AAdvantage Aviator Reviews - What Is It?

WARNING: DO NOT BUY AAdvantage Aviator Until You Read This Review!
Is it a Scam? Does It Really Work?

AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard from Barclays is claimed to be one of the credit cards for American Airlines fans to choose from. Like its competing credit cards, it offers an interesting mix of free bags and miles, as well as some boarding perks and opportunities to earn miles while shopping. It can be difficult to figure out which reward card is better and which is worse, but we are going to clear up this confusion by providing you with the most important information about this card's benefits, its fees, rates and customer reviews. The AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard is said to have a number of travel benefits. Since it is an "airline rewards card", it is linked to a definite airline and gives you perks and rewards that can be used for your flights and sometimes, at hotels.

American Airlines has a flyer program known as AAdvantage. You can rack up miles every time you buy an American Airlines flight. However, it could take you a few years before you earn enough miles to be used for a free flight. Believe it or not but the AAdvantage Aviator Red promises to give you 40,000 free AAdvantage miles after your first purchase. You will also get two miles for every dollar spent on the official website of American Airlines, as well as one mile for every dollar spent on anything else. Another perk is that 10% of the miles will be credit back to your account. It means that even if you spend 25,000 miles, you will get 2,500 miles back. Beware, because your free miles can expire. To avoid this, you will need to redeem rewards every 18 months or more frequently. You can lose your rewards if you haven't made transactions or payments for six months or don't have a balance.

Customer Reviews - Does AAdvantage Aviator Really Work?

Before we take a look at the actual customers' reviews, let us discuss some other travel perks offered by this credit card. Once you book your flight, you will get three pre-flight and in-flight rewards, namely free checking of the first bag, 25% off in-flight food and beverage purchases and priority boarding. Remember that the free bag applies only to four people traveling on your reservation booked with your Aviator Red. The discount for in-flight purchases doesn't apply to in-flight internet or entertainment and is only good on American Airlines flights or some of the next carriers marketed by American: Envoy, Compass, ExpressJet, Trans States, SkyWest, Republic, Air Wisconsin, PSA, Mesa, and Piedmont. The priority boarding gets you on the plane before economy class and also applies to four people traveling with you.

The AAdvantage Aviator Red also offers non-flight travel benefits. Since this card is part of the World Elite Mastercard network, it offers some special perks and discounts, for example, ticket discounts on some international airlines, savings at Park 'N Fly airport parking facilities, and free business-class upgrades when you book an economy seat on Lufthansa flights. The card also gets you perks with hotels within the World Elite network, including the Hotel Imperial in Vienna, the Starwood hotels, W Chicago, and Couples Negril in Jamaica. If a trip you booked with your card is interrupted or canceled because of health issues, you could be reimbursed for the cost (or its part) of the trip. However, this benefit has some conditions and restrictions, all of which are described in the benefits guide Barclays. Your AAdvantage Aviator also provides you insurance on car rentals. This feature can be found with other travel credit cards.

HighYa gave the card a low rating from customers; about 2.5 stars. You can find reviews of the AAdvantage Aviator Red card on several credit card websites. WalletHub gave it 84 out of 100, reporting that it is a rather good travel rewards credit card; however, it has some drawbacks. The review seems to be outdated because it will include a $100 flight credit in case if you spend more than $30,000 on the card. Another disadvantage is that you have to spend too much to get the flight credit. Doctor of Credit appreciated that the card offered 40,000 miles with no need to spend any money, like many other cards do. But you will need to pay $95 annually, which means that you are buying miles at $0.23 apiece. MIlesCard.com gives the AAdvantage Aviator Red three stars, pointing out that it is worth this fee. Let us take a look at the actual customers' reviews left online.

"I have now used AAdvantage Aviator for a few years and I do appreciate the miles I have received and that there is no charge for overseas use, but still I have some problems with this card. The matter is that it is often rejected when I am out of the country, despite my regular notifying them of my travel dates. It is difficult to contact them from outside the USA. Every time I use the card, I experience stress wondering whether it will be accepted. I would like to find a worthier card that can be used overseas. I will close this account when I find the right card"

"A Advantage Aviator seemed to be great at first. My limit was $8,000 and the first time I used it I received 40,000 miles. This cost me the $95 membership. But two months later, I had problems in my family and I had to use all the credit cards to pay for the medical bills. Unfortunately, my mother passed away and I could do nothing. Next month, my limit was dropped to $2,700, with $330 available. When I contacted AA Aviator/Barclaycard, I received the sorry for my loss and no help at all"

"I would not recommend Aadvantage Aviator to anyone. I feel very disappointed with this card. They lowered my limit and put me on the "non-preferred" interest rate of 24.95%. By the way, my other credit cards are on the preferred 14.9% or less. I was never late on my payments with this credit card. I do not want to use this card any more. I am now on my way up to get my FICO. I hope I will not have any problems with this card"

My Final Summary

AAdvantage Aviator credit card comes with a number of disadvantages. It allows earning points too slowly. You can earn only two American Airlines miles per dollar you spend on American Airlines purchases and one American Airlines mile per dollar you spend on any other purchases. You will have to pay $95 annual fee beforehand. There is no waiver of the fee the first year. Travel protection is very limited. Trip cancellation coverage ($1,500) is less than that offered by other travel credit cards. There is no flight delay coverage. Even though the AAdvantage Aviator Red has some positive things mentioned higher, it cannot be recommended to usage. There are other more beneficial travel credit cards available on the market for you to choose from.

AAdvantage Aviator Pricing and Rates

This credit card seems to have one of the highest APR levels in the modern airline rewards industry. You can avoid high APR by paying your entire balance on a monthly basis. Since interest rates and fees of a credit card are very important for owners, beware of making a late payment. Purchase APR is 16.74%, 20.74% or 25.74% depending on your credit scores/history. Annual fee is $95. Balance transfer APR is 0% for the first 15 months. Late fee is $37. There is no foreign transaction fee.