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When friends and family ask me, “What is the easiest way to earn frequent flyer miles?”, I always refer them to the American Airlines AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard. While the card itself isn’t all that great, there is one clear reason why this card is a must get. The current sign up bonus is at a highest 60,000 miles, which is worth roughly $720.

However, the best part is that you can earn those miles after making 1 purchase! So after paying the $95 annual fee and making one purchase of your choosing, you will have 60,000 American Airlines miles. And to make it even better, you get your first checked bag free with this card, saving even more money.

So what can you do with 60,000 American Airlines miles?

My wife and I recently flew from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Philadelphia to Salt Lake City for 50,000 miles total that I earned from this card. However, we were able to fly Business Class and First Class on this route. This saved us $1,400 and we still have 10,000 miles left over!

a seat in an airplane

Ah, this seat was so comfortable.

While I wouldn’t recommend this card to be a primary spending card as the earning categories aren’t great. You will earn…

  • 2 American Airlines miles per dollar spent on American Airlines purchases.
  • 1 mile on everything else

You can find this card among the cards in our top credit card offers page

However, this card is a great way to complement another American Airlines card like the American Airlines Platinum Select Card.


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