Best American Airlines Credit Card

Yes, American Airlines credit card miles expire, after 18 months of inactivity. AAdvantage loyalty program rules state that miles expire when a member does not “earn or redeem miles on American or with an AAdvantage partner at least once every 18 months.” All American Airlines credit cards, whether issued by Citi or Barclays, reward the cardholder with AAdvantage Miles.

So, to stop your American Airlines credit card miles from expiring, all you have to do is use your credit card to earn miles or redeem any miles you've already accrued. Or, you can book a flight with American Airlines (or another OneWorld Alliance airline) – with or without your credit card, as long as you fill in your AAdvantage membership number. As long as your loyalty account stays active in at least one of these ways every 18 months, your miles will last forever.

If your American Airlines credit card miles expire, all is not lost. You can reactivate up to 500,000 miles through your online AA account or by calling American Airlines, for a fee. AA does not disclose the prices on their website and they differ depending on the number of miles.

Note: Mileage expiration is temporarily suspended through June 30, 2021 due to COVID-19.

The only American Airlines credit cards that provide travel insurance are the American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red Credit Card and the American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Silver Credit Card. The types of travel insurance offered include travel accident insurance, baggage delay insurance, trip cancellation and interruption protection, as well as car rental insurance.

Having said that, you can also check out our editors' latest picks for the best credit cards with travel insurance on the market.

The 2 American Airlines credit cards with no annual fee are the AAdvantage Aviator Mastercard and the AAdvantage MileUp Card. The Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select and CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select cards also come with no annual fee for the first 12 months. After that, the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card's annual fee jumps to $99, while CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select charges $99 after the first year.

For no annual fee, the AAdvantage Aviator card gets you a 25% discount on all American Airlines inflight food and beverage purchases, and 1 mile per $1 spent on all purchases. The AAdvantage MileUp card gives you that same 25% inflight discount, plus a bonus of 10,000 miles + $50 statement credit when you spend $500 within the first 3 months. And even though the Citi and CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select cards only have no annual fee for the first year, both cards offer lucrative bonuses and travel perks such as a free checked bag on all American Airlines flights for you and up to four guests on the same reservation.

Annual fees are some of the most common credit card fees. They're automatically charged to your card, usually on the month of your account anniversary (rather than every calendar year), and will show up on your statement as a regular purchase. When you're charged an annual fee on an American Airlines credit card, you're effectively paying an advance on any benefits and rewards the card offers. Generally, the higher the annual fee, the more benefits and rewards you'll get. An American Airlines credit card with no annual fee is ideal for budget conscious consumers who occasionally take flights on American Airlines.

Yes, you do get free checked bags with several American Airlines credit cards: The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® and the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®, plus the American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red Credit Card, the American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Silver Credit Card and the American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Business Credit Card. All of those American Airlines cards offer at least one free checked bag when traveling on a domestic itinerary operated by American Airlines.

For all but two of the cards, the benefit covers the primary cardholder and up to 4 other guests on the same reservation. Citi AAdvantage Executive Card and AAdvantage Aviator Silver give one free checked bag for the primary cardholder and up to 8 guests on the same reservation.

You don't have to pay for your flight with an American Airlines credit card to get the free checked bag, but your account must be open at least seven days prior to the date of your flight in order to be eligible. All American Airlines credit cards that offer a free checked bag also give at least 2 miles / $1 you spend on American Airlines purchases, including airfare.

Some of the best American Airlines credit card benefits are bonus miles on American Airlines flights, savings on in-flight purchases, free checked bags, preferred boarding, and even airport lounge access on some cards. The long list of AAdvantage credit card benefits also includes more traditional perks like rental car insurance, travel accident insurance and purchase protection.

Most American Airlines credit cards charge annual fees, ranging from $49 to $450. So, it's a good idea to milk your card for all the benefits you can get.

Here are some of the best American Airlines credit card benefits:

• Bonus miles on American Airlines flights: Most AAdvantage credit cards give 2 miles / $1 on American Airlines purchases.
• Initial bonus: You may be able to get a lump sum of miles for spending a certain amount of money in the first few months your card is open. The best bonus right now is 60,000 miles after making the first purchase within the first 90 days and paying the annual fee, which you can get from the American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red Credit Card.
• Free checked bags: All but three American Airlines credit cards give you a free checked bag on American Airlines flights. Some even give a free checked bag to 4-8 of your travel companions. The three cards without free checked bags are the American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Credit Card, the American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card and the American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Blue Credit Card.
• Preferred boarding: All American Airlines credit cards provide preferred boarding on American Airlines flights, except the American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Credit Card, the AAdvantage MileUp Card and the American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Blue Credit Card.
• In-flight purchase savings: You can get 25% off American Airlines in-flight food and beverage purchases with any American Airlines credit card (the American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Silver Credit Card offers up to $25 per day instead of 25% off).
• Lounge access: The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® offers a complimentary Admirals Club membership for you and your authorized users. You can also bring your spouse, children or up to two other guests.
• Rental car insurance: Only the American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red Credit Card covers you against collision damage and theft, up to the cash value of most rental cars.
• Travel accident insurance: Reimburses you when you or your family die or are seriously injured by a travel provider. The American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red Credit Card has this benefit.
• Trip interruption/cancellation insurance: Pays out when a situation out of your control (e.g. severe weather, sickness) causes the cancellation or early end of your trip. The American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red Credit Card has this benefit.

There are tons of American Airlines credit card benefits. But some cards provide a lot more than others. If you're looking for the most benefits at the lowest price, consider the American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red Credit Card. It offers every major benefit (except for lounge access) and charges a $99 annual fee.

It's also good to note that you can also get some of these benefits without a credit card – just by joining the AAdvantage loyalty program. Basic members only get priority status on waitlists. But Gold members, who have either flown 30 qualifying segments or earned 25,000 qualifying miles in a calendar year, are able to get the priority boarding and free checked bag benefits. You also can get complimentary flight upgrades and discounted Admirals club memberships, among other things.

Yes, you can use your American Airlines credit card anywhere in the world. All American Airlines credit cards are on the Mastercard network, which means they can be used in more than 210 countries and territories.

In addition to being accepted at roughly 37 million merchants worldwide, your American Airlines credit card may offer other global perks specific to American Airlines. For example, Citi AAdvantage Executive allows cardholders free access to nearly 110 airport lounges worldwide (Admirals Club and partners).

The American Airlines credit card partners are British Airways, Marriott Bonvoy, National Car Rental, Norwegian Cruise Line, and more. American Airlines cardholders can also earn bonus miles through AAdvantage Dining partners and the retailers participating in the AAdvantage eShopping mall, which include the likes of Nike, Microsoft, Sam's Club, and numerous local restaurants.

You can then redeem AAdvantage miles toward flight upgrades, hotel stays, car rentals, lounge access, vacations, and more. The actual value of AAdvantage miles vary, depending on which credit card partner the cardholder uses to redeem or transfer their miles.

American Airlines Credit Card Partners

Airline partners

• Oneworld Alliance airlines
• Air Tahiti Nui
• Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air
• Cape Air
• China Southern Airlines
• Etihad Airways
• Fiji Airways
• GOL Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Interjet
• Seaborne Virgin Islands

Hotel partners

• Hyatt
• Marriott Bonvoy
• InterContinental Hotels
• Rocketmiles
• American Airlines Hotels
• Best Western
• PointsHound
• Wyndham

Car rental partners

• Avis
• Budget
• Payless
• Alamo
• National
• Dollar
• Hertz

Cruise line partners

• Carnival Cruise Line
• Celebrity Cruises
• Costa Cruises
• Cunard
• Disney Cruise Line
• Holland America Line
• MSC Cruises
• Norwegian Cruise Line
• Princess Cruises
• Royal Caribbean
• Virgin Voyages

It's also worth noting that American Airlines has two credit card issuing partners: Citi and Barclays. This type of arrangement, while uncommon, gives American Airlines customers more choices when compared to other co-branded airline credit cards, which are issued by a single bank.

To make an American Airlines credit card payment, log in to your account with the bank that issues your card, Citi or Barclays, then navigate to the payments section of your account. After that, put in your bank account information, along with the amount of the payment (minimum due, full balance or another specific dollar amount). Finally, submit your payment.

Both Citi and Barclays also allow payments by phone or mail, as well as through their respective mobile apps (using the same login info). With both banks, you can set up recurring monthly payments if you wish, too.

How to Make an American Airlines Credit Card Payment:

Online: To make a Citi American Airlines credit card payment online, log in to your account, then click on “Make a Payment.” To make a Barclays AAdvantage credit card payment online, log in and click “Pay your bill.”

By phone: Call Citi at 1-800-950-5114 or call Barclays at 877-523-0478.

By mail: Send a check or money order (not cash) to your card's issuer. The address for Citi is P.O. Box 9001037 / Louisville KY, 40290-1037. The address for Barclays is Card Services / P.O. Box 60517 / City of Industry, CA 91716-0517.

You need at least 7,500 miles for a free flight on American Airlines. You can redeem 7,500 AAdvantage miles for a free one-way domestic MileSAAver award flight of up to 500 miles in distance. For a domestic flight longer than 500 miles, you'll need 20,000-30,000 award miles.

American Airlines' flight awards chart is divided into four different award levels: MileSAAver, MileSAAver Off Peak, AAnytime Level 1, and AAnytime Level 2. The award levels differ based on availability, date, and region. MileSAAver and MileSAAver Off Peak are the cheapest options with the least availability. AAnytime Level 1 and Level 2 have much better availability, but require more miles (up to twice as many).

How Many Miles You Need for a Free Flight on American Airlines:

• One-way flight in the contiguous U.S. and Canada: 7,500-30,000 miles
• One-way flight to Alaska: 15,000-40,000 miles
• One-way flight to Hawaii: 20,000-50,000 miles
• One-way flight to Mexico, Central America, or the Caribbean: 12,500-37,500 miles
• One-way flight to Europe: 22,500-65,000 miles
• One-way flight to Asia: 32,500-80,000 miles

Those mile requirements are all for Main Cabin seats. Business and First Class flights will cost more miles, anywhere from 25,000 to 170,000 more per one-way flight. Regardless of which flight you choose, you'll still have to pay the fees and taxes for the flight.

The American Airlines credit card with lounge access is the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard. It comes with an Admirals Club membership, which allows the primary cardholder and up to 2 guests free entry to nearly 50 Admirals Club lounges and more than 60 partner lounges at airports worldwide. A yearly membership is worth up to $650, which more than covers the AAdvantage Executive card's steep $450 annual fee. Amenities vary by location and may include complimentary food and drinks, free Wi-Fi, business centers, and free digital newspapers and magazines.

Primary cardholders and authorized users will need to present their AAdvantage Executive card, a government-issued ID such as a driver's license, and a same-day boarding pass on an eligible flight to access Admirals Club lounges. Eligible flights are any departing or arriving flight operated by American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, or any oneworld partner airline.

Authorized users who are at least 18 years old may access Admirals Club lounges without the primary cardholder present. However, full Admirals Club membership does not apply to authorized users. That means they have no free access privileges at partner lounges, unless they're a guest of either the primary cardholder or another member.