Forbes Advisor looked at multiple offers to find and rank the best American Airline cards. Factors considered include:
- Airline perks such as free checked bags and priority boarding
- Airport lounge access
- Welcome bonuses
- Rewards earnings rates
- Redemption opportunities
- Fees
- Travel-related perks and benefits
Forbes Advisor rates cards both as stand-alone products (the card rating on the review) and compared to others in a specific use case. Sometimes, cards with average stand-alone ratings may still rank highly on a particular list depending on how a person looking for a card in that category may value certain card features.
For instance, a card that might be considered mediocre overall could be the top card on a list of rewards cards with no annual fee. That’s because the card might offer limited features compared to other rewards cards, but after we remove cards that charge an annual fee, it’s the best card that remains.
Forbes Advisor uses data from multiple government agencies to determine how much a typical cardholder might spend. We use the same numbers for cards in the same category to make sure we are comparing cards the same way. The bonus categories for spending included with each card are factored into our determination of how many rewards a cardholder could expect to earn if they use the card as a consumer normally would.
Read more: How Forbes Advisor Rates Credit Cards
