Our Verdict
The American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Mastercard®* is a versatile card for casual American Airlines flyers and domestic travelers. With no annual fee and the ability to earn 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent at grocery stores and on American Airline purchases, 1 mile on all other purchases, this card may make sense for the occasional traveler.
Pros
- No annual fee
- Earn unlimited miles
- 25% discount on in-flight purchases
- Earn 2 miles per dollar on groceries and AA purchases
Cons
- 3% foreign transaction fee
- Lackluster travel perks
- Blackout dates apply to some redemptions
Highlights
- Earn 15,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- 2x AAdvantage miles per $1 at grocery stores, including grocery delivery services, 2x AAdvantage miles per $1 on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1x AAdvantage mile per $1 on all other purchases
- No annual fee
- 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines flights when card is used
Introduction
The American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Mastercard®* credit card is well-suited to new and casual American Airlines travelers who are looking to boost their AAdvantage mileage balances for awards, but are averse to paying an annual fee. It earns 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent at grocery stores and on American Airline purchases, 1 mile on all other purchases. Plus, AAdvantage miles never expire for AAdvantage credit cardmembers.
Compare Citi AAdvantage Mile Up With Other Cards
Quick Facts
- No annual fee
- Welcome bonus: Earn 15,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after making $500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
- Earn 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent at grocery stores and on American Airline purchases, 1 mile on all other purchases
- 25% savings in the form of a statement credit after you use your card on eligible American Airlines in-flight purchases of food and beverages
- 3% of each purchase transaction in U.S. dollars foreign transaction fee
American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Credit Card Rewards
Earning Rewards
The American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Card earns American Airlines AAdvantage miles. You can earn 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent at grocery stores and on American Airline purchases, 1 mile on all other purchases.
Grocery stores include supermarkets, dairy product stores, meat vendors, specialty food vendors, bakeries, miscellaneous convenience stores and grocery delivery services. However, you should always check your purchase history to verify your stores are categorized as a grocery store with Citi. Specifically excluded are warehouse stores, discount store/general merchandise stores and candy stores. Target or Wal-Mart may be categorized as discount stores even if they sell groceries.
The card also offers a modest welcome bonus: Earn 15,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after making $500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
Redeeming Rewards
AAdvantage miles can be redeemed for flights with American Airlines, its Oneworld partners including British Airways, Iberia Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Japan Airlines and other partner airlines such as Fiji Airways. American Airlines miles can also be redeemed for upgrade awards, hotels, rental cars and charitable donations, but you’ll generally get the best value from using them for flights.
Rewards Potential
Using data from various government agencies, Forbes Advisor has developed estimates for how much a family in the 70th percentile of income spends annually in various categories. The 70th percentile of wage-earning households brings in $116,000 annually and has $36,177 in expenses that can reasonably be charged to credit cards. These figures are used to estimate the potential rewards from this credit card.
This card earns 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar on eligible American Airlines purchases. Forbes Advisor estimates that this household would spend $2,443 on airfare, which would earn 4,886 AAdvantage miles if all flights were flown on American Airlines. In addition, the card would earn 2 AAdvantage Miles per dollar on grocery purchases of $6,692, or 13,384 AAdvantage miles. The remaining $27,042 that could reasonably be charged to a credit card would earn 27,042 AAdvantage miles, for a total of 45,312 AAdvantage miles in addition to the welcome bonus.
At current award prices, those 45,312 AAdvantage miles could be used to book an economy MilesSAAver ticket round trip within the contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada or between that region and Alaska, Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean.
Other American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Credit Card Benefits
- Savings on inflight purchases. Get 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines flights when you use your card.
- Digital wallet compatibility: Add your American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Mastercard®* card to digital wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay.
- Contactless pay. Shop safely with a contactless-chip enabled card. Just tap your card on the payment reader and go in seconds.
- Earn toward elite status. Receive 1 Loyalty Point for every mile that you earn through card spending.
Fine Print
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 21.24% – 29.99% variable
- Purchase intro APR: N/A
- Balance transfer intro APR: N/A
Fees
- Annual fee: $0
- Balance transfer fee: 5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum
- Foreign purchase transaction fee: 3% of each purchase transaction in U.S. dollars
How the American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Credit Card Stacks Up
American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Mastercard®* vs. Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®*
Citibank offers several credit cards tied to American Airlines’ AAdvantage program. The next step up, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®*, carries a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $99 annual fee. However, it includes a number of perks that are valuable to frequent American Airlines flyers, especially those without frequent flyer status. If you fly American Airlines frequently, prefer to check luggage or are attracted by the prospect of earning a more lucrative welcome bonus, this card is worth a look.
You will earn 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, restaurants and gas stations and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases and will have access to other benefits not available to American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Mastercard®* cardholders:
- Get your first checked bag for free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to four companions traveling on the same reservation
- Preferred boarding
In addition, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®* offers a generous welcome bonus: 50,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $2,500 in purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.
American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Mastercard®* vs. Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card
The American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Card competes with no annual fee airline credit cards, including the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card (Terms apply. See rates & fees). While these cards offer fewer travel benefits than their annual fee cousins, occasional travelers may prefer to earn miles without having to fork over an annual fee each year.
The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card earns 2 miles per dollar on Delta purchases, at restaurants worldwide, and takeout and delivery in the U.S. and 1 mile per dollar on all other eligible purchases. This is similar to the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Mastercard®* card’s bonus mile opportunities, though some cardholders might derive more value from the grocery store category.
The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card gains its edge by having no foreign transaction fee and offering the ability to Pay with Miles. Using the Pay with Miles feature, you can take up to $50 off the cost of your flight for every 5,000 miles you redeem when you book on Delta.com.
Ultimately, among no-annual-fee airline credit cards, the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Mastercard®* card offers a reasonable, but not industry-leading value.
American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Mastercard®* vs. Bilt World Elite Mastercard®
The Bilt World Elite Mastercard® is a no annual fee card with a very specific, attractive feature—it allows the cardholder to pay rent without an additional transaction fee and earn rewards.
The card earns 1 point per dollar on rent payments without the transaction fee (on up to 100,000 points each calendar year), 3 points per dollar on dining, 2 points per dollar on travel (when booked through the Bilt Travel Portal or directly with an airline, hotel, car rental or cruise company), and 1 point per dollar on other purchases. An ongoing monthly promotion, Bilt Rent Day, doubles the point-earning rates for all non-rent purchases and sometimes offers other fun surprises. There is a requirement to make at least five transactions per month in order to earn Bilt rewards.
Bilt Rewards boasts a solid list of 15 1:1 airline and hotel transfer partners, including Air Canada Aeroplan, American Airlines AAdvantage and World of Hyatt. Notably, it is the only transferable credit card point program that has a relationship with American Airlines.
If you are a renter, then the Bilt Rewards card may make sense for you as an alternative to the American Airlines MileUp card since Bilt allows you to leverage your rent payments to earn Bilt Rewards, which can be transferred at a 1:1 rate to American Airlines. Better yet, instead of being locked into earning AAdvantage miles, Bilt Rewards gives you the flexibility of being able to transfer to multiple programs. If you are not a renter, the Bilt Rewards may still be the better choice due to the elevated earnings rate on travel and dining purchases. Bilt Rewards also offers other useful benefits such as trip delay and cancellation insurance, rental car coverage, cellphone protection and no foreign exchange fees, none of which are available on the no-frills American Airlines Aadvantage Mileup Card.
Is the American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Credit Card for You?
The American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Credit Card could be attractive to occasional American Airlines travelers. Earning miles through grocery store purchases can accelerate mile-earning to get to that dream airline award sooner. Carry-on only travelers who have a few American Airlines flights a year, or AAdvantage mile collectors who have large grocery expenses, should take a look at the American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Card.
Travelers who fly American Airlines regularly should assess their travel costs. Those paying American Airlines for checked baggage fees should consider American Airlines cards that provide a checked baggage benefit even if they have an annual fee. Just one trip with free checked bags could justify the cost.
Finally, if you tend to travel across a number of different airlines, consider a travel card that earns bonus rewards on all travel purchases. You may also want to consider cards that allow you to transfer your points to multiple airline and hotel programs.
To view rates and fees for Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card please visit this page.
Methodology
Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors, including:
- Annual fees
- Welcome bonus offers
- Ongoing earning rates
- Value of individual points or miles
- Included travel or merchant credits
- Additional cardholder benefits
Card features we expect cardholders to use the most often are weighted more heavily in our ratings. Altogether, the factors came together to provide a star rating for each individual card.
Read more: How Forbes Advisor Rates Credit Cards
*The information for the following card(s) has been collected independently by Forbes Advisor: American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Mastercard®, Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
