Late last year I finally signed up for the Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator Red MasterCard. I signed up for this card because it gives me the ability to earn valuable Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQD). If I put $20,000 of annual spend on this card I’ll earn $3,000 EQD each calendar year. That’s 25% of the EQD I need each year to qualify for AAdvantage Executive Platinum elite status.
While I find the annual EQD waiver attractive it was really the impressive sign-up bonus that finally convinced me to apply for the card. When I applied for the card Barclaycard and American were offering 60,000 AAdvantage miles to new card applicants. Currently the sign-up bonus is just 50,000 AAdvantage miles. To earn the sign-up bonus new card holders must pay the $95 annual fee and make a single purchase on the card.
This is obviously a very easy sign-up bonus to earn which makes the card attractive for anyone looking to pocket a ton of miles quickly. However, keep in mind that it takes some time for miles to post. If you plan on using the miles to book an upcoming trip you may need to apply for the card much sooner than you anticipate.
Paying The Annual Fee And Making A Purchase
Barclaycard approved my credit card application in December, just a few days after I applied. About a week later my new AAdvantage Aviator Red card arrived in the mail. Once I received the card I immediately activated the card and added the card to my Barclaycard online profile.
Since this was a new card I hadn’t yet changed my statement closing date to my preferred 15th of the month cutoff. So, my card happened to come with a first statement closing date of 01/23. On that statement I only had a few charges. In one box Barclaycard clearly displayed the $95 annual fee. In other, called activity for [MooreWithMiles], I had $1,790 of other purchases. Clearly I had more than satisfied the requirements to earn the sign-up bonus.
The day the statement closed and I could pay off my balance I did just that. I immediately created a payment on the card and waited. However, the 60,000 miles never came.
The Sign-Up Bonus Arrived With My Second Monthly Statement
About the time my first statement closed I noticed that a few AAdvantage miles posted to my AAdvantage account.
Surprisingly these were the only miles that posted to my account after my first statement closed. In fact, these miles posted to my account even before Barclaycard processed my first payment.
After another month of spending yet another statement closed, this time on 02/23. With this card statement came another set of “Aviator MC Everyday Purchases” miles and the 60,000 sign-up bonus!
It appears Barclaycard and AAdvantage award the 60,000 mile sign-up bonus when the statement following your first payment closes. However, I’m not sure if I would have made an early payment if the miles would have come with my first statement. I find that doubtful because the annual fee posted with the statement close. I’m not sure that you’d be able to pay off the annual fee before the first statement closed. That being said, if you have had that experience please share below.
Final Thoughts
I find the sign-up bonus on the Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator Red card a bit misleading. Per the card’s Terms and Conditions:
The primary cardmember will earn fifty thousand (50,000) AAdvantage® bonus miles after a first purchase is made on the Account within ninety (90) days of Account opening and the annual fee has been paid. This one-time AAdvantage® bonus mileage offer is valid for first-time cardmembers with new accounts only. Existing cardmembers, existing accounts, and previous cardmember with accounts closed in the past 24 months may not be eligible for this offer. This is a limited-time offer and will no longer be available after May 31, 2018. Please allow 4-6 weeks for AAdvantage® bonus miles to be deposited into your AAdvantage® account after the qualifying transaction has posted and your annual fee has been paid.
This leads me to believe that once I submit payment for my first statement (which includes the annual fee) I’ll receive my sign-up bonus. If you too read the T&Cs this way you may be disappointed when your sign-up bonus doesn’t post in time for you to book your upcoming trip.
While I’m not upset about the miles taking a bit longer to post than anticipated, it is something I wish I would have known before I applied for the card. Luckily I wasn’t trying to use the miles to book a specific close-in award.
