Big changes are in the works for American Airlines flyers with co-branded credit cards: One of the best (and cheapest) ways to rack up 70,000 AAdvantage miles is poised to disappear … but that could usher in a valuable new way to transfer credit card points to American.
After months of speculation, American Airlines confirmed Thursday that Citi will become the airline’s exclusive U.S. credit card partner beginning in 2026. That means the airline’s unique relationships with not one but two banks will come to a close: Barclays American Airlines cards will be no more.
Citi reached an agreement to acquire the Barclays ‘ entire AA co-branded portfolio. That transition for current cardholders will begin sometime in 2026, though American has promised that its current Barclays cardholders will continue to get the same benefits they do today.
But that change is arguably a bigger blow for anyone looking to open a new AA card and earn a bunch of miles. Forget spending a few thousand dollars: You can get 70,000 miles with one quick purchase (and paying the $99 annual fee) on the American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator® Red Mastercard®.
It’s one of the easiest and most lucrative credit card welcome bonuses on the planet. And while it’s still available as of publication, that gravy train of miles will surely soon end.
If you’ve got a good use for American miles – and trust us, there are plenty – don’t let this last-chance offer pass you by. These are some of the easiest miles you’ll ever earn!
Read more: How to Quickly Earn 120K AAdvantage Miles (& Why You Should)
But it’s not all bad news. This new deal could open the door to something travelers have been wanting for years: The ability to transfer Citi ThankYou points to American Airlines.
While American Airlines didn’t explicitly confirm that in its statement Thursday, the airline certainly hinted at the prospect.
“(T)he agreement creates an innovative alignment between the Citi ThankYou and AAdvantage® card programs and is designed to drive incremental value for both companies and produce a significantly expanded loyalty and rewards offering for AAdvantage® members and Citi-branded cardmembers,” the airline said.
Asked explicitly about the possibility of transferring Citi points to American, an airline spokesperson responded: “We are looking at new ways to enhance our suite of offerings and reward customers for their loyalty, however, we don’t have anything to share at this time.”
If it happens, it would fill a major gap for travelers looking to earn AAdvantage miles – something that should be on any traveler’s wishlist, even if they never fly American.
Travelers can transfer Amex points to Delta and send Chase points to United, yet you can’t turn points from the airline’s biggest credit card partner into AAdvantage miles – aside from a few brief months back in 2021. Travelers earning points on rent could previously transfer Bilt points to American, but Bilt dropped AA as a transfer partner earlier this year.
If Citi does, in fact, add American Airlines as a transfer partner, it would make cards like the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card much more valuable. While Citi has many of the same great international transfer partners as the likes of Chase and American Express, not having a big domestic airline partner (sorry JetBlue) has really held the program back.
Bottom Line
American Airlines just confirmed that Citi will be its exclusive co-branded credit card partner, ending a decade-long relationship with Barclays.
This makes now the perfect – and perhaps last – time to add a Barclays AAdvantage card and earn some easy bonus miles before it’s too late! Additionally, this agreement could finally open the door to transferring Citi ThankYou credit card points to American, opening up a whole new way to earn AA miles.
