It’s been a while since I did a credit card post, but there’s one final American Airlines credit card to mention. The AAdvantage Business Card is AA’s small business credit card and is very similar to the AA Platinum Select Card. This card offers entry-level perks without a high annual fee for a small business owner. It’s of note right now because it’s offering an elevated welcome bonus (which happens at least once a year it seems like).
This blog is just for entertainment purposes. I provide the information here just to give readers a vague idea if the rewards offered by the card might make sense for them to consider the card. The information on this page has been collected independently, and all information should be confirmed with the card company before applying.
Welcome Offer
At the time of posting, the AAdvantage Business Card card has a 75 000 bonus mile offer after spending $5 000 in 5 months. In general, I’ve been able to get good value out of AA miles and so value them at 1.5 ¢/pt. That makes this current welcome offer worth at least $1 125, which is excellent for a $99 annual fee card, especially when you consider that the annual fee is waived in the first year.
Earnings
The AAdvantage Business Card has a decent setup for a co-branded card: 2x miles/$ on American Airlines as well as on car rentals, gas stations, and telecommunications merchants. It earns a standard 1x mile/$ on everything else.
These earning rates are fine for a $99 annual fee co-branded card and more in line with business purchasing priorities compared to the AA Platinum Select card.
These cards also earn 1 LP per $1 spent on the card as is standard for American’s cards.
Benefits
For its $99 annual fee, this card offers several travel benefits that are similar to the AA Platinum Select card, but slightly improved in my opinion. It offers a first checked bag free, preferred boarding (group 5 of 9), and 25% back on inflight purchases. It does not offer any free checked bags or priority boarding perks. If you spend at least $30 000 on the card in a given year, you’ll get a companion certificate, where you can get a 2-for-1 on a domestic ticket for $99 + taxes. This is the same companion certificate as on the Aviator Red Card.
How to use the points
The main use for American Airlines miles is to redeem them for American Airlines, Oneworld, and other partners’ flights. American Airlines has dynamic pricing for its own flights but still uses an award chart for its partners. American Airlines is not currently a transfer partner of any credit card reward currency, so their miles are still somewhat harder to come by.
The other type of point earned, Loyalty Points, is used for American status: you need 40 000 LP for Gold (Oneworld Ruby), 75 000 LP for Platinum (Oneworld Sapphire), 125 000 LP for Platinum Pro (Oneworld Emerald), and 200 000 LP for Executive Platinum (Oneworld Emerald).
Examples of using the card
These examples assume you spend all your airfare budget on American Airlines.
Spend per month
| Example A | Example B | Example C | Example D | |||||
| Groceries (1x) | $300 | 300 | $200 | 200 | $600 | 600 | $400 | 400 |
| Gas (2x) | $0 | 0 | $100 | 200 | $200 | 400 | $100 | 200 |
| Airfare (2x) | $700 | 1400 | $200 | 400 | $0 | 0 | $400 | 800 |
| Hotels (1x) | $1 000 | 1000 | $200 | 200 | $0 | 0 | $300 | 300 |
| Gen Travel (1x) | $400 | 400 | $0 | 0 | $300 | 300 | $100 | 100 |
| Dining (1x) | $600 | 600 | $300 | 300 | $300 | 300 | $0 | 0 |
| General (1x) | $1 000 | 1000 | $500 | 500 | $500 | 500 | $400 | 400 |
| Total | $4 000 | 4700 | $1 500 | 1800 | $1 700 | 2100 | $1 700 | 2200 |
| Average points/$ | 1.18 | 1.20 | 1.24 | 1.29 |
The somewhat limited earning structure means that the average points earned has a small range of 1.18 – 1.29 points/$, but the higher value of AA miles means that these points are worth 1.77 – 1.94 ¢/$. That’s only an ok return overall as a lot of these categories should go on a 2% cashback card instead in my opinion.
Specific examples
| Card | American Airlines Economy class ($750) (% return) | Marriott Hotel night ($230/night) | Points values (Flight/Hotel) |
| No rewards card | 3 500 UM (5.6%) | 2 200 MP (7.7%) | $42.00 / $17.60 |
| General 2% cashback card ($0) | 3 500 UM + $15.00 (7.6%) | 2 200 MP + $4.60 (9.7%) | $57.00 / $22.20 |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95) | 3 500 UM + 1 500 UR (8.6%) | 2 200 MP + 460 UR (10.7%) | $64.50 / $24.50 |
| Amex Green Card ($150) | 3 500 UM + 2 250 MR (9.8%) | 2 200 MP + 690 MR (11.9%) | $73.50 / $27.26 |
| American Platinum Select Card ($99) | 5 000 AM (8.6%) | 2 200 MP + 230 AM (9.2%) | $64.50 / $21.05 |
Is this the right type of credit card for you?
This card could be a good way to test if American’s program is right for you(r small business) because its annual fee is waived in the first year. If it turns out not to be a good fit, it can be canceled after one year. It also may be possible to product change to another Citi Business Card, but there isn’t a clear free card to swap to within the AA ecosystem like with the other AA cards.
The benefits on this card seem decent to me, but it’s worth noting that all the benefits to the card are also provided by having at least entry level status with AA (aside from the food/drink discount).
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