American Airlines planes sit parked at LaGuardia airport on traditionally the busiest travel day, the day before the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving, in the Queens borough of New York City, U.S., November 27, 2024.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
American Airlines has inked a long-awaited credit card deal with Citigroup, dropping its other partner, Barclays.
The airline said Thursday that it expects payments it receives from its co-branded credit card and other partners to grow 10% a year. In the 12 months through Sept. 30, American brought in $5.6 billion from these deals.
American said it would start transitioning its Barclays cardholders to Citi in 2026 but didn’t provide details.
The airline’s current partnerships stems from its 2013 merger with US Airways. Citi will take over credit card sign-up promotions such as those on flights and at airports.
CNBC reported in September that the airline was in talks to pick Citi as its exclusive credit card partner.
Co-branded deals are crucial for airlines. Carriers sell frequent flyer miles to banks, bringing in billions of dollars and driving profits for airlines. In return, banks get a captive audience of consumers who are incentivized to swipe the cards not only for travel but everyday purchases as well.
Delta Air Lines out-earned American in its program. Last year, Delta brought in nearly $7 billion from its co-branded credit card partnership with American Express, and the carrier expects that to grow to $10 billion in the long term.
American shares were up more than 6% in premarket trading after the company unveiled the new Citi deal and raised its revenue forecast for the fourth quarter.
Correction: American Airlines made its announcement on Thursday. A previous version of this story misstated the day.