Earn 2X miles per dollar on eligible American Airlines purchases; otherwise earn 1X
Earn 15,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after making $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
For occasional travelers that fly American Airlines and are looking to earn miles with the airline, then the AAdvantage® MileUp card could be a solid option.
And while you might not think about this card if you are already an American Airlines elite traveler, you may find the bonus categories more beneficial than the $99 fee Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite MasterCard since you already have the additional benefits like free checked bags and priority boarding via your status.
This beginner-friendly card, with no annual fee, is ideal for those who don’t travel often enough to justify a more expensive, premium card.
The AAdvantage® MileUp also has a competitive 2X bonus category rate at grocery stores (including grocery delivery services) and eligible American Airlines purchases.
And remember, all base miles earned via spend on this card count as Loyalty Points towards AAdvantage® status.
In addition, you’ll get 25% off inflight food and beverage purchases and there’s no mileage cap on the card. American Airlines miles can be used on over 1,000 worldwide destinations, as you can use them for American Airlines, American Eagle and any Oneworld alliance or non-alliance partner airlines.
However, there are some significant downsides to consider as well. While this is an airline-specific card, the MileUp card doesn’t include many airline perks, such as a free checked bag perk or preferred boarding. In addition, there’s a relatively modest welcome bonus and the card charges a foreign transaction fee (so you won’t want to use this card abroad).
And if you do fly American Airlines (and Oneworld partner airlines or JetBlue) more than a couple of times per year, but are not elite already, there are some better options out there, including those from American Airlines. That includes the mid-tier Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard, offering the first checked bag free, and the premium Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard, offering Admirals Club lounge access.
Only earns 5% when booked via Capital One Travel; else 1%
Only earns 5% when booked via Capital One Travel; else 1%
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
Unlike the Capital One Savor card (now discontinued for new applicants, anyway), which offers 4% back dining but the same 3% back on dining, at grocery stores, and on entertainment purchases and popular streaming services) but charges a $95 annual fee, the Savor, despite 1% less in cash back, will be a better choice until you reach a high level of spend such that the annual fee is offset.
Plus, don’t forget that you’ll earn cash rewards (8%) on Capital One Entertainment Purchases and 5% cash rewards on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
Early on in this review, I mentioned a “secret” way to convert your Savor cash back into Capital One miles (See our complete guide to Capital One Miles).
If you also have a Capital One Venture X, Venture, VentureOne, or Spark Miles for Business card, you can freely convert your Savor cash back into miles by transferring the cash back to any of those cards. It transfers 1:1, meaning that $10 = 1,000 miles.
Here’s a list of Capital One Miles transfer partners should you transfer your Savor cash rewards over to one of the aforementioned cards (to be clear, you cannot transfer to any of these partners with this card alone; you would need a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, or Capital One Spark Miles for Business card to transfer to):
Capital One Miles | ||
---|---|---|
Transfer Ratio | Expected Transfer Time | |
Air Canada (Aeroplan) | 1:1 | Instant |
Air France / KLM Flying Blue | 1:1 | Instant |
Avianca Lifemiles | 1:1 | Instant |
Aeromexico | 1:1 | Instant |
British Airways Avios | 1:1 | TBD |
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1:1 | Nearly instant |
Choice Hotels | 1:1 | 1 day |
Emirates Skywards | 1:1 | Instant |
Etihad Guest | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
Finnair | 1:1 | Instant |
Qantas | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
TAP Air Portugal | 1:1 | TBD |
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | 1:1 | TBD |
Wyndham Rewards Hotel Program | 1:1 | Instant |
EVA | 2:1.5 | 1-2 days |
Accor Live Limitless (ALL) Hotel Program | 2:1 | 1-2 days |
Virgin Red | 1:1 | TBD |
There’s no denying that 3% cash back on dining, grocery store, streaming services and entertainment purchases is a solid deal for a credit card without an annual fee. In fact, entertainment purchases (which include things like concerts and shows) is one of the rarest bonus categories. If you attend a lot of Broadway shows or concerts, this card can really rack them up. And should you happen to resell any tickets on StubHub, etc, this is an extra 3% in your pocket.
Plus, if you don’t mind booking hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, that’s 5% cash back as well.
Bottom line? If you are interested in cash back rather than points, this would be a good card to have in your wallet, however, I would recommend pairing it with another card for other categories. For many, a second card like a Citi Double Cash, which earns 2% on everything, could be the perfect card combo. Or, scroll down and use our own Card Combo tool to see which card would pair best with a Savor based on your own spending profile.
And remember what I said above… there are ways to convert this cash back into Capital One Miles as well.