…

When it comes to choosing your first travel rewards credit card, you have many options.

The American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp is the entry-level American AAdvantage card in the airline’s cobranded card lineup. This means you’ll earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles on the card.

The biggest factor in choosing a cobranded airline credit card is how often you fly the carrier. Do you fly enough airlines to take advantage of the benefits? Or would you be better suited for a card that earns straight cash back or other, more flexible rewards currency? And, is it worth shelling out some cash for the annual fee?

To qualify for the AAdvantage MileUp card, we recommend a credit score of 670 or higher.

Let’s dive into answering these questions for the MileUp card to see if this no-annual-fee card is right for you.

Information for the AAdvantage MileUp Card is independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Pros and cons of the AAAdvantage MileUp card

With no annual fee and no minimum spend requirement, this is certainly a reasonable offer but far from the most attractive offer on the American Airlines card.

If you already have another AAdvantage card, you can also earn bonuses on the AAdvantage MileUp card; If you earned a new account bonus for an AAdvantage MileUp account within the past 48 months, you cannot earn the bonus again.

It could be a good opportunity to earn more AA miles with no annual fee.

AAAdvantage MileUp Card Benefits

While it doesn’t have any high-value benefits, MileUp does have some benefits that American Airlines flyers should take note of:

• 25% savings on inflight purchases: You’ll get discounts on inflight food and beverage purchases (but not on inflight Wi-Fi, which is managed by a third party). This discount comes in the form of a statement credit after the transaction is posted to your account.
• No Mileage Cap: You can earn as many American miles as you like and then redeem them for flights, upgrades, car rentals, and hotel stays (although flights are the most valuable redemption).
• Earn Loyalty Points: Cardholders earn 1 loyalty point for every 1 eligible mile earned from purchases

Unfortunately, Citi has taken away most of the travel and shopping protection benefits offered on almost all of their credit cards.

Savings on inflight concessions can be a nice little perk if you really need to buy a snack or meal. For example, if a family of four had two round-trip flights each year and each bought a $10 sandwich on board each way, that family would save $40 per year with the AAdvantage MileUp card. That’s not bad for a card with no annual fee.

Related: Best Airline Credit Cards With Inflight Discounts

Earn miles on the AAAdvantage MileUp Card

Here’s what you can expect to earn on your purchases using the MileUp Card:

• 2 miles per dollar spent on qualifying American Airlines purchases
• 2 miles per dollar on grocery stores (including grocery delivery services)
• 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases

It may be wise to use the AAdvantage MileUp card for everyday grocery expenses and eligible American Airlines purchases.

However, remember that many card options have attractive earning rates for grocery purchases. Like many issuers, Citi excludes discount store and warehouse clubs from grocery store bonus rates.

Redeeming miles on an AAdvantage MileUp card

Additionally, you can redeem American miles on:

• Flight upgrade
• Admirals Club Membership
• Rental car
• Stays in a hotel
• Charitable organizations

However, non-flight redemption almost always provides a poor redemption rate.

Miles earned on the MileUp Card have no expiration date as long as you earn or redeem them every 24 months. This is great if you have a big trip coming up.

While we don’t recommend hoarding points (they can devalue at any time), you can spend years racking up AAdvantage miles and redeem them at any time, as long as you’re using the card periodically.

Related: Best Uses of American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

Which cards compete with the AAdvantage MileUp card?

• If you prefer more benefits: The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® comes with an introductory $0 annual fee ($99 per year thereafter). Benefits include the first free checked bag (for you and up to four companions on the same reservation), no foreign transaction fees and a $125 American Airlines flight discount after spending $20,000 on the card per card member year. To learn more, read our full review of the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard.
• If you choose elite benefits with American Airlines: This Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (See Rates and Fees) Admirals Club comes with membership, which gives you access to nearly 100 Admirals Club and partner lounges worldwide. Cardholders also have the ability to bring two guests when you have a same-day boarding pass for American or one of its partners. You will also get priority check-in and boarding. To learn more, read our full review of the Citi/AAdvantage Executive World Elite MasterCard.
• If you choose United: The United Gateway℠ Card is a no-annual-fee option for United flyers. This card has a better rewards rate than most of its competitors for travel, gas and transit purchases. You can earn 25% back on United inflight and United Club premium beverage purchases with this card, which is a solid benefit for a no-annual-fee product. To learn more, read our full United Gateway Card review.

For additional options, check out our full list of the best travel credit cards and the best American Airlines cards.

Related: How to Choose an Airline Credit Card

Information for Citi/Advantage Platinum Select is independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Is the AAdvantage MileUp Card Worth It?

If you want perks like free checked bags or priority boarding, the AAdvantage MileUp card is probably not the card for you. However, if you can forego the benefits and commit to earning AAdvantage miles or live near an American hub, this can be a valuable rewards starter card.