Barclays Aviator Card Now Comes With A Companion Certificate

Barclays recently changed the sign up bonus on the Barclays Aviator red personal card, it now comes with 50,000 miles after a single purchase and a companion certificate. Previously the offer was 60,000 miles. As this companion certificate is new I thought a dedicated post was in order.

The Basics

• The companion certificate looks to be part of the sign up bonus, meaning you need to complete the requirements (in this case a single purchase) before the companion certificate is sent out.
• The terms state to allow 8-10 weeks for the certificate to post after meeting the requirements. In practice I’m not sure how long it usually takes as usually these time frames are extremely conservative.
• Certificate is valid for one year after it’s issued, travel must also be completed within this time frame.
• When using the companion certificate you pay $99 plus government taxes and fees ($21.60 – $43.20). The companion certificate is good for a round trip domestic economy fare (L, M, N, Q, S, V, G or O).
• There are a number of black out dates (hat tip to Middle Age Miles):
  • 2019: Jan 1-3; Feb 15-19; Mar 8-11; Mar 15-18; Mar 22-25; May 24-28; Jun 28-30; Jul 1-7; Nov 27-30; Dec 1-2; Dec 14-23; Dec 27-31
  • 2020: Jan 1-3; Feb 14-18; Mar 6-9; Mar 13-16; Mar 20-23; May 22-26; Jun 30; Jul 1-6; Nov 25-30; Dec 12-23; Dec 27-31
• Flights must be booked at least 14 days before departure.
• Flights must be booked using the Aviator card the certificate was earned on
• Primary cardholders must be the one flying on the original ticket
• The sign up bonus certificate is the same certificate you receive after spending $20,000 within a card member year (you can earn one from the sign up bonus and another from meeting the spend requirement. They just function the same).
• Must be booked through American Airlines meeting services (800-433-1790).

Some people will prefer the certificate over an extra 10,000 miles and vice versa. I generally find the companion certificates such as these too difficult to use and I prefer extra miles but if you can get the certificate to work for you then it can represent much better value than 10,000 miles.