The best credit cards to use for American Airlines flights

You’re about to book an American Airlines flight. You reach for your wallet and pause — should you be using a cobranded AA card to pay or opt for a general travel rewards card?

The good news is that there are several AA credit cards, so you’ve got options. Let’s compare them to other travel rewards credit cards to see which is the best option for paying for AA flights.

Comparing credit cards for American Airlines flights

Aside from using an American Airlines credit card, you might also consider paying with a travel rewards card, which can earn transferable points on travel purchases, including booking your next flight with AA.

Card name	Earning rate on American Airlines flights	Value of the rewards earned (per TPG’s Sept. 2025 valuations)	AA-related card benefits	Annual fee
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees)	4 miles per dollar	6.2 cents	Admirals Club lounge membership Free first checked bag on domestic flights with AA for you and up to eight companions traveling with you on the same reservation Priority check-in and airport security screening (where available) and early boarding privileges 25% off inflight food and beverage purchases (excluding Wi-Fi) 1 Loyalty Point toward AAdvantage elite status for each eligible mile earned on the card	$595
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®	2 miles per dollar	3.1 cents	Free first checked bag for you and up to four companions traveling on the same reservation when flying on domestic flights with AA or its subsidiaries Preferred boarding 1 Loyalty Point toward AAdvantage elite status for each eligible mile earned on the card	$0 introductory annual fee, then $99
Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees)	2 miles per dollar	3.1 cents	Free first checked bag for you and up to four companions traveling on the same reservation when flying on domestic flights with AA or its subsidiaries Preferred boarding 25% off inflight Wi-Fi, food and beverage purchases 1 Loyalty Point toward AAdvantage elite status for each eligible dollar spent on the card	$0 introductory annual fee, then $99
American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®	2 miles per dollar	3.1 cents	25% off inflight food and beverage purchases 1 Loyalty Point toward AAdvantage elite status for each eligible mile earned on the card	$0
AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® This card is currently not accepting new applicants	2 miles per dollar	3.1 cents	Free first checked bag for you and up to four companions traveling on the same reservation when flying on domestic flights with AA or its subsidiaries Preferred boarding 25% off inflight food and beverage purchases 1 Loyalty Point toward AAdvantage elite status for each eligible mile earned on the card	$95
AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®	2 miles per dollar	3.1 cents	Free first checked bag for you and up to four companions traveling on the same reservation when flying on domestic flights with AA or its subsidiaries Preferred boarding 25% off inflight food and beverage purchases Up to $25 back as statement credits for inflight AA Wi-Fi purchases each cardmember year 1 Loyalty Point toward AAdvantage elite status for each dollar spent on the card	$99
The Platinum Card® from American Express	5 points per dollar spent (on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar)	10 cents		$895 (see rates and fees)
Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees)	4 points per dollar spent (or 8 points per dollar spent if booked through Chase Travel℠)	8.2 cents (or 16.4 cents if booked via Chase Travel)		$795
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card	2 miles per dollar spent (or 5 miles per dollar spent if booked in the Capital One Travel portal)	3.7 cents (or 9.25 cents if booked via Capital One Travel)		$395
Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (see rates and fees)	6 points per dollar spent on air travel booked via CitiTravel.com (or 1.5 points per dollar spent on all other airfare purchases made outside the portal)	11.4 cents if booked via Citi Travel (or 2.85 cents for purchases made outside the portal)	Four Admirals Club Citi Strata Elite passes every calendar year 1:1 points transfer to AAdvantage $200 annual Splurge credit (AA is an eligible merchant)	$595
Citi Strata Premier® Card (see rates and fees)	3 points per dollar spent on air travel	5.7 cents	1:1 points transfer to AAdvantage	$95

The information for the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select, AAdvantage MileUp, AAdvantage Aviator Red and AAdvantage Aviator World Elite Business cards has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Which card should you use for American Airlines flights?

Unlike United Airlines’ baggage policy, you don’t actually need to pay with your American Airlines credit card to enjoy the benefits your cobranded card provides.

empty seats in a business class cabin on a plane — JT GENTER/THE POINTS GUY

As long as you’ve had your card open for at least seven days and have attached your AAdvantage account number to your reservation, you will receive the priority boarding and checked luggage benefits available from your credit card. Just having it in your wallet is sufficient.

That means you could pay with a card like the Amex Platinum Card to earn extra points or pay with the Sapphire Reserve to use part of your $300 travel credit against your flight reservation.

In fact, using your travel credits on the Sapphire Reserve when paying for the taxes and fees on an award ticket means you could erase even that minimal amount of cash you had to pay for a flight.

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On the flip side, which card you pay with could be determined by the insurance protections you want to have during your trip. In that case, paying with the Sapphire Reserve is probably your best bet, as it has some of the best travel protections on the market.

If you’re working on American Airlines elite status, paying with your American Airlines credit card is likely the best bet. That’s because you’ll earn extra Loyalty Points for each eligible mile earned on your AA credit card.

Admirals Club DCA — ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

And if you have the Citi / AAdvantage Executive that offers Admirals Club lounge access, you’ll be happy to know you can still access the lounge whether you paid for your American Airlines flight with that card or not.

Otherwise, if you’re a cardholder of the Citi Strata Elite, you can purchase your American Airlines tickets from Citi Travel and earn 6 points per dollar spent and use some of the Admirals Club passes that come with this card.

Plus, Citi ThankYou points transfer 1:1 to AAdvantage, so it’s not a bad idea to purchase your AA tickets using one of Citi’s premium cards.

If you often spend money inflight, choose the card you pay with carefully. Products like the AAdvantage Aviator Red and the AAdvantage Aviator Business provide discounts when making these purchases — but only if you use the right card. You won’t receive the applicable discount if you don’t pay with an eligible American Airlines credit card.