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The Barclay Aviator Red just dropped an all time high sign up bonus of 70k AA miles after your first purchase and paying the annual fee in full within 90 days. This is a no brainer if you’re looking to add AA miles to your account and you’re under 5/24. This is a very solid card to hold if you want up to 4 people to get their first checked bag free on AA and a quick replenishment to your AA miles stack. It’s also open to referrals, so leave yours in the comment section!
- EARN AA Perks
Non Affiliate
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Barclay Aviator Red
Earn American Loyalty points, free first checked bag and 25% in flight savings
Welcome Offer
70k AA miles (see benefits)
Annual Fee
$99
Points Earned
American Aadvantage
Easy way to earn loyalty points, get a free checked back, and 25% off in flight purchases. With the bonus being after a single purchase and paying the annual fee in full, it’s a super easy way to replenish your account quickly. This is a card to add if you’re over Chase’s 5/24 or not concerned with it.
- 70k welcome bonus if you do the following in 90 days
- 70k after First Purchase
- Pay Annual fee in full
- Annual fee of $99
- Preferred Boarding
- First free checked bag
- up to 4 companions
- Companion Certificate if you spend $20k or more on the card
- 25% inflight savings
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists what the highest offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
Card Details
- 70k welcome bonus if you do the following in 90 days
- Earn 70k after First Purchase
- And Pay Annual fee in full
- Annual fee of $99
- Preferred Boarding
- First free checked bag
- up to 4 companions
- Companion Certificate if you spend $20k or more on the card
- 25% inflight savings
How big does the Barclay Aviator Red single purchase need to be?
It can literally be a few cents, but cups of coffee, parking meters, it really doesn’t matter, they will all qualify
How quickly does the bonus on the Barclay Aviator Red populate?
If you pay the annual fee ahead of the close of your first billing cycle, and make a purchase, you will see the miles in your account after that first billing cycle ends.
Meaning…
- Receive the card on June 1st
- Pay the $99 Annual fee on June 2nd
- Make your first purchase June 2nd
- Cycle closes June 22nd
- Your miles should be in your account
Do you have this card?
I have had this card multiple in the past and may end up betting it again with this new offer. 70k AA miles with a single purchase is downright nutty.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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