Major news media is reporting that Citi is in talks with American Airlines to become to sole issuer of American Airlines credit cards. That would be a big change from the current status quo, which has Citi and Barclays both issuing cards, with the issuers splitting on marketing on the American Airlines website vs in-flight and in-airport, etc. If this is truly in the works, it would make the Barclays Aviator Red card more appealing as a short-term play to pick up some bonus American Airlines miles since it may not be around forever if the rumors are true.
Of note, it appears that nothing is yet complete or set in stone. Major news media sites like CNBC are reporting that these talks are in progress, but we obviously don’t yet know for sure what will come of those negotiations. Still, it wouldn’t be hard to believe that both American Airlines and Citi would prefer an exclusive relationship where Citi isn’t splitting customers (and marketing opportunities) with another bank and where American can charge Citi handsomely for the privilege of being the sole issuer.
Remember that the Citi/AA relationship predates the relationship with Barclays, which was the issuer of the US Airways credit cards before US Airways merged with American Airlines years ago. Similar to the Marriott/Starwood merger, we ended up with two banks post-merger that are each issuing different credit cards for the same brand. That’s been good from a customer standpoint in the sense that it has meant competition for our business, which in turn means numerous opportunities to earn credit card introductory bonus offers. The Barclays Aviator Red card almost always offers its welcome bonus after first purchase and payment of the annual fee (the current offer yields 70,000 miles after first purchase), so it provides an opportunity for a quick infusion of miles that requires no spend beyond a single purchase and the $99 annual fee.
We obviously don’t know if Citi will become the sole issuer of American Airlines credit cards or how quickly that would happen even if those talks ultimately lead in that direction, nor do we know for sure that Citi would “buy the back book” from Barclays and convert Barclays cardholders to Citi products, though the news article suggests that would happen.
However, one line from the CNBC story struck me as particularly telling:
Meanwhile, Barclays executives told investors earlier this year that they aimed to diversify their co-branded card portfolio away from airlines, for instance, through added partnerships with retailers and tech companies.
The sentence stood out to me of course because we learned this week that Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles will become transferable to Alaska Mileage Plan miles later this month (stay tuned for Frequent Miler on the Air Episode 273 for more on our thoughts about that) and we wondered what that would mean for the Hawaiian Airlines Mastercard, which is issued by Barclays, since Alaska has an exclusive partnership with Bank of America. The sentence above sounds to me like what I’d be telling investors if I already knew that there was a high chance that I’d be losing deals with Hawaiian and American Airlines in the not-distant future so as to make those changes sound consistent with my intent to “diversify” away from airlines.
I imagine that any change to existing bank partnerships for American Airlines probably won’t be terribly near-term, so I don’t necessarily think one has to hurry to open an Aviator Red card today. However, if you value American Airlines and don’t yet have an Aviator Red card, it might be worth formulating a plan as to when the right time may be and making sure that timeline is not terribly long-term.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Aviator business card not available to new apps. Ominous or coincidence?
I believe that card hasn’t been available for a little while now, 1+ year
I went to apply for this and strangely it wouldn’t complete the application. I got through to the last screen and clicked on “submit” and it changed the screen and added the churning animation but then went right back without any changes. Hit “submit” again (form was still filled out) and the same. Same result on a different browser too.
Nick – any sense of a timeline for when this move to Citi as sole issuer of the Aadvantage card could take place based on what you’ve observed in the past? I JUST got (spouse too) the Aviator Red. Was thinking of picking up Citi’s Aadvantage Platinum Select but need to wait a few months (January). Thanks for all of your excellent work in this element of the travel world!
Can someone remind me what are the anti-churning rules for Barclays Aviator? Once per 2 years, or 2 years after closing the previous one?
In my case it was two years after closing. But others have reported differently. It seems that different agents apply rules differently.
I like having two different issuers. More opportunities for more cards. I’ve got three AA cards
Then you’ve always got a back up.
I am now persona non grata with Chase so after years, I just gave up my Chase United Business card.
I am also persona non grata with Bank of America after I filed a lawsuit and settled with them. That means I can’t get an Alaska card. That’s OK I did transfer lots of miles to Hawaiian a few weeks back so will be well stocked.
Any recent datapoints on people with RED cards (or previous cardholders) getting 2nd/3rd red cards?
Believe Tim posted a few months back about being eligible 6 months after closing your card but wondering if thats changed.
If Barclays could not longer offer the Aviator card, what would happen to the card for those who have it?
I mentioned that the CNBC article says that Citi is likely to take it over.
“Remember that the Citi/AA relationship predates the relationship with Barclays, which was the issuer of the US Airways credit cards”
True. The thing is, that the USAir management the was AmericaWest before that has been running things since the merger.
isn’t that a better choices consider its easier to apply and get approved from citi than B just my experience
I can’t get approved for any Citi card right now even with a 830 credit score. The reason for denial in each case is having too much unused credit from other credit card issuers. I’ve had a lot more success get approved with Barclays.
Then hang on to your Barclays cards since they should convert if this happens. Still a strange situation though.
I’ll add another data point. Both P2 and I have been rejected by Citi in recent years for the AA card because of too much unused credit, too many hard pulls, etc. In preparation for applying, I even decreased my limits on multiple cards, let balance build up, held off on other apps, etc. Still a hard no. I have been approved for the Barclays Aviator a couple times in recent years.
Also keep in mind churning rules. Citi has a strict 48 month rule. Barclays is not published, but most people say you should be eligible 2 years after closing your card (so if you sign up & close after a year, that would be every 36 months). My recent experience is that you do not have to wait the full 2 years.
I wouldn’t recommend decreasing limits or letting balances build up to try to get approved. I’ve said it many times before: the “reason” you’re given for denial is almost certainly complete BS in most cases. My wife has been approved with Citi a couple of times despite six figures in unused credit with other issuers. The reason given in a denial letter is just nonsense spit out by the computer because they know that people want to hear a specific reason.
I don’t dispute that Citi has gotten tight on approvals in recent years. You’re right about that. But for the benefit of others reading, I’d strongly recommend that you not attempt to bend over backwards catering to the reason given for denial as they are often meaningless, as will be your actions to attempt to comply with them.
While I respect your opinion, I disagree slightly. Or at the least, I was not doing anything that really had much impact on me. I think I had at the time about $300-$400k in credit limit combined across all banks, which is way way more than I would ever need. Some banks frown at too high of limits relative to income, so I periodically bring down my limits in hopes of instant approval. And when I talk about increasing utilization, I usually am at 0% (with about 30 cards, I just pay off all my cards every week or two, because I cannot keep track of due dates). In preparation, I simply let a few of the balances actually post, so that I had at least 1-3% utilization. Other resources online have suggested Citi wants at least 2% utilization (to show that you are actually using your cards a little). I did not carry a balance, pay interest, etc.
I would not characterize it as “bending over backwards,” but if you call into the reconsideration line, having something is better than nothing. In 2021 I applied for the Premier and was denied for unused credit, etc. About 14 months later I was denied again. I pushed back, and after talking to a couple people and pleading my case, it was sent to some higher office, which did approve me a couple weeks later.