American Airlines Credit Card Benefits

American Airlines credit card benefits include generous rewards, free checked bags, early boarding and savings on inflight purchases on American Airlines flights. Some cards also come with premium perks such as travel insurance, Admirals Club lounge access, free companion certificates or a Global Entry credit.

This content is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. WalletHub independently collected information on 02/17/2025 and details are likely to have changed since. Please check the issuer’s site before applying.

American Airlines Credit Card Rewards

All American Airlines credit card offers provide an initial bonus and generous ongoing rewards. However, the amount that you earn differs from card to card. The more expensive cards tend to have better rewards.

 

 

Key Things to Know About American Airlines Credit Card Rewards

No limit: There is no limit to the number of miles you can earn with an American Airlines credit card.

Expiration: Your American Airlines miles will expire after 24 months of inactivity, meaning you’ve gone two years without earning or redeeming any points. That’s easy to avoid by simply using your card.

Redemption options: You can redeem your miles for flights, seat upgrades, rental cars, hotel stays, vacation packages, Admirals Club lounge membership, luxury experiences and more.

Loyalty Points: All American Airlines credit cards offer one “loyalty point” for every mile earned on eligible purchases. These are different from rewards points, as they’re used to upgrade your status level in the American Airlines AAdvantage loyalty program.

The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card takes things even further and gives you a bonus of 10,000 loyalty points when you reach a total of 50,000 loyalty points earned during any status qualification year. You can earn an additional bonus of 10,000 points when you reach 90,000 loyalty points earned during the same year.

SimplyMiles: All American Airlines credit card holders can earn extra miles and loyalty points when they shop with partnered merchants, such as Amazon, Ugg, AT&T, ESPN+, Lyft, Microsoft, Sunoco and more. These special offers change over time.

AAdvantage eShopping: Installing this free browser extension can get you extra miles and automatic coupons at more than 1,200 online stores.

AAdvantage Dining: This program lets you earn extra miles when you eat out, offering up to 5 miles per $1 spent. You can also earn up to 500 bonus miles in your first 30 days.

American Airlines Credit Card Airline Benefits

American Airlines credit cards offer a variety of airline-specific benefits which can make your flying experience less expensive and more comfortable. You can learn about the possible benefits below, which differ from card to card.

Free Checked Bags

Most American Airlines credit cards offer a free checked bag for you and companions on the same reservation, but the exact number of people included varies by card.

Preferred/Priority Boarding

Some American Airlines credit cards automatically give you preferred or priority boarding, which gets you onto your flight quicker. People with priority board before those with preferred status.

Priority Check-In and Screening

Only people who own the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card receive this benefit, which further speeds up your experience by giving you priority lanes at the check-in counter and security screening.

Savings on Inflight Purchases

You will receive a 25% rebate on eligible inflight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines flights with all American Airlines credit cards. The Citi AAdvantage Business Card also offers this 25% discount on Wi-Fi purchases.

Companion Certificate

Some American Airlines credit cards offer a companion certificate if you meet certain conditions. The companion certificate allows you to add a companion to your flight booking for $99 (plus taxes and fees), which could save you a lot of money, depending on the original cost of the flight.

American Airlines Vacations

With all American Airlines credit cards, you can get a 10% discount on bookings made through the American Airlines Vacations portal.

Annual Flight Discount

The Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select offers a $125 American Airlines flight discount when you spend at least $20,000 during a card membership year and renew your card.

Admirals Club Membership

The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card gives you a complimentary membership to the Admirals Club lounge network, valued at up to $850 per year. You can enjoy free snacks, beverages, Wi-Fi and other amenities at nearly 50 Admirals Club locations worldwide. You also get access to more than 50 additional partner lounge locations globally.

AAdvantage Business

This is the business version of the American Airlines loyalty program. In addition to offering miles and loyalty points, it gives businesses tools to “streamline booking and travel management,” according to American Airlines, and it’s advertised as a benefit on the Citi AAdvantage Business Card.

American Airlines Credit Card Travel Benefits

No Foreign Transaction Fee

As is typical for travel credit cards, all American Airlines credit cards have $0 foreign transaction fees.

Worldwide Acceptance

All American Airlines credit cards are on the Mastercard network, so they’re accepted in more than 210 countries and territories.

Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Benefit

The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card offers a credit of up to $120 every four years to cover the cost of the application fee for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. Since Global Entry also includes TSA PreCheck, we recommend applying for that one to get both.

American Airlines Credit Card Shopping Benefits

Concierge Benefit

All American Airlines credit cards give you access to a free concierge service. A concierge is like a free 24/7 assistant who can help with things like:

• Planning and booking travel
• Making restaurant reservations
• Recommending and purchasing gifts
• Buying event tickets right when they go on sale
• Other reasonable requests you may have

Zero Fraud Liability

You will not be held liable for any fraudulent purchases on your American Airlines credit card, as long as you or the issuer catch them.

Fraud Alerts

Citibank or Barclays (depending on which card you have) will monitor your account for any signs of fraud and alert you if it sees a suspicious charge.

Other American Airlines Credit Card Benefits

Low Annual Fee

The AAdvantage MileUp Card is the only American Airlines credit card that has a $0 annual fee. However, two other American Airlines credit cards provide annual fee introductory promotions.

• The Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select has an intro annual fee of $0 for the first year and $99 after.
• The Citi AAdvantage Business Card has an intro annual fee of $0 for the first year and $99 after.

Additional Mastercard Benefits

Depending on which American Airlines credit card you have and what tier of Mastercard it is, it may come with additional benefits provided directly by the credit card network. Most American Airlines credit cards are World Elite Mastercard credit cards, which is Mastercard’s highest tier.

To find out which supplemental Mastercard benefits come with a certain card, you can consult your guide to benefits if you’ve already been approved. Or you can call Citibank or Barclays customer service prior to applying for one of their respective cards.

You can learn more about the various Mastercard levels and their benefits here on WalletHub.

Credit Building

All American Airlines credit cards will report your account information to all three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, on a monthly basis. You can continue to raise your credit score by using the cards responsibly.

If you’d like to know where your credit currently stands, you can check your credit score for free here on WalletHub.