I have a love-hate relationship with airline credit cards. There can’t be a lot to love about cards, like the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard, when you factor in the benefits and credits that come with the card. For me, it comes down to the question of whether these card benefits and credits outweigh the annual fee. Generally speaking, I’ve found airline credit cards don’t outweigh their annual fee every year.

Now, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t sign up for cards like AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard. Instead, it means that you should run the numbers to determine if these airline cards have value over time. With that optimistic tone to set the stage, let’s dive into the details of the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard.

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AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard Details

New card members earn 50,000 bonus AAdvantage miles after a net purchase is made within the first 90 days of your card account open date and paying the annual fee. The bonus miles will be deposited into your account after the qualifying purchase has been posted to your card account and your annual fee has been paid.

The annual fee is $99 and not waived for the first year. To receive the bonus miles, your annual fee needs to be paid along with making a qualifying purchase.

AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard Credits

Cardmembers receive Wi-Fi statement credits up to $25 per year cardmember year when Wi-Fi purchases are made with your card. Qualifying Wi-Fi purchases are ones made on flights marketed and operated by American Airlines, or marketed by American Airlines and operated by Envoy Air Inc., Republic Airline Inc., SkyWest Airlines, Inc., Mesa Airlines, Inc., PSA Airlines, Inc., or Piedmont Airlines, Inc. This benefit is not available on codeshare flights booked with an American Airlines flight number but operated by another airline.

Primary cardmembers qualify for a 25% statement credit on eligible inflight food and beverage purchases made using their AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard. This benefit applies to flights marketed and operated by American Airlines and operated by Envoy Air Inc., Republic Airline Inc., SkyWest Airlines, Inc., Mesa Airlines, Inc., PSA Airlines, Inc., or Piedmont Airlines, Inc. This benefit is not available on codeshare flights booked with an American Airlines flight number but operated by another airline.

AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard Benefits

Each card anniversary cardmember year you receive an economy fare companion certificate redeemable for 1 companion ticket at $99 (plus taxes and fees) if you spend at least $20,000 on your card in a cardmember year and your account remains open for at least 45 days after your anniversary date. When the companion certificate is used, you pay a $99 companion ticket fee plus taxes and fees ($21.60 or $43.20), for a round-trip qualifying domestic economy ticket for a companion when an individual round-trip qualifying domestic economy fare ticket is purchased and redeemed through American Airlines Meeting Services. The Companion certificate is valid 1 year from the issuance date. Companion certificate eligible travel is defined as travel on flights within the 48 contiguous United States, on flights marketed and operated by American Airlines, or on flights marketed by American Airlines and operated by Envoy Air Inc., Republic Airline Inc., SkyWest Airlines, Inc., Mesa Airlines, Inc., PSA Airlines, Inc., or Piedmont Airlines, Inc. This is not available for travel on codeshare flights booked with an American Airlines flight number but operated by another airline.

A free first checked bag and preferred boarding on domestic American Airlines itineraries for the primary cardmember and up to 4 companions traveling with you on the same reservation is another cardmember benefit.

When traveling internationally, the card member pays no foreign transaction fees on international purchases.

Flight Cents, the last benefit we will cover, is an optional program, that rounds purchases made on your card to the nearest whole dollar. Your total Flight Cents Amount will be used to earn AAdvantage miles. Cardmembers earn 1 AAdvantage mile through Flight Cents for every 2 cents that are rounded up. For example, if your total Flight Cents Amount is $49, you are charged that amount and you will earn 2,450 AAdvantage miles. When AAdvantage miles acquired through Flight Cents are not whole amounts, any amount that is equal to or greater than 0.5 will be rounded up to the nearest whole mile.

How to Earn AAdvantage Miles (Points)

The AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard offers the following earning structure:

• 2X AAdvantage miles on eligible American Airlines purchases

As a point of comparison, you earn points at the following rates for American Airlines purchases with these cards:

• 5X points on airfare with the Amex Platinum Card
• 3X points on travel (airfare) with the Chase Sapphire Reserve

How to Redeem AAdvantage Miles (Points)

With recent devaluations from the major U.S. airlines Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, it’s surprising American Airlines offers the following rates for the award flight examples below:

• 25,000 miles one-way American flight between the US and northern South America
• 57,500 miles a one-way American or Iberia flight between the US and Europe
• 60,000 miles one-way American Airlines or Japan Airlines flight between the US and Japan or Korea
• 70,000 miles one-way Etihad or Qatar flight between the US and the Middle East
• 75,000 miles one-way Qatar flight between the US and Africa

What Cards Compete with the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard?

The two biggest competitors to the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard are the United Explorer Card and Delta SkyMiles Gold Card. Each of these cards earns miles at the following rates:

• United Explorer Card – 2X miles on United purchases, dining, and hotel stays
• Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card – 2X miles at U.S. supermarkets, restaurants, and Delta purchases

Common AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard Questions

What credit score do you need for AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard?

You need a good to excellent credit score, corresponding to a FICO score of 690 to 850 per this article.

Is The Aviator Red Mastercard worth it?

The AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard’s upfront bonus and excellent mileage value of 2.04 cents make it an excellent value per this article.

What in s the annual fee for aviator Mastercard?

$99 per this article.

Does the Aviator Mastercard cover TSA PreCheck?

There is an up to $100 statement credit available for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck available every four years per this article.

Conclusion on the AAdvantage Aviator Red

AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard comes with Wi-Fi, inflight food and beverage statement credits, a companion certificate, a free first checked bag, preferred boarding, no foreign transaction fees, and access to Flight Cents.

What do you make of this card? How do you leverage the perks of this card? Please let me know in the comments below or by sending me an email on my contact page.

Disclaimer: If you click and/or sign up for a credit card through certain links on this site or any of my related social media platforms, I may make a commission from that click-through.  The editorial content on this page and the user comments are not provided by any of the companies mentioned and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. The opinions expressed here are mine alone.