AAdvantage Aviator World Elite Business Mastercard: 2x AAdvantage Miles on Everyday Business Expenses
Review
Updated
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The information for this offer was collected independently by Motley Fool Money and has not been reviewed by the issuer. Some items may be out of date.
If you regularly fly American Airlines for your business, a cobranded AAdvantage business credit card can be worthwhile. The AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® is a mid-tier rewards card that earns AAdvantage miles on purchases. It also has a few airline perks that could be valuable for frequent flyers. Check out all the pros and cons in our full AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® review.
This card is not currently accepting new applicants. If you really want a cobranded American Airlines card for your business, check out the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®. Or explore our recommended alternative options below.
Good/Excellent (670-850)
Intro APR
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
Regular APR
17.49%-26.49%, variable
Rewards 2x AAdvantage® miles on eligible American Airlines purchases, eligible office supply, telecom and car rental merchants, 1x AAdvantage® miles on other purchases.
1x-2x miles
Annual Fee
$95
Welcome Offer 80,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles and a $95 statement credit after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.
80,000 miles, $95 statement credit
Best suited to business owners who frequently fly American Airlines in coach with checked luggage. If you fly other airlines, typically fly business or first class, or fly carry-on only, you'll probably be better off with a regular travel rewards card.
This credit card is a good fit for: American Airlines frequent flyers who tend to check a bag on domestic flights.
This card has a number of potentially valuable perks, but only if you regularly fly American Airlines.
The AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® earns American Airlines frequent flyer miles on your purchases. You'll even get bonus miles on a range of everyday business expenses.
The card earns 1x AAdvantage mile per dollar on purchases and earns bonus rewards in the following categories:
The bonus categories can be pretty lucrative for a variety of business types. American Airlines award flights start as low as 12,500 miles.
See more: Best Airline Credit Cards
New cardholders can earn 80,000 bonus miles and a $95 statement credit as a card sign-up bonus. The requirement to qualify is to spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. This is an arguably rich sign-up bonus for the annual fee.
American Airlines started a new program to gain elite status in early 2022. You can reach elite status by earning Loyalty Points. The AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® will earn one Loyalty Point per base dollar spent on card purchases. Bonus miles earned won't equal bonus Loyalty Points.
To be clear, you earn Loyalty Points per dollar spent with your card, not miles earned. For example, if you spend $500 on an American Airlines purchase, you'll only get 500 Loyalty Points, even though you'll earn 1,000 AAdvantage miles. Gold Elite status starts at 30,000 Loyalty Points.
Cardholders of the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® get their first checked bag free on domestic American Airlines-operated flights. This benefit also extends to up to four travel companions on the same reservations. Since checked bag fees start at $30 each -- one way -- this can equate to some decent savings if you can maximize it.
It's important to note that the free checked bag only applies to domestic flights, so it won't help you if you travel on an international American Airlines flight for your business. And if you fly in business or first class, you typically get a checked bag for free anyway, so it's really only useful for economy flights.
Another perk of the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® is preferred boarding status for you and up to four companions on the same reservation. This benefit gets you Group 5 boarding, for which you would otherwise need a Main Cabin Extra ticket.
You'll get the most benefit from this perk if you normally purchase Basic Economy tickets. Preferred boarding is useful if you have carry-on luggage that you need to stow in the overhead bins, as you're more likely to find room in the bins if you're further up the boarding queue.
Any half-decent travel card needs to waive foreign transaction fees, and the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® does just that. Foreign transaction fees are extra card fees tacked onto purchases made in a foreign currency -- anything not U.S. dollars -- or that route through a foreign bank. A card without these fees is a must for anyone who travels internationally or who makes purchases with foreign suppliers.
The purchasing you do on your AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® can pay off not just once, but twice. Cardholders receive a 5% AAdvantage® mileage bonus each year on their account anniversary. So, you'll get a bonus equal to 5% of all the miles you earned with your credit card in the previous account year. For example, if you earned 10,000 miles with your card in the previous year, you'll get 500 bonus miles after your account anniversary.
All jokes about airplane food aside, this perk can be very valuable to anyone on long flights in economy. You'll get 25% off food and beverage purchases on domestic American Airlines flights when you pay with your AAdvantage card.
The discount won't apply to international flights. It also doesn't apply to other purchases, like in-flight internet or entertainment. Also, the discount isn't taken off when you make your purchase. Instead, it will be applied as a statement credit to your card account and can take six to eight weeks to show up.
Business owners who put a lot of spend on their AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® can get a little something extra: an annual companion certificate. If you spend at least $30,000 on your card in a year -- and keep your account open at least 45 days past your anniversary date -- you'll earn a companion certificate.
These certificates can be used to book a domestic economy round-trip ticket for a guest for just $99, plus taxes and fees. (Taxes and fees typically range between $21.60 and $43.20.) You'll need to buy your own ticket on the same reservation to use the companion certificate.
If you want versatile travel rewards: The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (see rates and fees) earns 3x points per dollar on travel and select business purchases ($150,000 annual spending cap), including American Airlines flights. Plus, you can turn those rewards into flights with airlines or hotel bookings.
If you want no annual fee: The Capital One Spark 1.5X Miles Select earns an unlimited 1.5x miles per dollar on purchases. Use your miles for travel on any airline you like, including American Airlines. There's no annual fee and a modest sign-up bonus.
See more options: Best Business Credit Cards
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| AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® | Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card | Capital One Spark 1.5X Miles Select |
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Rating image, 3.50 out of 5 stars.
3.50/5
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Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
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2 stars equals Fair.
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We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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4.50/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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= Excellent
= Good
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Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor |
Rating image, 4.75 out of 5 stars.
4.75/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor
Rating image, 4.75 out of 5 stars.
4.75/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Good/Excellent (670-850) |
Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Good/Excellent (670-850) |
Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Excellent (740-850)
Excellent (740-850) |
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Welcome Offer: 80,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles and a $95 statement credit after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. 80,000 miles, $95 statement credit |
Welcome Offer: Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Earn 90,000 bonus points |
Welcome Offer: Earn a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles – equal to $500 in travel – once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening 50,000 miles |
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Rewards Program: 2x AAdvantage® miles on eligible American Airlines purchases, eligible office supply, telecom and car rental merchants, 1x AAdvantage® miles on other purchases. 1x-2x miles |
Rewards Program: Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases-with no limit to the amount you can earn. Earn 3 points per $1 in select business categories |
Rewards Program: 1.5x miles on purchases, 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 1.5x - 5x miles |
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Intro APR: Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
Intro APR: N/A Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
Intro APR: Save on interest with 0% intro APR on purchases for 9 months; 17.99% - 23.99% variable APR after that. Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
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Regular APR: 17.49%-26.49%, variable |
Regular APR: 20.24% - 26.24% Variable |
Regular APR: 18.49% - 24.49%, variable |
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Annual Fee: $95 |
Annual Fee: N/A $95 |
Annual Fee: $0 |
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AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® is unavailable on Motley Fool Money. All information was collected independently from the issuer. Some items may be out of date. Capital One Spark 1.5X Miles Select is unavailable on Motley Fool Money. All information was collected independently and not reviewed for accuracy or provided by the credit card issuer. Some items may be out of date.
The downsides to this card are most apparent when compared to other travel card options.
Annual credit card fees are only worth paying when they provide enough value to make up for the fee. With the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard®, you'd need to get at least $95 in value each year -- and, ideally, more -- to make the annual fee worth it. For example, you would need to fly four times with a checked bag for the bag waiver to be worth more than the annual fee. If you don't use the checked bag waiver, you'll need to earn a lot of miles to get back that $95.
Although you can get a checked bag and some discounts, the perks aren't exactly worth writing home about, especially compared to other travel credit cards we've reviewed. There's no airport lounge access, for example, nor can you get TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credits.
Earning 2x miles per point on American Airlines purchases can be nice if you only fly with AA. But most of the best travel rewards credit cards offer at least 2x points per dollar on travel, if not more. Those points can then be used for all manner of travel, including free flights, hotel stays, and car rentals.
The only real case in which this card would be preferable to a more flexible travel rewards card is if you're working on elite status. The Loyalty Points you can earn on purchases can make the path to elite status much quicker, especially if you use the card frequently.
The AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® is intended for business owners with good to excellent credit. This is typically a minimum FICO® Score of 670. Like most business credit cards, the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® will require a personal credit check when you apply.
If you regularly find yourself on domestic American Airlines flights during the course of running your business, the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® is worth a look. Checking a bag on at least four flights a year can make up for the annual fee, and the preferred boarding perk can take some stress out of getting on the plane. However, the card's rewards aren't as useful as those offered by some of the best travel cards we've seen. And business owners who typically fly business or first class will find the perks redundant.
Keep reading: Best Rewards Credit Cards
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