’re American Airlines (or Marriott), then you can keep the contracts with both banks that offer co-brand cards and have them compete with each other over who can give cardholders more AAdvantage miles.

Both Citi and Barclays have the right to issue American Airlines AAdvantage co-brand credit cards. And unlike Marriott who made the banks separate the offerings, American has the two banks duking it out.

Here are the co-brand American AAdvantage cards offered by Citi and Barclays:

Personal Cards

American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp^℠ Card

This is the only no-annual-fee American AAdvantage card you can apply for. Unfortunately, the MileUp card from Citi doesn’t have many benefits besides earning 2x points on American Airlines and grocery store purchases and getting a 25% rebate on in-flight food and beverage purchases.

Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard

The mass-marketed Citi AAdvantage card is the Platinum Select. It has a $99 annual fee, which is currently being waived for the first year.

Cardholders get the following benefits (which are common for most AAdvantage co-brand cards):

• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Free First Checked Bag
• Priority Boarding
• 25% In-Flight Savings On Food & Beverages
• $125 American Airlines Flight Discount after you spend $20,000 or more in purchases during your cardmembership year and renew your card.

Platinum Select cardholders earn 2x AAdvantage miles on American Airlines purchases and purchases at restaurants and gas stations.

AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard

The equivalent card from Barclays is the Aviator Red. This card also has a $99 annual fee which is NOT waived for the first year.

Cardholders get the following benefits:

• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Free First Checked Bag
• Priority Boarding
• 25% In-Flight Savings On Food & Beverages
• $25 statement credit for in-flight Wi-Fi Purchases
• Companion Certificate good for 1 guest at $99 (plus taxes and fees) if you spend $20,000 on purchases and your account remains open for 45 days after your anniversary date.

Aviator Red cardholders earn 2X miles for every dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases.

Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard

Citi is the only co-brand partner to offer a premium AAdvantage card. (Barclays has an Aviator Silver card but only Aviator Red cardholders are eligible to upgrade to the premium card if deemed a suitable candidate.)

The Citi AAdvantage Executive card has a $595 annual fee. However, it does have a particular set of benefits that makes the fee worthwhile if you’re going to take advantage of them:

• Admirals Club Membership (a value of up to $850)
• Global Entry or TSA Pre✓ application fee credit up to $100 every 5 years
• Enjoy priority check-in and priority airport screening (where available) for you and up to 8 travel companions
• Earn a 10,000 Loyalty Point bonus after reaching 50,000 Loyalty Points in a status qualification year. Earn another 10,000 Loyalty Point bonus after reaching 90,000 Loyalty Points in the same status qualification year.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Free First Checked Bag
• Priority Boarding
• 25% In-Flight Savings On Food & Beverages

Executive cardholders earn 4 miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases.

While that exhausts the personal cards offered by American AAdvantage, there are two business cards available.

Business Cards

CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard

We recently applied and were approved for this CitiBusiness card with a $99 annual fee currently waived for the first year. This card provides the following benefits:

• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Free First Checked Bag
• Priority Boarding
• 25% In-Flight Savings On Food & Beverages
• 25% statement credit for in-flight Wi-Fi Purchases
• Earn an American Airlines Companion Certificate for domestic travel after $30,000 in purchases each cardmembership year and cardmembership is renewed. Fees apply.

You’ll earn 2x American AAdvantage miles in the following categories:

• Eligible American Airlines Purchases
• Cable and Satelite Providers
• Gas Stations
• Select Telecommunications Merchants
• Car Rentals

AAdvantage Aviator World Elite Business Mastercard

Barclays Business AAdvantage card is currently not taking new applicants.

Final Thoughts

Between Citi and Barclays, there are five different American AAdvantage co-brand cards open to new applicants. Ranging from a no-annual-fee option to one that provides Admiral Club access, there’s something there for everyone. The good thing about competition between the banks is that the sign-up bonuses for American AAdvantage cards are always lucrative. That’s helpful if you need to build your balance in the AAdvantage program since it’s not a partner with any of the banks’ transferrable point programs.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary