U.S. Bank AeroMexico Visa Signature card review

If you have family in Central or South America or frequently do business south of the border, the AeroMexico Visa Signature card is a good card for everyday purchases. Awarding cardholders twice the number of miles on gas and grocery store purchases, it offers one of the most accessible rewards programs available on an airline card.

It also comes with a number of family friendly benefits that help take the sting out of the card’s annual fee, including an annual $99 companion certificate and a free fourth ticket whenever you buy three tickets on the same flight. The card’s annual fee is waived in the first year. But after that, the card’s annual fee is $80. That’s not a bad deal for an airline card with a good rewards rate and a sign-up bonus, but be sure you’ll actually use the card if you plan to keep it around after the card’s first year.

Bonuses on everyday purchases

Unlike with most airline cards, you don’t need to be an especially heavy traveler to earn a large number of miles with this credit card. Also in contrast to many airline cards that only award spending bonuses when you use the card for air travel, the AeroMexico Visa card makes it easy to quickly build up miles by awarding bonuses on everyday purchases.

Cardholders are awarded 2 miles for every dollar spent on gas and grocery store purchases – a big perk for families that spend a large amount on road trips and food – and 1 mile for every dollar spent on anything else.  You can also earn double miles through AeroMexico purchases. So if you travel frequently to Central or South America for work or pleasure, you can build up an enviable collection of miles.

Substantial savings for families

The AeroMexico Visa also offers a number of family friendly benefits that make it an ideal pick for cardholders who don’t plan to fly alone. The card awards a free companion certificate in your first year, plus an annual $99 companion certificate that you can use to knock down the price of a friend’s or family member’s ticket. You can also save a substantial amount of money on your next family vacation by securing a free fourth ticket when you buy free tickets on the same flight. Depending on where you fly, that perk alone can save you hundreds of dollars a year – especially if your family travels fairly regularly.

In addition, the AeroMexico card helps users save money on baggage by offering one free checked bag per trip. It also gives cardholders a one-time, 15,000-mile sign-up bonus and a 4,000-mile annual bonus that is worth around $40.

Decent benefits

Because it’s a Visa Signature card, the AeroMexico Visa comes with a number of extra travel benefits, including travel and emergency assistance, concierge service, car rental insurance, roadside assistance and lost luggage reimbursement. However, unlike many travel cards, it doesn’t waive foreign-transaction fees. So leave the card in your wallet when you cross the U.S. border.

Pricey fees and APR

You’ll want to watch out for a number of other pricey fees as well – including booking fees and fuel surcharges – that can limit total savings. AeroMexico’s card issuer, U.S. Bank, requires cardholders to book rewards-funded flights by phone, but charges cardholders for the service. It also reserves the right to levy fuel surcharges on selected flights.

The APR on the AeroMexico card is relatively high as well – particularly for cardholders with imperfect credit – so you may not want to use this card for purchases you can’t afford to immediately pay off. Cardholders with the highest credit scores are charged a minimum APR of 14.99 percent, which is below average for an airline card. However, cardholders with lower scores can be charged an APR as high as 24.99 percent.

Miles are transferable

With its main hub in Mexico City, AeroMexico only flies to destinations in Central and South America. So if you don’t fly south very often, you won’t get as much value out of this card as you might with a more general travel card.

AeroMexico is a member of the 20-airline SkyTeam alliance, though, so you can transfer miles to other airlines if you want to occasionally use miles for other destinations, as well as three additional partner airlines. Members of the 20-member SkyTeam network include Delta Air Lines, KLM, Korean Air, Kenya Airways, China Airlines, Air France, Air Europa and Aeroflot – all major airlines that offer flights around the globe.

Why get the AeroMexico Visa Signature card?

• You frequently travel to Mexico or to other Central or South American destinations.
• You have a large family and would benefit from the card’s free fourth ticket promotion.
• You spend a large amount on gas and groceries and want an airline card that rewards you for those purchases.

How to use the AeroMexico Visa Signature card:

• Use your card for all gas, grocery and AeroMexico purchases in order to get the most benefit out of the card’s rewards program.
• Check the airline’s routes when planning your next family vacation. You can save some serious cash with this card if you plan to travel with three or more members of your family.
• Be sure to use your card at least semi-regularly. Your miles will expire if for the card hasn’t been active sometime in the preceding 24 months.

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