American Airlines has announced that it will end its credit card partnership with Barclays and move to an exclusive agreement with Citi. Starting in 2026, Citi will be the sole issuer of American Airlines’ AAdvantage cobranded credit cards in the United States.
A spokesperson for American Airlines stated, "We are proud to build on our 38-year card partnership with Citi by naming them as our exclusive issuer for our AAdvantage cobranded credit card portfolio in the U.S. beginning in 2026."
As a result of this new arrangement, applications for the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard have been removed. The full transition of the American Airlines credit card program to Citi is planned for next year, and no new applications for Barclays AAdvantage Aviator cards are being accepted.