American Airlines said Tuesday (July 12) that it is retooling and expanding its existing relationships with partners in the AAdvantage credit card program, centered on offering air miles and also other rewards.
The airline said that it has fashioned new agreements with both Citi and Barclay Card US. In a statement, American noted that Citi will continue its practice of offering its current lineup of cards to new customers, leveraging several platforms such as the Admirals Club lounges, direct mail, and in a shot across the digital bow, mobile and aa.com.
American Airlines is also renewing a long-standing agreement with MasterCard.
With a nod toward Barclaycard US, beginning in January of next year, the payments firm will be able to seek new customers for its cards in airports and even during flights.
Benefits as currently offered and used by existing holders will remain unchanged.
Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that the renewal of the credit card relationships with Citi and Barclaycard show the airline is “taking the unusual step of sticking with two card issuers following a big merger.”
Barclaycard had been the co-branded card issuer for US Airways Group, which had merged with American in 2013, and The Journal also reported that the move is a nod toward the “intense competition among financial institutions to win such ‘co-brand’ card arrangements, which are often highly profitable and aimed at creditworthy high-spending consumers.” Barclaycard now gets to solicit new members, which it had not been able to do under the terms of the agreement previously in place.
The airline said in an SEC filing that the deals, which had been hammered out even though none of the agreements had been slated to expire, announced Tuesday will add as much as $1.55 billion to pretax income through the next two-and-a-half years.
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