Update 2/27/19: I’ve added some additional information courtesy of VFTW. Also seems likely that Citi will be losing this 10% rebate benefit as well.
Barclays has announced changes to the American Airlines Aviator credit cards they offer and issue. These changes will go into effect in May 2019. Seems like the rumors were correct.
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Flight Cents Introduced For All Cardholders
Flight cents is a program that was introduced in September of 2017 in a pilot program. This lets you round up a purchase to the nearest dollar and purchase miles for 2¢ per point. For example if you made a purchase of $1.02 then it would be rounded up to $2 (you’d pay $2) and you’d earn a total of 51 miles (2 base miles and 49 bonus miles).
You can purchase a maximum of $500 in miles per month and you can also set that limit to a lower amount if you want or turn it off completely if you’re not interested in it. Personally I don’t think buying miles at 2¢ per mile is good value, especially when they can be purchased for less during mile sales. During the pilot program some users were able to purchase miles for 1¢ per mile so this is actually a devaluation in that regard.
Aviator Red
The annual fee on this card will increase to $99 (up from $95). This card will have the following benefits added:
- Anniversary companion certificate. Get a companion certificate for 1 guest for $99 (plus taxes and fees) after account anniversary & $20,000 in spend within the previous card member year.
- WiFi Credit. Up To $25 statement credit on American Airlines in flight WiFi purchases each card member year
The following benefits are being removed:
- 10% rebate on miles redeemed up to 10,000 miles per calendar year.Â
- $100 American Airlines flight discount after qualifying purchases.
Aviator Silver
The annual fee on this card is increasing from $195 to $199. The following benefits are being added:
- Anniversary companion certificate. Get a companion certificate for 2 guests for $99 (plus taxes and fees) after account anniversary & $20,000 in spend within the previous card member year. This is not a new benefit, but the spend requirement has been reduced from $30,000 to $20,000.
- WiFi Credit. Up to $50 statement credit on American Airlines in flight WiFi purchases each card member year
- Up to $25 daily statement credit for in-flight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines operated flights. (This replaces the current benefit of 25% back).
The following benefits are being removed:
- 10% rebate on miles redeemed up to 10,000 miles per calendar year.Â
Legacy US Airways Cardholders
If you are a legacy US Airways cardholder then you’ve continue to receive a bonus 10,000 miles each year at card renewal. Unfortunately this will also be removed. Card members will continue to receive one last 10,000 mile benefit the first time they pay a $99 annual fee. For example if your card renews on March 1st, 2019 you’d receive the 10,000 mile benefit this year and then again in 2020 as 2020 is the first year you are charged a $99 annual fee.
Our Verdict
I see changes to the Aviator Red card as being a net negative as the loss of the 10% rebate is a key reason people like to keep the card. The WiFi benefit is obviously worth a maximum of $25, for some people the companion fare will make up the rest of the difference but personally I’d prefer to have the flat miles rather than having to deal with trying to get a companion deal to work favorably.
The Silver card is interesting due to the $25 daily statement credit for food/beverage being added. I can see this being extremely valuable for people that regular fly American Airlines. The WiFi credit is slightly higher at $50. This helps to better offset the $199 annual fee vs the previous 10,000 mile rebate.
My personal opinion is that the Red card is getting worse and the Silver card is getting slightly better, what do you think of these changes?
