The top American Airlines credit cards of November 2024.

To avoid checked bag fees, receive priority boarding, and relax in an airport lounge when flying American Airlines, all you need is an airline credit card. Additionally, holding certain American Airlines co-branded credit cards can help you earn AAdvantage miles and expedite your path to elite status.

CNBC Select has compiled the top credit cards for both occasional and frequent American flyers, with options from both Citi and Barclays. (Learn more about our methodology here.)

Best for occasional American flyers

Anyone who flies with American Airlines frequently can benefit greatly from the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®.

The Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select Card offers a significant advantage over American Airlines' standard pricing for domestic flights. With this card, you can enjoy the first checked bag for free for yourself and up to four companions, saving you $70 to $80 per person round-trip. This benefit alone can make the card a valuable addition to your wallet.

Best for Admirals Club access

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® is a great option if you want to access Admirals Club airport lounges at a lower cost than a standard annual membership.

The Citi AAdvantage Executive card offers an Admirals Club membership, which allows you and your immediate family or up to two guests to visit unlimited lounges when traveling with American Airlines or an eligible partner airline. These lounges include Admirals Club locations, Alaska Airlines Lounges, and Qantas Clubs.

Best for fair credit

This card is suitable for individuals with fair or average credit scores (580-669) as most American Airlines cards demand a good or excellent credit score (670+).

This card does not earn American miles, but the rewards earned can be redeemed for American Airlines flights at unusually generous rates. Additionally, it does not charge foreign transaction fees.

Best for businesses

This Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® is designed for small business owners residing in or frequently traveling to American Airlines hub cities.

You can earn an American Airlines Companion Certificate annually by spending $30,000 or more on your card, allowing you to bring a guest on eligible domestic American Airlines flights for $99 plus taxes and fees.

Best for no annual fee

If you travel with American Airlines less frequently, the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® program is a better fit because it does not have an annual fee.

The AAdvantage MileUp card offers 2X miles on groceries, making it the top grocery credit card for earning American Airlines miles.

Best for welcome bonus

The AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® offers a valuable and easy-to-earn welcome bonus for those looking to quickly accumulate American Airlines miles.

The AAdvantage Aviator Red card offers a unique benefit: you can earn its bonus after making just one purchase, unlike most other cards that require thousands of dollars in spending over the first few months.

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Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is highly sought after due to its low annual fee, substantial welcome bonus, and valuable ongoing benefits.

Rewards

2X miles at gas stations
2X miles at restaurants
2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases
1X miles on all other eligible purchases

Welcome bonus

After four months of opening an account, you will receive 75,000 bonus miles for every $3,500 spent on purchases.

Annual fee

$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $99

Notable perks

You can enjoy priority boarding, 25% back on inflight purchases, and free checked bags for you and up to four companions on the same reservation for domestic American Airlines flights. Additionally, you'll receive a $125 American Airlines flight discount when you spend $20,000 or more on your card during a card-membership year.

This card has no foreign transaction fees.

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is a high-end credit card with a substantial annual fee, but its exclusive lounge access and other elite-like benefits can make it worth the investment.

Rewards

10X miles on eligible hotels booked through aa.com/hotels
10X miles on eligible rental cars booked through aa.com/cars
4X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases
Spend at least $150,000 on your American Airlines card in a calendar year and earn 5X miles on eligible purchases for the rest of the year.
1X miles on all other eligible purchases

Welcome bonus

After three months of opening an account, you can earn 70,000 miles by spending $7,000.

Annual fee

$595

Notable perks

As the primary cardholder, you will receive a free Admirals Club lounge membership, which costs up to $850 per year for an individual membership. Additionally, you will enjoy priority check-in, boarding, and screening at the airport when traveling with American Airlines. Furthermore, your TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee will be reimbursed once every four years, worth up to $120.

If you value AAdvantage status or are trying to earn elite status without flying, this card's Loyalty Point bonuses will be beneficial. You can earn up to 20,000 bonus Loyalty Points every status qualification year (10,000 bonus Loyalty Points after reaching 50,000 Loyalty Points and an additional 10,000 after reaching 90,000 Loyalty Points).

This credit card offers up to $120 in Lyft credit annually, up to $10 back per month, as well as up to $120 in Grubhub credit annually, up to $10 back per month, and up to $120 in credit for prepaid car rentals every year with Avis and Budget.

Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® Card

The Wander American Express Card from Credit One Bank is a versatile travel card that enables you to earn substantial rewards and enhance your credit rating.

Rewards

You can earn 10X points on eligible hotels and rental cars when you book through the Credit One Bank travel partner site.
5X points on eligible travel
5X points on dining
5X points on gas purchases
1X points on all other purchases

Welcome bonus

None

Annual fee

$95

Notable perks

This card offers no foreign transaction fees, travel accident insurance, retail protection, return protection, and extended warranty for eligible purchases. Additionally, points can be redeemed for travel, statement credits, merchandise, gift cards, and more.

Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®

Earning American Airlines miles through the use of the Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® can help you turn your business expenses into miles.

Rewards

2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases
2X miles on purchases at telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers
2X miles on car rentals
2X miles at gas stations
1X miles on all other eligible purchases

Welcome bonus

After four months of opening an account, you will receive 65,000 bonus miles for every $4,000 spent on purchases.

Annual fee

$0 intro annual fee for the first 12 months, then $99

Notable perks

This card provides preferred boarding, a 25% discount on eligible inflight purchases, and a free first checked bag for you and up to four companions on the same reservation. Additionally, every year after spending $30,000 or more on the card, you will receive an American Airlines Companion Certificate, which can be used for domestic economy travel and allows you to bring a guest for $99 plus taxes and fees for the additional ticket.

The card has no foreign transaction fees and offers travel management tools for streamlined bookings and expense tracking.

American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®

Earning AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points with American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® is possible without an annual fee.

Rewards

2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases
2X miles at grocery stores (including grocery delivery services)
1X miles on all other eligible purchases

Welcome bonus

After three months of opening an account, you will receive 15,000 miles for every $500 spent on purchases.

Annual fee

Notable perks

Using your AAdvantage MileUp card for inflight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines flights will earn you 25% back. Additionally, you can add authorized users to this card without any additional fees.

AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®

The AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® provides a substantial welcome bonus and a valuable intro-APR offer.

Rewards

2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases
1X miles on all other purchases

Welcome bonus

After making your first purchase within the first 90 days and paying the annual fee in full, you will earn 60,000 miles.

Annual fee

$99

Notable perks

You can enjoy a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 15 months when you complete them within 45 days of opening your account. After the intro APR expires, a variable rate of 20.74% to 29.99% applies. Each balance transfer comes with a fee of 5% of the transfer amount, with a minimum of $5.

You can receive 25% back on eligible inflight purchases, preferred boarding, and the first checked bag for free for you and up to four travel companions on the same reservation. Additionally, every card anniversary year, you can receive $25 back for inflight Wi-Fi purchases. If you qualify for the companion certificate, you can save on cash bookings by earning it after spending $20,000 or more on the card in an account anniversary year (and keeping the account open for 45 days after your anniversary date). The companion certificate is valid on domestic economy flights and costs $99 plus taxes and fees.

What are American Airlines miles worth?

The value of an American Airlines mile varies depending on how it is used, with experts typically valuing AAdvantage miles at approximately 1.6 cents per point.

Using miles to access the Admirals Club lounge, you'll receive one cent per mile in value. While miles can also be used for seat upgrades, hotels, and rental cars, the greatest value is obtained when using AAdvantage miles to book award flights with American Airlines and its partner airlines.

How to maximize your American Airlines miles

The best value for redeeming AAdvantage miles is typically obtained through flights. American Airlines employs dynamic pricing for its own flights and fixed prices for partner awards. To maximize the worth of your miles, take advantage of the best deals, such as international business-class flights.

American Airlines offers flights starting at 7,500 miles in economy and 15,000 miles in business class, though prices can fluctuate depending on demand and sales. For instance, an economy flight from Charlotte to Dallas is currently available for 8,500 miles and $5.60 in taxes, which equates to a value of over 2.2 cents per point. However, a similar flight on the same day costs 13,000 miles (less than 1.5 cents per mile in value), so your value can vary.

Booking partner business-class awards from the U.S. to the Middle East with international partner flights can significantly increase the value of your miles. For example, you can book a one-way award on Qatar Airways or Etihad for 70,000 miles, which is an incredible value of over seven cents per mile. These flights can cost well over $5,000, making it an exceptional deal.

Pros and cons of an American Airlines credit card

Why trust CNBC Select?

At CNBC Select, our goal is to deliver top-notch service journalism and in-depth consumer advice to our readers, enabling them to make well-informed decisions when it comes to their finances. Our credit card reviews are the result of thorough reporting by our team of expert writers and editors, who possess extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content independently, without any input from our commercial team or external third parties. We uphold the highest journalistic standards and ethics. For more information on how we select the best American Airlines credit cards, please refer to our methodology.

Our methodology

Over 250 major credit cards from FDIC-insured banks and NCUA-insured credit unions were analyzed by CNBC Select to determine the best value for American Airlines flyers.

We evaluated each card based on various aspects, including rewards, annual fees, welcome bonuses, introductory and standard APR, balance transfer fees, and foreign transaction fees. Additionally, we examined any extra benefits (e.g., travel or merchant statement credits), cardholder protections (e.g., purchase protection, $0 liability protection, and travel insurance), the application process (e.g., whether a credit pull or minimum credit score is required), and the ease of redeeming points (e.g., whether rewards are tied to a specific brand or transferable to partners, and how they can be redeemed for cash back). We also took into account CNBC Select audience data, such as demographics and engagement with our content and tools.

We utilized Esri's consumer spending data forecasts to determine where U.S. consumers spend the most money, such as on dining and travel, to help us determine the most valuable bonus categories for our rewards program. Additionally, we considered the transferability and cash-back redemption options when determining the value of points or miles.

We prioritized AA cards that generate AAdvantage miles and offer travel-related perks when flying with American Airlines.

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