Getting to Know the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp Mastercard

The American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp Mastercard is a co-branded Mastercard® and American Airlines airline reward card. The card offers holders 2 miles for every dollar spent with American Airlines or at grocery stores, and 1 mile for every dollar spent everywhere else. New account holders also benefit from 10,000 bonus miles and a $50 statement credit when they make $500 in purchases with their card in the first 3 months of opening an account.

How It Works

Cardholders can expect the following from the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp Mastercard:

How to Earn Rewards:

• Purchases with American Airlines: The American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp Mastercard earn 2 miles for every dollar spent on eligible purchases with American Airlines.
• Grocery Stores: Cardholders also earn 2 miles for every dollar spent when they use their American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp Mastercard at grocery stores, including with grocery delivery services.
• Everyday Purchases: Earn 1 mile for every dollar spent on all other purchases using the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp card.
• Other Ways to Earn: AAdvantage® members can also earn miles when they book travel – including hotels, car rentals, flights, or even entire vacations – through the Oneworld alliance of airlines, or when making purchases with select Oneworld or American Airlines retail partners.
• No Cap On miles: With the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp card, there is no cap on the total number of miles that can be earned.
• Miles Expiration: Miles earned with AAdvantage® don’t expire unless your account is inactive for 18 months.

How to Redeem Miles:

• Travel: AAdvantage®® members can use their miles for travel on American Airlines, American Eagle®, Oneworld® airlines, and partner airlines on flights to over 1,000 destinations worldwide.
• Seat and Status Upgrades: AAdvantage® members can use their bonus miles to purchase seat upgrades on American Airlines, British Airways, or Iberia flights, or flights with other Oneworld carriers. Members can also use their miles for purchasing or renewing Admiral Club status, including lounge access worldwide.
• Vacations: Use miles to purchase vacations through Oneworld partners.
• Car Rentals: Miles are applicable for vehicle rentals at over 500 locations worldwide.
• Hotels: Miles can be used towards bookings with over 150,000 properties in over 500 locations worldwide.
• Gift Miles: Gift miles to friends and family members.
• Spending with Oneworld Partners: Members can apply miles towards qualifying retail partners for goods and services including magazine subscriptions, newspapers, gift cards, and theft prevention services.

Today’s Bonus Offer

Earn 10,000 points and receive a $50 statement credit after spending $500 with your card in the first 90 days.

The Plane Facts

Can you expect a smooth flight from the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp Mastercard, or will there be turbulence?

• Annual Fee: The American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp features no annual fee.

Airline and Airport Perks:

• In-Flight Discount: Cardholders earn 25% savings on in-flight food and beverage on AA flights..

Cardholder Protections:

• EMV Chip Technology: EMV chip technology offers enhanced security near-global payment acceptance.
• Travel Protection: Citi provides cardholders with up to $500,000 in travel accident insurance in the event of accidental death or dismemberment.
• Fraud Protection: Cardholders have complete protection from all fraudulent or unauthorized transactions made on their Mastercard®. Also, Bank of America provides 24/7 fraud protection.
• Damage and Theft Protections: Cardholders are protected if purchases made with the card are stolen or accidentally damaged.
• Digital Wallet Technology

Additional Benefits:

• No annual fee
• Citi Private Pass: American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp cardholders receive exclusive early access to concert and event ticket pre-releases.

The Perks That Make the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp Mastercard Worthwhile:

What are some of the Pros that set this card ahead of the rest?

• No Annual Fee: Cardholders don’t have to worry about an annual fee with the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp.
• No Limit on Miles: No limits on the amount of AAdvantage® miles you can earn means the sky is the limit when it comes to rewards!
• Fuel Surcharges: One of the nice things about the AAdvantage® MileUp card- and the AAdvantage® program in general – is that rewards flights aren’t subjected to the unforeseen frustration of fuel surcharges, meaning when you book your rewards flight, you are all set.

Potential Turbulence with the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp Mastercard:

What are some of the negatives that take the wind from beneath this card’s wings?

• Stopovers Not Permitted: Flights booked with miles are subject to restrictions on stopovers.
• Blackout Dates: American Airlines AAdvantage® program claims it has no blackout dates. In reality, there are obstacles in place to keep passengers from traveling in peak times. AAdvantage® drastically increases the amount of miles needed to book travel in peak times, however. This makes booking these dates impractical. Traveling to Hawaii, for example, in the off-peak season usually costs around 20,000 miles and up. An “AAnytime” bumps this fare up to at least 50,000 miles.
• Confusing Rules: The AAdvantage® has confusing and restricting rules you should carefully read before booking travel with miles.

Thoughts Before Takeoff

Is the AAdvantage® MileUp Mastercard the right choice for you? Well, that  depends. The card is a decent little co-branded rewards card from American Airlines and Mastercard® and offers members the chance to earn double miles (2 miles for every dollar spent) when making purchases at grocery stores or with American Airlines., and single miles (1 mile for every dollar spent) for everything else. The addition of no annual fee is another nice feature, as is the suite of protections that come from a credit card offering from both Mastercard® and Citi.

If you are a serious traveler, however, there are other options available that offer better initial rewards and mile-earning potential. And while many of these cards may charge an annual fee, some are waived for the first year, making the intro bonuses, and air miles earned a huge jump over what the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp offers.

For those considering this card, however, it isn’t all bad. The ability to redeem miles for flights and other travel with Oneworld partners means AAdvantage® miles can be used for destinations across the globe – and the lack of a cap on miles earned means you don’t have to worry about limits to where your rewards can take you!