American Airlines frequent flyers should consider applying for one of the airline’s co-branded credit cards to accelerate miles earnings (and earn more Loyalty Points). American Airlines cards — unlike most co-branded airline cards — offer a pretty generous earning rate.

Signing up for the right American Airlines card could also get you valuable airline perks, such as:

• Preferred boarding status
• Free checked luggage
• Lounge access
• Fast track to elite status

You can also opt to apply for a non-co-branded card if you want more flexible rewards that you can still use toward American Airlines flights. Read on to learn about each American Airlines AAdvantage credit card and the perks they have.

Which benefits are you likely to use?

One of the main reasons to get a co-branded AAdvantage card is to score a range of important airline perks. The more often you fly with American Airlines, the more you can use those benefits and the more valuable the card will be. On the other hand, if you rarely fly with American Airlines, or you are unlikely to use the airline perks, a general travel card is probably the better way to go. Here are the key benefits to consider:

• First checked bag free — This can save you hundreds of dollars each year if you fly American frequently. Also note that co-branded American AAdvantage cards with this perk let cardholders use it for themselves and a few of their traveling companions on the same itinerary.
• Preferred/Priority boarding — If you care about being front of the line on your flights, Preferred and Priority boarding can be another good reason to own an AAdvantage card.
• Lounge access — Admirals Club membership (which comes with the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^®) can make your wait for your next flight much more pleasant, but the benefit only makes sense if you often travel through airports with Admirals Clubs.
• Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit — If you want a fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership, picking up a co-branded AAdvantage card that has it like the Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^® is a smart move. This kind of benefit with a dollar value attached helps you make up for the annual fees cards with more perks tend to charge.
• American Airlines companion certificate — A few co-branded American AAdvantage cards, like the CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® also offer a companion certificate you can use alongside your own paid fare with the airline. These companion fares can help you get more value for your airline credit card and are most useful when you fly often with American Airlines already.

Which card has the most valuable sign-up bonus?

You should take a close look at each card’s sign-up bonus, since this can be a quick way to earn an award flight on American Airlines. Some things to consider when evaluating the bonus:

• How do the value of the miles compare to other card’s bonuses? (Consider the value of their points/miles when redeemed for AAdvantage airfare.)
• Can you meet the spending threshold?
• Do you meet the eligibility requirements? (Read the offer terms carefully. You may not qualify if you have owned other AAdvantage cards.)
• How does the value of the bonus compare to the annual fee? (You might go for a lower annual fee card if you’re strictly interested in earning miles.)

With this in mind, the CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® has the most generous sign-up offer among co-branded American Airlines credit cards right now. Earn 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.

By our estimates, AAdvantage miles value average $0.012 per mile. However, the value varies depending on how you use your miles.

You can get much higher values than this with MileSAAver Off Peak awards (when you can find them) while AAnytime awards may offer a lower value than this (because they trade value for flexibility). Also, though you can redeem AAdvantage miles for merchandise and gift cards, you’ll find that you generally get less than 1 cent per mile on these redemptions.

Miles value of an American Airlines flight = Flight cash price (minus taxes and fees) / Number of miles needed for flight

The number of AAdvantage miles required for an award flight varies widely, depending on the type of fare, origin, destination — and whether you’re able to find a deal. Some flights can cost as little as 5,000 miles. On the other hand, international flights in first class can cost hundreds of thousands of miles. Here are some sample fares for different fare types on American Airlines (see the American Airlines miles chart for a full list of awards).

Earn Loyalty Points multiple ways

1. Fly with American Airlines
2. Make purchases with an AAdvantage® credit card
3. Earn eligible miles with AAdvantage® partners

Fly with American Airlines and AAdvantage partners

Elevate the rate at which you earn miles per dollar spent by flying with the American Airlines network to accumulate points more quickly. Prioritize earning status tier one, AAdvantage Gold, and work your way up from there.

Use your card for gas, grocery and American Airlines purchases

• You should check the earning rate on the card, but some AAdvantage cards earn 2X miles on these purchases — a great way to stack up AAdvantage miles on major expenses.

• Use your card when you fly domestically on American Airlines to save on luggage (if it waives the luggage fee)

  Since the annual fee AAdvantage cards offers free checked luggage for up to four people on your itinerary, this can save you $100 or more each way. (This is a key benefit of the cards!) Note, the benefit doesn’t apply to international flights, so you might use another card when traveling overseas.

• Link your card to the AAdvantage dining program to earn bonus miles at some restaurants

  You can earn an additional 1x to 5x miles on your purchases.

• Use your card for all in-flight purchases on American Airlines

  If you opt to purchase an in-flight cocktail, be sure to reach for your co-branded AAdvantage card — you’ll score a huge 25% savings.

• Add the American Airlines shopping button to your web browser

  You’ll earn extra AAdvantage miles on top of your card rewards for online purchases at participating merchants through American Airlines’ shopping portal.

Co-branded American Airlines cards offer great airline perks that can be very valuable for loyal American Airlines flyers. However, if you’re just looking to earn miles for free flights, a flexible rewards card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® may be the way to go.

In fact, you could pick up a card that earns flexible points in the Chase Ultimate Rewards®, Amex Membership Rewards or Capital One Travel program and turn your rewards into a flight with American or other airlines.

As an example, all three of these programs let you transfer points to the British Airways Executive Club program at a 1:1 ratio. From there, you can use your newfound “avios” to book one-way domestic flights on partner American for as little as 7,500 avios one-way for short haul flights.

To make choosing the right card easier, we’ve looked at credit cards reviewed on LendingTree as well as cards on major issuer sites to compile a list of the best rewards credit cards available right now. Our recommendations are based on the additional value you can earn with the cards — including the rewards value, cost of ownership and value of benefits such as travel and purchase protections, lounge membership and airline companion passes. Our choices are not influenced by our advertisers. Learn more on how we calculate rewards.