Update: We had a number of additional questions for Barclaycard, they were willing to answer these questions and they can now be viewed here.
As you already know, US Airways & American Airlines are merging. This creates an interesting problem for the Barclaycard US Airways cards. We’ve known for awhile that these cards would be product changed into Barclaycard American Airlines Aviator cards. We were originally told that there would be two cards: Red & Silver. It’s turn out that there are actually four cards, Red, Silver, Blue & Aviator (basic).
Here are the links for each card (listed in worst to best benefits):
Contents
Comparison Table
Below is a table that compares the four of these cards. All of these cards will come with an EMV chip as standard.
| Barclaycard Aviator | Barclaycard Blue | Barclaycard Red | Barclaycard Silver | |
| Earn rate on AA | 1x | 2x | 2x | 3x |
| Earn rate on hotels & car rentals | 0.5x | 1x | 1x | 2x |
| Earn rate on all other purchases | 0.5x | 1x | 1x | 1x |
| Annual fee | $0 | $49 | $89 | $195 |
| 10% of redeemed miles back | No | No | Yes (10,000 mile limit) | Yes (10,000 mile limit) |
| Free checked bag | No | No | Yes, for you and up to 4 companions | Yes, for you and up to 8 companions |
| Priority boarding | No | No | Yes, group one | Yes |
| $100 flight discount | No | No | Yes, must spend $30,000+ in a calendar year | No |
| 25% in flight savings | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Additional Redemption Flexibility | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Elite qualifying miles | No | No | No | 5,000 for $20,000 in spend (10,000 for $40,000+ in spend) |
| Companion Certificate | No | No | No | Yes |
| Global Entry | No | No | No | Yes, $100 statement credit |
| Anniversary bonus continue to be received | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Foreign transaction fees | Yes | No | No | No |
AAdvantage® Aviator™ MasterCard®
- No Annual Fee
- Earns at the following rates:
- 1x miles on US Airways & American Airline Purchases
- 0.5x miles on all other purchases
- 25% discount on food, beverages and headsets on US Airways & American Airlines operated flights
- Additional Redemption Flexibility
AAdvantage® Aviator™ Blue MasterCard® benefits
- $49 Annual Fee
- Earns at the following rates:
- 2x miles on all American Airline/US Airways purchases
- 1x miles on all other purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
- 25% discount on food, beverages and headsets on US Airways & American Airlines operated flights
- Additional Redemption Flexibility
AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red MasterCard
- Annual fee of $89 (this is what has previously been reporting, the new pages do not show annual fees)
- Earns at the following rates:
- 2x miles on all American Airline/US Airways purchases
- 1x miles on all other purchases
- 10% of redeemed miles will be redeposited into your account (limit of 10,000 miles per calendar year
- Free checked bag for you and up to 4 traveling companions
- Priority boarding (zone 2 on domestic US Airways operated flights and group 1 on domestic American Airline flights)
- No foreign transaction fees
- $100 flight after your account anniversary in years where you spend $30,000 or more and maintain your account in good standing
- 25% discount on food, beverages and headsets on US Airways & American Airlines operated flights
- Additional Redemption Flexibility
- In the past it’s reported that cardholders with the annual 10,000 point bonus will keep this benefit
AAdvantage® Aviator™ Silver World Elite MasterCard®
- Annual fee of $195 has previously been reported
- Earns at the following rates:
- 3x miles on all American Airline/US Airways purchases
- 2x miles on eligible hotels and car rentals
- 1x miles on all other purchases
- Elite qualifying miles:Â 5,000 for $20,000 in spend (10,000 for $40,000+ in spend)
- Companion certificate good for up to two guests at $99 each when you spend $30,000 or more in purchases (taxes and fees apply)
- In the past it’s been reported that cardholders with the annual 10,000 point bonus will not keep this benefit, but it now looks like you will continue to receive this benefit
- 10% of redeemed miles will be redeposited into your account (limit of 10,000 miles per calendar year)
- $100 statement credit when you purchase Global Entry
- No foreign transaction fees
- 25% discount on food, beverages and headsets on US Airways & American Airlines operated flights
- Free checked bag for you and up to 8 traveling companions
- Priority boarding (zone 2 on domestic US Airways operated flights and group 1 on domestic American Airline flights)
- Access to U.S based customer service and Mastercard’s elite concierge service
Final Thoughts
It’s interesting that Barclaycard will be offering four different co-branded American Airlines cards, I’ve heard a few whispers that Barclaycard will actually be issuing new American Airlines credit cards that will directly compete with Citi, but these are only rumors for now.
The 10% bonus is probably my favorite benefit and as long as I can get that in addition to the 10,000 anniversary miles I already receive then this card will be a definite keeper. I was first alerted to the possibility of four different AAdvantage cards on reddit. I’m also particularly interested in how Barclaycard will decide who gets what card, they’ve already stated that the Silver product will be kept for “Select, highly engaged US Airways Dividend Miles MasterCard cardmembers with a strong loyalty to the airline who appreciate the recognition and perks that a premium airline experience provides.” But it’s still unclear what version of the card other cardholders will be able to get.
Hat tip to user jolesch posted it on Travel Codex forum via Chasing The Points
