American Airlines has some seriously valuable miles, especially if you’re the sort of person who likes flying business class and not paying for it. Every once in a while, the stars align where credit card bonus offers get bumped up, and that creates a perfect storm for securing 100,000 miles effortlessly. When you’re sipping champagne on American, Qatar, Cathay, Japan Airlines or another top airline, you’ll be glad you did…

a pool with a hut and a straw roof

The Two Awesome Offers…

The Citi AAdvantage Card- Citi has the most commonly known American Airlines AAdvantage related credit card. Though the sign up bonus is generally 30,000 miles for $3,000 in spending within 3 months, it’s just been DOUBLED! Yep, 60,000 points for spending $3,000 within your first three months. It’s generally an easy card to get approved for and the perks, such as free checked bag and priority boarding help beat the system with “basic economy fares”. Annual fee is waived for the first year! Link: here.

The Barclaycard Aviator- Barclaycard offer a lesser known AAdvantage card, and theirs is currently offering a whopping 40,000 miles after making your first purchase. Yes, even a latte purchase would trigger this lucrative bonus. You’ll pay a $95 annual fee, but that’s a pretty darn good rates for 40,000 miles and unlimited free checked bags. Link: here.

an airplane flying in the sky

Why You Should Get Both…

First of all, we get nothing out of this. This is just a really lucrative opportunity to secure essentially a round trip business class ticket to much of the world, or a one way first class ticket just about anywhere you want. Since these cards come from different banks, you can apply for them at the same time. Since the Barclaycard doesn’t have a minimum spending requirement, you’re able to grab the 100,000 miles without the burden of an extra $3,000 in spending.

a city with a castle in the distance

What You Can Really Do With 100,000 Miles…

You’ll have a minimum of 103,000 miles after meeting the spending requirements. If you can secure another 12,000 either by flying, shopping online, or every day spending, you’ll have 115,000 miles, enough for a round trip business class ticket from the US to South America or Europe. That’s amazing. It’s also more than enough for a one way anywhere in the world in business class, including Australia, New Zealand.

Gilbert Ott is an ever curious traveler and one of the world's leading travel experts. His adventures take him all over the globe, often spanning over 200,000 miles a year and his travel exploits are regularly...

Join the Conversation

2 Comments

  1. So what you’re saying is getting the 40k from one card, 60k from another card and then combine them some how? How would you do that?

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *