AAdvantage Aviator World Elite Business Mastercard: 2x AAdvantage Miles on Everyday Business Expenses

If you regularly fly American Airlines for your business, a cobranded AAdvantage business credit card can be worthwhile. The AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® is a mid-tier rewards card that earns AAdvantage miles on purchases. It also has a few airline perks that could be valuable for frequent flyers. Check out all the pros and cons in our full AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® review.

This card is not currently accepting new applicants. If you really want a cobranded American Airlines card for your business, check out the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®. Or explore our recommended alternative options below.

This credit card is a good fit for: American Airlines frequent flyers who tend to check a bag on domestic flights.

Top perks

This card has a number of potentially valuable perks, but only if you regularly fly American Airlines.

Card purchases earn up to 2x AAdvantage miles per $1

The AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® earns American Airlines frequent flyer miles on your purchases. You'll even get bonus miles on a range of everyday business expenses.

The card earns 1x AAdvantage mile per dollar on purchases and earns bonus rewards in the following categories:

• 2x miles per $1 on eligible American Airlines purchases
• 2x miles per $1 on select telecom services
• 2x miles per $1 on office supplies
• 2x miles per $1 on car rentals

The bonus categories can be pretty lucrative for a variety of business types. American Airlines award flights start as low as 12,500 miles.

See more: Best Airline Credit Cards

Sign-up bonus

New cardholders can earn 80,000 bonus miles and a $95 statement credit as a card sign-up bonus. The requirement to qualify is to spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. This is an arguably rich sign-up bonus for the annual fee.

Earn Loyalty Points toward elite status

American Airlines started a new program to gain elite status in early 2022. You can reach elite status by earning Loyalty Points. The AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® will earn one Loyalty Point per base dollar spent on card purchases. Bonus miles earned won't equal bonus Loyalty Points.

To be clear, you earn Loyalty Points per dollar spent with your card, not miles earned. For example, if you spend $500 on an American Airlines purchase, you'll only get 500 Loyalty Points, even though you'll earn 1,000 AAdvantage miles. Gold Elite status starts at 30,000 Loyalty Points.

Get one free checked bag on domestic flights

Cardholders of the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® get their first checked bag free on domestic American Airlines-operated flights. This benefit also extends to up to four travel companions on the same reservations. Since checked bag fees start at $30 each -- one way -- this can equate to some decent savings if you can maximize it.

It's important to note that the free checked bag only applies to domestic flights, so it won't help you if you travel on an international American Airlines flight for your business. And if you fly in business or first class, you typically get a checked bag for free anyway, so it's really only useful for economy flights.

Preferred boarding on American Airlines flights

Another perk of the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® is preferred boarding status for you and up to four companions on the same reservation. This benefit gets you Group 5 boarding, for which you would otherwise need a Main Cabin Extra ticket.

You'll get the most benefit from this perk if you normally purchase Basic Economy tickets. Preferred boarding is useful if you have carry-on luggage that you need to stow in the overhead bins, as you're more likely to find room in the bins if you're further up the boarding queue.

No foreign transaction fees

Any half-decent travel card needs to waive foreign transaction fees, and the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® does just that. Foreign transaction fees are extra card fees tacked onto purchases made in a foreign currency -- anything not U.S. dollars -- or that route through a foreign bank. A card without these fees is a must for anyone who travels internationally or who makes purchases with foreign suppliers.

Earn 5% AAdvantage mile bonus each year

The purchasing you do on your AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® can pay off not just once, but twice. Cardholders receive a 5% AAdvantage® mileage bonus each year on their account anniversary. So, you'll get a bonus equal to 5% of all the miles you earned with your credit card in the previous account year. For example, if you earned 10,000 miles with your card in the previous year, you'll get 500 bonus miles after your account anniversary.

25% savings on in-flight food and beverage purchases

All jokes about airplane food aside, this perk can be very valuable to anyone on long flights in economy. You'll get 25% off food and beverage purchases on domestic American Airlines flights when you pay with your AAdvantage card.

The discount won't apply to international flights. It also doesn't apply to other purchases, like in-flight internet or entertainment. Also, the discount isn't taken off when you make your purchase. Instead, it will be applied as a statement credit to your card account and can take six to eight weeks to show up.

Annual companion certificate for spending $30,000

Business owners who put a lot of spend on their AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® can get a little something extra: an annual companion certificate. If you spend at least $30,000 on your card in a year -- and keep your account open at least 45 days past your anniversary date -- you'll earn a companion certificate.

These certificates can be used to book a domestic economy round-trip ticket for a guest for just $99, plus taxes and fees. (Taxes and fees typically range between $21.60 and $43.20.) You'll need to buy your own ticket on the same reservation to use the companion certificate.

What could be improved

The downsides to this card are most apparent when compared to other travel card options.

Annual card fee

Annual credit card fees are only worth paying when they provide enough value to make up for the fee. With the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard®, you'd need to get at least $95 in value each year -- and, ideally, more -- to make the annual fee worth it. For example, you would need to fly four times with a checked bag for the bag waiver to be worth more than the annual fee. If you don't use the checked bag waiver, you'll need to earn a lot of miles to get back that $95.

Limited perks and low rewards rate

Although you can get a checked bag and some discounts, the perks aren't exactly worth writing home about, especially compared to other travel credit cards we've reviewed. There's no airport lounge access, for example, nor can you get TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credits.

Earning 2x miles per point on American Airlines purchases can be nice if you only fly with AA. But most of the best travel rewards credit cards offer at least 2x points per dollar on travel, if not more. Those points can then be used for all manner of travel, including free flights, hotel stays, and car rentals.

The only real case in which this card would be preferable to a more flexible travel rewards card is if you're working on elite status. The Loyalty Points you can earn on purchases can make the path to elite status much quicker, especially if you use the card frequently.

The AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® is intended for business owners with good to excellent credit. This is typically a minimum FICO® Score of 670. Like most business credit cards, the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® will require a personal credit check when you apply.

If you regularly find yourself on domestic American Airlines flights during the course of running your business, the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® is worth a look. Checking a bag on at least four flights a year can make up for the annual fee, and the preferred boarding perk can take some stress out of getting on the plane. However, the card's rewards aren't as useful as those offered by some of the best travel cards we've seen. And business owners who typically fly business or first class will find the perks redundant.

Keep reading: Best Rewards Credit Cards

Our Credit Card Methodology

At The Motley Fool Ascent, we rate credit cards on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). Our rating criteria includes rewards rates, welcome bonuses, fees, and perks like travel credits and 0% intro APR offers to evaluate our ratings.

We combine these factors with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best card recommendations. Learn more about how The Ascent rates credit cards.