Deal has ended, view more credit card bonuses by clicking here.
Update 3/20/25: Available again.
The Offer
- Sign up for the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite MasterCard and receive a signup bonus of 70,000 AAdvantage miles after you make your first purchase in the first 90 days and pay the $99 annual fee
Card Details
- No foreign transaction fee
- Annual fee of $99 is not waived the first year
- First checked bag free, for the primary cardmember and up to 4 companions on eligible bags when traveling on domestic itineraries operated by American Airlines
- Group 5 boarding, for the primary cardmember on domestic itineraries operated by American Airlines
- 25% inflight savings on food, beverages, and headsets on American Airlines-operated flights
- Earn 2x miles on all eligible American Airlines purchases
- Earn 1x points on all other purchases
Our Verdict
Not as good as the 75,000 point bonus. The upside is this is available via referral so if you can refer a friend/family member and effectively split the referral miles then this offer is actually better. You can see how being added as an AU affects your credit by reading this post. We will add this to the best credit card bonuses, but keep in mind if you’re not using a referral from somebody you know it’s probably better to wait for the 75k bonus to return. This is also the best offer on a card with no minimum spend. Read through these things you should know about Barclays credit cards before asking any basic questions in the comments.
Post history:
- Update 2/2/25: Still live
- Update 1/31/25: Last day.
- Update 10/25/24: Available again.
- Update 8/26/24: Bonus still active.
- Update 7/30/24: Deal will end tomorrow.
- Update 6/14/24: This offer is now available via public link. The public version gets 70k directly and does not need the authorized-user card added. (ht dealdad)
Thank you very much! Called the number with the code on Aug7 afternoon. Instantly approved for 70K AA offer (Barclays AA Red Aviator)
DP 8/6 called to apply for the 70k aviator posted below. Told them I didn’t have a promo code or recent AA flight and proceeded normally. After application submission got a call from Barclay to confirm income and my past card velocity. Told them I had new spend and wanted to capitalize on the sign up bonuses (had 5 opened in the past 12 months with 3 of those being Hawaiian air cards). They needed to move some credit from the other cards, which I obliged, and was approved on the card.
Nice! What was the spend requirement?
DP 8/5: called and applied and declined. canceled card last December, reason was recently had this card. too bad.
8/5: called number below and was offered the 70k bonus, they did ask for my last AA flight and the promo code. I did have a recent AA trip from a few days ago, but told them I didn’t have the code which they said was OK. Promo went through and was instantly approved.
DP 8/2: called and asked for the 70k offer, approved. did not have a promo code, but did offer dates of a trip I took on AA back in April.
What if you have not flown AA?
Same question, I’ve never flown with AA but I do have an upcoming AA flight booked tho
That’s fine, just tell them you forgot or don’t have that info
Called number posted below on 7/31/2025, asked for 70k offer and was approved instantly. Asked for promo code and flight date but stated I did not have that info available
Congrats. Do you see the bonus offer showing immediately in your barclays app or in the online portal? I was just approved as well, and still no bonus tracker shows.
Thanks! I saw the bonus tracker almost immediately in the Barclays app in the Rewards tab. Odd it’s not showing for you. Only reason I can think of is maybe you didn’t link your AA# to the card when applying. Other than that I have no idea.
7/22/2025 approved instantly. forgot code forgot date, about 30 minutes call.
curious — approved for what? (the 50k offer w/o af mentioned below), or did you manage to get the older 70k offer — and via a call on 7/22? (or a while back?)
Randomly found this link (maybe from reddit?) 50k + waived 1st year AF https://cards.barclaycardus.com/banking/credit-card/american-airlines/mastercard-mastercard-world-elite/out-of-home/e59d423b-4ccd-40d4-8f6e-42617c2ffc6c/
It’s legit, I just found it on google in case anyone is skeeved out by random links. I just searched barclay american airlines and it was like the third or fourth link down in Chrome incognito mode
can call 866-951-7197 and ask for 70K offer, though may need a promo code
This worked. I didn’t have a promo code and they asked for the date when I last travelled on AA and gave the 70k offer. I unfroze TransUnion and they asked me to do all 3 and I did experian (but equifax had error) but still submitted and got approved for 22k.
Did they confirm the last time you flew with them or no? Thinking of doing this but I flew AA last year so might be too long ago
Did you call before or after you applied for the card at the current offer?
I’m going to call this number once I get the card and ask them to match this bonus. I flew on AA back in February.
This worked!! TYSM!! I had a flight attendant code from a flight in January that I used. They also asked for the date of the flight which I gave them. Had to call recon afterwards but Recon never verified any of my AA details. Approved and the 70K offer shows in app. TYSM!! I had procrastinated in late May after flying back on Qatar QSuite.
When you say shows up in app, do you mean the Barclays app? This will be my first AA/Barclays card so I don’t have an existing relationship with them but I would love to get this offer if possible. Even better if I don’t have to give out my SSN over the phone.
I’m so sorry I didn’t respond earlier. I just saw this now, I meant that the 70K offer after calling was attached to the newly opened card. The only way to get this offer now is by calling unfortunately.
Do you have a promo code I can use?
Same experience, thanks for sharing!
I was offered 70K upfront with a $99 annual fee, not waived in the first year. I was asked for a promo code (I used a random code found on Reddit), the date I travelled last time (it was in 2018), and address\ssn stuff. Got approved for 22K. Last time I opened the same card on 06/23 and closed on 06/24
Hi
Val , 
Val Just to understand … any random code will work? And you tell CSR that you have a code for the 70K offer, last flight in 2018 and it worked?
Thanks for this! I guess I have to find a promo code now 🙂
Did this today and I didn’t even need to ask for 70k. Just provided a 6 digit promo (employee) code i found on a travel blog from a little less than a year ago.
where are you typing this code in for 70k?
Calling the number worked today(July 3). Applied and was approved for the 70k offer without any issues. They asked for a promo code. When I said I didn’t have one anymore they asked for the date I last flew. I gave a date, but they didn’t require any further proof or even ask for a destination.
Followed your instructions, still being offered as now. Pending and approved same day after they called requesting to move existing credit.
This worked for me just now! Previous card closed in Dec 2025. Tried applying online in early 2026 when this offer was available, but was denied as too close to closure of previous account. So surprised I was approved over the phone now. 70K for no spend is great and last chance before this card no longer exists. Thanks for the tip!
Just to add that as of 30 min after approval, I still don’t see the offer in my barclays app or online :/ Hope it just needs a little time.
The bonus offer showed this morning in the app, so happy camper here! Free 70K AA points.
No luck here. I received this offer with calling, but didn’t pass the initial application check. Called into recon and said I wouldn’t get approved since I had the card and closed it too recently (December 2024). Oh well, maybe I’ll try again before it is gone.
I’m kicking myself I didn’t go through with the application on 5.31 I still have screenshots of the 70k on my device. Unfortunately I didn’t apply till yesterday. I do have the silver no fee AAviator card since 2014. I applied anyway because I have seen other posts where you can have the no fee and the red card at the same time. Anyway… app ended with a “7 to 10 business days for decision” message. However this morning the Credit Department called asking me to call back to finish the application. I did and after speaking to them and another department they approved my application with credit reallocate from another Barclay Card. Cool! Still worth 50k AA miles even though you have to pay the $99 fee. Can’t wait to purchase a black coffee at Sheetz! Lol
I’m in the same boat. I saw it active before going to bed early the morning of the 1st and thought “I’ll just wait until I wake up to apply.” When I did, the link had expired.
You still have to pay the $99 annual fee upfront even with the link myaviatorcard that said you didn’t have to for the first year?
You’ve always had to pay a $99 annual fee with this card. I had to in 2014