Apr 29, 2015, 6:33 am
Last edit by: ZenFlyer
AAdvantage Aviator Silver and Red Cards from BarclayCard
There are five AAdvantage-linked Aviator-branded cards by Barclaycard. Two of them can be applied for directly, the other three are upgrades or downgrades after receiving a Red card.The Many Flavors of Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator
Where can I see information on all available Barclays Barclaycard AAdvantage cards?
Aviator Red (On AA.com)
Aviator Silver (On AA.com)
Aviator Business (On AA.com)
Red cardholders may receive an offer to upgrade to Aviator Silver after a period of time that varies, usually 3-11 months. The offer appears in the online "Offers" section, if it is declined there may be no simple way to receive the upgrade. Be careful with your clicking! Silver benefits begin at the start of the next statement, but the increased annual fee won't hit until the next card-member year starts.
Aviator Silver Vs Red
Annual Fee: Silver $199 Red $99
Miles on AA Purchases: Silver 3x Red 2x
Miles on hotels and car rentals: Silver 2x, Red 1x
Miles on all other purchases: Silver 1x, Red 1x
Bonus Loyalty Points: Silver 5k LP after $20k/$40k/$50k Per Status Year Red None
In-Flight Food & Beverage: Silver $25 back/day Red 25% back
Wifi Credits: Silver $50/anniversary year Red $25/anniversary year
Companion Ticket: Silver 2 Companions Red 1 Companion (Minimum Anniversary-Year Spend Required for both)
PreCheck/Global Entry: Silver $100 credit Red No Credit
Card Benefit Details
FlyerTalk thread Citi & Barclaycard AAdvantage Credit Card Free Domestic Checked Bag / Baggage
Aviator Silver Bonus Loyalty Points: Bonuses are based on spend during status year, not anniversary year. When upgrading to Silver your Red spending will carry over. Five thousand Loyalty Points after spending $20k/$40k/$50k. You cannot stack multiple Silver accounts to earn this multiple times.
Companion Certificate: $20k in anniversary year spend required, issued about 45 days after you annual fee hits. Red gets one companion, Silver can have two. $99+tax for companions, round-trip 48 contiguous US States only unless you live in Alaska or Hawaii, in which case you may fly from your home state to the 48.
Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator Silver and Red Cards (master thread)
Aug 17, 2019, 3:46 pm
#451
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP, DL Silver, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Gold, HHonor Gold, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 352
I had the Red since Feb, and spent over $44K. However, I got rejected every time I called for an upgrade to silver. Any advices on what else I can possibly do?
Shall I apply for a Aviator Business Red?
Shall I apply for a Aviator Business Red?
Aug 17, 2019, 4:08 pm
#452
Join Date: Mar 2019
Programs: AA EXP and Marriott Titanium
Posts: 776
From my experience, I've had the Red since January, put through similar spend as you and every time I've called/secure messaged they always tell me I needed to wait until I've had the card a year. Probably has to do with the CARD Act and/or people who upgraded earlier to the Silver in 90 days without the change in annual fee, reaping the benefits for free for 9 months, then immediately downgrading when the annual fee came around again.
Aug 20, 2019, 10:27 am
#453
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Phoenix
Programs: AA Platinum Pro
Posts: 51
I've earned the Companion Pass and $100 flight credit on the Aviator Red card. I haven't received either yet because my account needs to be active for 45 days past my anniversary date (September) in order to receive them. If I upgrade to the Silver before my Red anniversary date, will I lose the Companion Pass and the $100 flight credit? Does upgrading to Silver effectively close your Aviator Red account?
Aug 22, 2019, 6:48 am
#457
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Chicagoland
Programs: AA exp 3mm Hertz 5*
Posts: 334
Its just rampant.
Aug 22, 2019, 9:17 am
#458
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Here and there
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 1,551
I haven't had issues with Barclays in particular. It's just so widespread I don't worry about it too much, though you might take a few steps like not allowing online retailers to save your cards.
Aug 22, 2019, 12:49 pm
#459
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: SAN
Programs: AA CK, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 839
Only one fraud charge on a Silver Aviator card in the past 7 years. However, on my Barclay Arrival Plus card I had six fraudulent charges in the third month of use.
Aug 24, 2019, 4:45 am
#460
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: New York, NY, USA
Programs: BAGold; AA3MMPlat; UA1MMGold; FBGold; MarriottAmb; AccorPlat; HHGold; ICPlatAmb; HyattDiscoverist
Posts: 4,378
I had the Red card (or its antecedent) since shortly before the merger, and upgraded to the Silver about 19 months ago. No fraudulent charges on either.
Sep 3, 2019, 8:49 pm
#461
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: ABQ & RNO
Programs: AA EXP 4MM, Piper Dakota, Admirals Club, Hyatt Glob, Hilton Gold, Wyndham Diamond
Posts: 1,426
Got the 3,000 EQDs after a bit of a fight on the Silver with AA and Barclays. 🙂
Sep 4, 2019, 6:19 am
#463
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: ABQ & RNO
Programs: AA EXP 4MM, Piper Dakota, Admirals Club, Hyatt Glob, Hilton Gold, Wyndham Diamond
Posts: 1,426
Maybe resistance is a better term. My account posted 0 EQDs upon meeting the $50,000 spend in July. Both hedged on posting the EQDs and opened investigations. I just saw the 3,000 EQDs post to my account last night.
Sep 4, 2019, 11:25 am
#464
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Travel Safety/Security & Texas, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: AUS / GRK
Programs: AA, HHonors, Hertz
Posts: 13,488
I was able to call and talk to someone in the fraud department and found out that my account was under extra scrutiny; they were able to scale that back a bit and I haven't really had any issues since (I did get a fraud alert after going to a gas station in AZ in April). I don't always remember to note my travel on the website, and I'm not certain that it really does much.
Sep 5, 2019, 11:23 am
#465
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Chicagoland
Programs: AA exp 3mm Hertz 5*
Posts: 334
I will say that I had an issue w a citi mc in Acapulco and that froze my chase mc. Used Visa, and called banks later. I always carry 2 mc, 1 visa and amex
in 7 years, and +600k in random intl travel, no holds on the barclay card.