Open American Airlines credit card for perks on 5 tickets to Europe?

[PolyAddict]

Anyone with experience with their card and how it works?

 

[kaytieeldr]

If no response here, maybe check flyertalk?

 

[Eighty8Keys]

You can also ask on the I Love Credit Cards thread. It's always near the top of the Budget Board.

 

[miztressuz]

Anyone with experience with their card and how it works?

Which card? There are a couple to choose from and the perks will be different. What perk are you interested in?
Citi has 2 worthwhile cards, well 3 if you have a business (or thinking of starting one). Technically there's a 4th one but it's not something that seems worthwhile.
Barclays also has a card, but I think it's similar benefits to the mid-tier Citi card.

If you were trying to earn points to use for the trip you could get both Citi and Barclays cards.

 

[PolyAddict]

Which card? There are a couple to choose from and the perks will be different. What perk are you interested in?
Citi has 2 worthwhile cards, well 3 if you have a business (or thinking of starting one). Technically there's a 4th one but it's not something that seems worthwhile.
Barclays also has a card, but I think it's similar benefits to the mid-tier Citi card.

If you were trying to earn points to use for the trip you could get both Citi and Barclays cards.

Mostly free checked bags, as it seems like that would save the 5 of us $300 off the bat.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

How soon would you be traveling?

 

[smmco]

I opened three AA cards between May and now. It paid for 4 tickets to Orlando plus 2 RT first/ business class tickets to Europe. Of course, I would do it. How soon are you traveling? If you get a couple of Aviator Red cards it's easy. Make a purchase pay the annual fee and boom you have 120k miles. If you're flexible that would pay for two coach RT tickets to Europe.

 

[gottalovepluto]

You do know that regular economy tickets include a checked bag on AA tickets to Europe? If you’re booking Basic Economy know you possibly won’t be seated together or run the math on paying the fee to select your seat and then decide if the cc for free bags is for you.

As far as miles go that’s a lot more complicated for 5 people. If that’s a path you’re interested in come ask on I love credit cards. You’ll potentially need 1-2 years of lead time and will need a flexible schedule (like not traveling over holidays, school breaks, special events).

 

[PolyAddict]

How soon would you be traveling?

Summer 2020

 

[PolyAddict]

You do know that regular economy tickets include a checked bag on AA tickets to Europe? If you’re booking Basic Economy know you possibly won’t be seated together or run the math on paying the fee to select your seat and then decide if the cc for free bags is for you.

As far as miles go that’s a lot more complicated for 5 people. If that’s a path you’re interested in come ask on I love credit cards. You’ll potentially need 1-2 years of lead time and will need a flexible schedule (like not traveling over holidays, school breaks, special events).

I did see that but the difference between basic and main is $125, as far as I can tell bags are $60 and I am calling AA to see how much seat selection is. I did find out the free bags on the credit card are only domestic.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I did see that but the difference between basic and main is $125, as far as I can tell bags are $60 and I am calling AA to see how much seat selection is. I did find out the free bags on the credit card are only domestic.

Oof! Sad but good find. Well that answers the free bags q

 

[cedricandsophie]

Opening several new credit cards at once can hurt your credit score so just be sure that they are paid off quickly and your debt level doesn’t get too high. As someone mentioned free seats with the lowest number of miles can be hard to get especially during peak times like summer, I recently tried to book two seats to London for this summer on United and the best I could do was over 200,000 miles for two people in economy plus a significant fee. Most airlines now tack on a fee when you use miles equal to as much as several hundred dollars depending on the time, the popularity of the flight and the cabin you want to be in.

 

[smmco]

It's not that hard to find economy saver awards on AA if you live near a hub. They are generally 30k miles. It really depends on where you are flying from and what day of the week. Tues, Wed and Saturday will have the most award availability. You will be able to pick seats and get a free bag. The only fee is the 5.60 tax.

 

[MermaidMommy]

It's not that hard to find economy saver awards on AA if you live near a hub. They are generally 30k miles. It really depends on where you are flying from and what day of the week. Tues, Wed and Saturday will have the most award availability. You will be able to pick seats and get a free bag. The only fee is the 5.60 tax.

Just be careful if you're looking at flights operated by British Airways. Their fees for European flights can be outrageous -- I've seen $250-300 per person latelt, which would be a huge expense for 5 people. Unfortunately, there are many more flights operated by BA than AA when you redeem miles. We live near DFW - American's headquarters and its largest hug - and a lot of the American Airlines-only routes are already gone for next summer.

 

[_19disnA]

With any credit card, you have to look at what the benefits/perks are as well as how much in annual fees they charge. Most of the one-time perks are incentives to get you to sign-up for their card and they hope to make money off of the fees they charge merchants when you make purchases. Need to consider where you live, what airlines you frequently travel and how often you fly. No airline perk is worth anything if the miles expire before you are able to use them.