Benefit Change – Barclays Aviator Cards Soon Practically Useless for Earning American Airlines Elite Status
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In a shrewd business stratagem, Barclays has decided to eliminate a big differentiating feature from its American Airlines Aviator cards. Leaving little incentive to apply for a Barclays American Airlines card over cards like the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard® or the American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card.
The information for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
If you’re interested in American Airlines elite status, this change could very well affect you!
Changes to Barclays Aviator Cards Earning Elite Qualifying Dollars
With several Barclays American Airlines credit cards, you’re able to earn Elite Qualifying Dollars which help you achieve American Airlines elite status.
You need a combination of both Elite Qualifying Miles and Elite Qualifying Dollars to earn American Airlines status. And the ability to earn a big chunk of Elite Qualifying Dollars by credit card spending is a great benefit! Here’s what each card offers:
- Barclays Aviator Red – 3,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars after spending $25,000 in a calendar year
- Barclays Aviator Blue – 3,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars after spending $25,000 in a calendar year
- Barclays Aviator Business – 3,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars after spending $25,000 in a calendar year
- Barclays Aviator Silver – 3,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars after spending $25,000 in a calendar year, and another 3,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars after spending an additional $25,000 in a calendar year
That benefit is either changing or disappearing for 3 of these cards.
Folks who opened their Barclays Aviator Red or Blue before January 1, 2018, will no longer earn Elite Qualifying Dollars starting January 1, 2019. If you have a Barclays Aviator Silver, you will only earn 3,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars after you spend $50,000 in a calendar year.
And if you opened your Barclays Aviator after January 1, 2018, you’ll earn Elite Qualifying Dollars as you do now until January 1, 2020.
Note: If you open any of these cards by October 31, 2018, you’ll be able to earn Elite Qualifying Dollars at the old rates until 2020.
Do you use Barclays Aviator cards to help you achieve elite status?
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