Latest news is that AA American Airlines and Citi have renewed their partnership, and Citi will become the exclusive issuer of American Airlines' (AA) AAdvantage co-branded credit cards starting in 2026. That means Barclays will stop issuing AAdvantage co-branded cards and existing cardholders will be moved over to Citi.

Barclays has previously issued one AA-related business card and four personal cards, but new applicants can currently only get the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Credit Card in the AAdvantage Aviator lineup. For points and mileage collectors, it may be worth considering this card sooner rather than later, because applications could close before the end of 2025. This card offers excellent value: make just one purchase within 90 days of applying and earn 60,000 AAdvantage bonus miles.

After Citi becomes the exclusive issuer, we may also see AA become a Citi ThankYou Points transfer partner, which could give Citi ThankYou Points holders more redemption options. After all, there was already a brief transfer test before, and the ratio would almost certainly be 1:1.

This seems to suggest that a transfer feature may be coming, but the timing is unclear.

The expansion and extension of our relationship with American Airlines will positively impact our existing and new customer base as we introduce new products and benefits in the future and produce expanded loyalty and rewards offerings for AAdvantage® members and Citi-branded cardmembers. We are not sharing specifics at this time. Stay tuned.

Previous news

According to CNBC, American Airlines is in talks with Citigroup to become its sole credit card partner, which could end its relationship with competitor Barclays, a partnership that has existed since it took over US Airways in 2013. Right now, AA credit cards are issued separately by Citi and Barclays. If the sole-partner deal is finalized, it will likely leave only the Citi AA card, and the Barclays AA card will become discontinued.

Of course, I expect Barclays won't sit still and will likely try to attract users with big sign-up bonuses before being packaged and sold to Citi, which would help push up the price. If you haven't applied for the Barclays AA card yet, you may want to consider it, since the minimum spending requirement is easy to meet and the bonus is generous.

In addition, once an exclusive agreement is reached, I hope Citi will open up 1:1 ThankYou Points transfers to AA miles, which would make ThankYou Points much more valuable.

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