AAdvantage Aviator Red vs. Citi AAdvantage Platinum: Citi Goes the Extra Mile

The Aviator Red wows at first with its easy-to-earn bonus, but the Citi card offers more robust long-term benefits.

Sara Rathner
Senior Writer/Spokesperson | Credit cards, travel rewards, debt payment

Sara Rathner is a NerdWallet travel and credit cards expert. She has appeared on the “Today” show and CNBC’s “Nightly Business Report,” and has been quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance, Time, Reuters, NBC News, Business Insider and MarketWatch. Before joining NerdWallet, Sara worked at The Motley Fool for nearly 10 years. She also worked as a freelance personal finance writer and paraplanner and has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

Erin Hurd
Credit cards, rewards, personal finance

Erin is a former writer and assigning editor on the NerdWallet Content team who now heads NerdWallet's travel business. She's a credit card and travel rewards expert at NerdWallet, based in Baltimore, Maryland. She has spent nearly two decades showing readers unique ways to maximize their investments and personal finances. Prior to joining NerdWallet, Erin worked on dozens of newsletters and magazines in the areas of investing, health, business and travel with Agora Publishing. Her love of travel led to a passion for credit card and loyalty rewards to subsidize trips, and she thrives on teaching others how to harness the power of credit card rewards. When she's not helping NerdWallet readers find the best travel value, Erin is planning her next adventure for her family of four using points and miles.

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The race between the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® and the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® is akin to the fabled tortoise and the hare. The AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® , issued by Barclays, comes flying out of the gate with a sign-up bonus you can earn after just one purchase, but the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® , issued by Citibank, plays the long game with more earning potential over time.

While both cards offer money- and time-saving benefits like free checked bags, priority boarding and discounts on in-flight purchases, loyal American Airlines AAdvantage frequent flyer program members will find more reasons to keep the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® in their wallets for a longer time.

The two cards at a glance

• 2 AAdvantage miles for every $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants.

• 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases.

• 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases.

• 2 AAdvantage miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases.

• 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases.

$0 intro for the first year, then $99 .

• Priority boarding and first checked bag free for cardholder and up to 4 traveling companions on your reservation.

• $125 annual American Airlines flight discount after you spend $20,000.

• 25% discount on in-flight food and beverage purchases.

• Priority boarding and first checked bag free for cardholder and up to 4 traveling companions on your reservation.

• Annual companion certificate for $99 (plus taxes and fees) after you spend $20,000.

• 25% discount on in-flight food and beverage purchases.

• Up to $25 back as a statement credit per year for in-flight Wi-Fi purchases.

For a limited time, earn 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $3,500 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.

Earn 60,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles after making your first purchase and paying the $99 annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days.

Why the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is better for most people

NerdWallet's star ratings, which are based on cardholder value in the first three years , see these cards as roughly equal, with the Barclays card getting a slight edge due to the ease of earning the sign-up bonus and the potentially higher value of a companion certificate, compared with the $125 credit you can get with the Citi card.

But the longer you hold the Citi card, the more it may become a better value, due to its superior rewards categories.

While you do have to hit a spending minimum to get the sign-up bonus, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® offers more ways in general to collect AAdvantage miles. Not only do you earn 2 miles per $1 on American Airlines purchases, but you also earn the same rate at restaurants and gas stations — two potentially lucrative spending categories, especially for frequent travelers.

The AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® earns 2 miles per $1 only on American Airlines purchases, while all other spending earns an unimpressive 1 mile per $1. Those rewards categories and rates simply aren't competitive with other airline credit cards at similar price points.

Who might prefer the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®

If immediate gratification is what you seek, you’ll get it with the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® . It’s rare to find a card that grants a generous sign-up bonus after just one purchase. This can be helpful if you want a lot of miles quickly, plus free checked bags and priority boarding. It’s essentially a way to get one discounted, perk-laden trip. But in exchange for an easy-to-earn sign-up bonus, you'll have to pay the annual fee upfront. With the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® , it's waived for the first year.

If you can’t pick a favorite, you can actually carry both cards and direct your earned miles into the same American Airlines AAdvantage account.

Which card should you get?

Loyal American flyers, especially those who travel often, will get more out of the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® overall. The AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® can be helpful if you have one specific upcoming trip in mind but otherwise you don’t fly American exclusively. But again, you can carry both cards , making it possible to earn a substantial number of points when you combine the two bonuses together.

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on Capital One's website

NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.

Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options

Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel.

on Citibank's application

NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.

Earn 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.

on Chase's website

NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.

5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

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