It’s been quite the week for credit card upgrade offers. Earlier this week I received an offer to upgrade to the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus card. Even though I don’t regularly use the Marriott Rewards Premier credit card I ended up accepting that offer. I accepted the offer because the improved benefits outweighed the marginal $10 increase in annual fee. Sure, the 20,000 Marriott points didn’t hurt either.
Not a day after I accepted the Marriott offer I received a second upgrade offer. This time the offer was to upgrade from the Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red card to the AAdvantage Aviator Silver card. The AAdvantage Aviator Silver card comes with a slew of increased benefits, but also a much higher annual fee. Additionally, you can’t apply for the AAdvantage Aviator Silver card directly. Instead, you must upgrade from the AAdvantage Aviator Red card. You can do this by requesting an upgrade or by receiving on of these “exclusive” upgrade offers.
So, the question is, does it make sense, for me, to upgrade to the AAdvantage Aviator Silver card. I have to admit, I’m tempted to do it just for the “exclusivity” of having the Aviator Silver card, but I’m not so sure that alone is worth spending an additional $100/year for the annual fee.
My Exclusive AAdvantage Aviator Silver Upgrade Offer
When I checked my email the other day (let’s be honest, my phone buzzed immediately when the email came) I found the following upgrade offer. The email began with a beautiful picture of what my life would be like if I decided to upgrade to the AAdvantage Aviator Silver card.
Below the picture of my new life with the card was a nice infographic which compared my existing AAdvantage Aviator Red card to the Aviator Silver card.
Overall, it all looks fairly promising. As you can see, across the board the benefits of the AAdvantage Aviator Silver card are better than the AAdvantage Aviator red card. I’ll go through each of them in a second.
Below the graphic was a note which further explained the Silver card’s benefits with a link to upgrade.
Oh, and at the very bottom of the email was another note which casually states the card comes with a higher annual fee.
Should I Upgrade To The AAdvantage Aviator Silver Card?
Let me start by saying, that no matter what I decide in here, I will most likely have this card in my wallet at some point in the future, so no judgement please. With that out of the way let’s go through the improved benefits.
3X Miles On Eligible American Airlines Purchases
While earning 3X AAdvantage miles is good, it’s not a great deal. I like to diversify my points and miles and don’t like the idea of putting all my eggs into one basket. Early on when trying to earn miles I learned this lesson the hard way. I earned a ton of American miles only to have them devalue the award chart a few months later. For that reason I like to earn other points currency through credit card spending. I earn enough miles from flying each year alone that I don’t really need to earn AAdvantage miles from credit card spending.
Also, I currently carry the American Express Platinum card which earns 5X Membership Rewards points on all airfare purchases. For those reasons, this improved benefit alone doesn’t convince me to upgrade to the card.
2X Miles on Hotel & Rental Car Purchases
Well, I don’t really need to go into this one. The comments above regarding pooling miles still stands. Plus, I earn 3X points on travel from the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and occasionally 5X Amex points on hotels from the Platinum card. So again, this improved benefit is nice, but not good enough for me to make the switch.
Up To 10,000 EQM After Qualifying Spend
This card benefit is actually quite attractive. It’s nice to have a way to fly a little less each year yet still earn the elite status I want. I will say I actually have a ton of fun flying the full 100,000 miles necessary to qualify for Executive Platinum status, but I wouldn’t mind taking one less transatlantic trip each year.
However, in order to earn the 10,000 EQM I need to spend $40,000 on the card annually. That is a TON of money to put on this card. Whenever deciding if something is worth it, it’s always important to look at the opportunity cost. Let’s assume I spend $40,000 on AA flights (most rewarding option). For that I’d earn an additional 120,000 AA miles, which isn’t bad. Yet, if I put that same $40,000 on my American Express Platinum card (where I can buy flights from ANY airline), I’d earn 200,000 Amex MR points which are considerably more valuable. For that reason, I wouldn’t switch to this card for this benefit.
It is worth noting though that EQMs are awarded per $20,000 of annual spend. So, at $20,000/year you earn 5,000 EQM and at $40,000 you earn the additional 5,000 EQM. Considering I plan on putting $25,000 of spend on my Aviator Red card anyway, this may make the switch worthwhile.
Up To $6,000 EQD After Qualifying Spend
This is benefit is very similar to the EQM benefit above. With the Aviator Silver card you can earn $3,000 EQD after putting $25,000 of annual spend on the card. You then earn an additional $3,000 EQD for the next $25,000 of annual spend. So, if you put $50,000 on the card each year you can earn $6,000 EQD or exactly half of the required EQD for Executive Platinum.
Let me start by saying, there is no way in hell that I would put $50,000 of annual spend on this card. For that matter, I don’t spend close to $50,000 a year on ALL of my cards combined! So, this benefit doesn’t effect my decision in any way.
That being said, I do plan on putting $25,000 of annual spend on my Aviator Red card and earning $3,000 EQD. Considering I’m already planning to put $25,000 on my Aviator Red card I might as well earn the 5,000 EQM reference above? My only question is, does my spending reset after upgrading? That’s a question I would absolutely need answered before switching. My guess is no, but I’ve been burned on other things like this in the past.
Companion Certificate(s)
Essentially, each year you put $30,000 of annual spend on the card you earn two (2) companion certificates worth $99 each. Sorry, no thank you, I’d rather put the additional $5,000 of spend on my Amex Platinum and earn 25,000 points which are worth more to me than $198. Next.
Up To $100 Global Entry / TSA PreCheck Credit Annually
Well, considering I now have 3(?) cards that give me this benefit I could care less about this added benefit. However, if you don’t have a card that already gives you a credit for your registration then why not? In all honesty, it seems like this $100 credit is becoming the next “waived foreign transaction fees” of credit card benefits. Soon I’d bet nearly every $90+ annual fee card will come with this benefit.
Am I Going To Upgrade?
Well, I don’t exactly know at the moment. On the one hand, I absolutely shouldn’t. There is no reason for me to pay an additional $100 in annual credit card fees. On the other hand, the 5,000 EQM that I’d earn from the Aviator Silver card, on spend that I’m already making, is a nice benefit. That benefit is only, ugh, beneficial though if I end up 5,000 EQM short of Executive Platinum.
In a perfect world I’d finish the year with $9,000 of organic EQD and 95,000 of organic EQM. That way the additional $3,000 EQD and 5,000 EQM would get me to Executive Platinum status. In doing so I’d save a few hundred, if not a thousand, dollars on airfare this year.
However, given the rate that I’m earning both this year I don’t see that happen. Last year I finished well above $12,000 EQD and 100,000 EQM so I would have paid an extra $100 a year for nothing had I used this card last year. That’s why, for me, I don’t think upgrading to the AAdvantage Aviator Silver card makes sense.
Final Thoughts
Great, you made it this far, let’s be honest, I’m going to upgrade. None of what I’m doing make sense anymore. I fly around the world for no reason other than to get pictures of airplane lavatories and shower in weird airport lounges. Upgrading to this card would be one of the more reasonable things I’ve done this year.
My only concern is if my spend thus far will count on the Aviator Silver card. If it does, then great I will make the switch, if not, I’ll have to wait until 2019.
