American Airlines Credit Card Benefits: A Guide

If you travel on American Airlines regularly, getting one of the airline’s credit cards can make sense. Not only will you earn additional miles when paying for flights, but the cards also come with valuable perks to improve your flight and save money.

The American Airlines credit cards include:

Let’s learn more about American Airlines credit card benefits, including the differences among cards, exclusions that may apply and how to earn elite status and other perks based on your spending.

The American Airlines credit card benefits vary based on which card you choose, and there are multiple cards available, including options for both consumers and small business owners.

One of the basic benefits of an American Airlines credit card is the ability to earn AAdvantage miles on your spending. With each card, not only will you earn rewards on American Airlines purchases, but you’ll also earn miles on bonus categories and everyday purchases.

This chart highlights how much you’ll earn based on different types of spending.

When you apply for a new American Airlines credit card, you may be able to earn a welcome bonus by meeting the card’s spending requirement within a few months. In general, the higher a card’s annual fee and spending requirement, the more miles you can earn.

The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®, meanwhile, offers the following welcome bonus: Earn 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.

American Airlines credit cards allow cardholders to add authorized users and earn miles on their purchases. Except for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®, each card offers free authorized user or employee cards. With the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®, you can add up to three authorized users for $175 per year, then $175 annually for each additional user.

Based on your annual spending totals on eligible American Airlines cards, you may earn special benefits when booking flights.

When you spend $20,000 in a calendar year on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®, you’ll receive a $125 American Airlines flight discount after renewing your card.

Bring someone with you on your next paid flight with an annual companion certificate. Two American Airlines credit cards earn a companion certificate based on your annual spending. When redeeming these certificates, there is a $99 fee, plus the taxes and fees associated with your flight.

To earn the certificate, you’ll need to spend $20,000 on the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® or $30,000 on the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®.

Barclays and Citi American Airlines credit card benefits at the airport can also improve your travel experience and save you money during your trip.

If you wait to add on checked bags until you’re at the airport rather than booking in advance, American Airlines charges $40 for the first checked bag when traveling domestically or to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Getting free checked bags can save $320 on a round-trip flight for a family of four.

You’ll get the first checked bag free for yourself and up to four companions on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®, AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® and CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®. With the premium Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®, this benefit extends to eight travel companions. The $0-annual-fee American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® doesn’t offer this perk.

Getting on the plane early allows you priority access to the overhead bins and more time to get comfortable ahead of your flight. Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® cardholders get to board in Group 4, while all other AAdvantage cardholders (except the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®) board in Group 5. American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® does not offer early boarding benefits.

Only one of the American Airlines credit cards includes complimentary Admirals Club lounge access. The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® includes a complimentary Admirals Club membership where cardholders can enter the lounge for free whenever they’re flying on American Airlines or an eligible partner airline.

Cardholders can also bring immediate family members (spouse, domestic partner and children up to age 18) or up to two guests in for free.

TSA PreCheck and Global Entry expedite your wait at the airport when going through airport security and U.S. customs, respectively. The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is the only card that includes reimbursement for these application fees up to $100 every four years.

Save money on your in-flight purchases of food and beverages when using your American Airlines credit card. American Airlines AAdvantage credit cards provide a 25% statement credit for all inflight purchases.

If you purchase inflight Wi-Fi, you’ll also save 25% when using the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®. The AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® provides up to $25 in statement credits each anniversary year when purchasing Wi-Fi on American Airlines flights.

American Airlines elite status offers numerous perks for travelers, including complimentary upgrades, waived fees, priority standby and more. You can accelerate your path to elite status using one of American Airlines’ credit card benefits.

Not only will you earn AAdvantage airline miles on every dollar you spend on your AA credit cards, but you’ll also earn one Loyalty Point on each dollar spent. This allows cardholders to earn points toward elite status based solely on their spending — or in conjunction with flying and other qualifying activities.

With the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®, you’ll receive up to 20,000 bonus Loyalty Points per year to boost your elite status. The first 10,000 points are earned by reaching 50,000 Loyalty Points in a status qualification year. A second 10,000 points (for a total of 20,000) are earned when you reach 90,000 Loyalty Points.

Often overlooked benefits of Barclays and Citi American Airlines credit cards don’t earn airline miles or Loyalty Points. However, these benefits can be just as valuable.

All of the American Airlines credit cards, except the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®, waive foreign transaction fees. The American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® charges a 3% fee on international purchases.

Unfortunately, not all American Airlines credit cards include travel insurance or assistance benefits. The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® recently introduced travel insurance benefits, including trip cancellation/interruption protection, trip delay protection, lost baggage protection and worldwide rental car insurance.

The AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® also includes complimentary travel insurance and assistance benefits. These benefits include travel accident insurance, trip cancellation and interruption benefits, baggage delay insurance and rental car protection.

American Airlines credit card benefits for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® also expanded to include travel and dining credits. Cardholders will receive up to $120:

• In Lyft credits: When you take three eligible Lyft rides per month, you’ll receive a $10 Lyft credit.

• Back on Grubhub purchases: Earn one $10 statement credit per month when you make an eligible Grubhub order.

• Back on eligible Avis and Budget car rentals: For every dollar you spend on eligible Avis and Budget car rentals, you’ll receive a $1 statement credit up to the annual maximum of $120.