I think most in the travel community simply assume that some time in the future Citibank will become the sole credit card issuer for the “New” American. It seems the most likely scenario given the long established AA/Citi relationship, Citi’s larger US consumer credit card market presence, and most importantly American’s billion dollar bankruptcy deal with Citibank. As Gary pointed out all the way back in February:
If American were to walk away from Citibank as its co-branded card issuer, as of now (2/2013) they would be on the hook for about $800 million cash back to Citi. If they did it in a year they’d still be on the hook for $600 million. And the obligation is secured by their London Heathrow and Tokyo Narita route authorities and landing slots.
In Simon Zhen’s Fool article, Credit Card Changes to Expect After American Airlines-US Airways Merger, he notes that the New American could opt for one or multiple card-issuing partners but that he predicts the US Airways card specific benefits will disappear, with the New AA likely not opting for a “take the best perks” from each card approach:
However, US Airways cards offer discounted companion travel certificates per year, while American credit cards don’t have such a perk. On the other hand, American cards will waive the first checked bag for cardmembers and a number of companions (varies by card). It is unclear which perks will stay or disappear. Given that the new brand is American, it won’t be a surprise if the current American Airlines credit cards are used as the foundation for the new airline’s credit card lineup. It will likely mean that the perks unique to US Airways credit cards will disappear.
Hopefully this isn’t the case! Regardless, any changes to either of these cards will not be happening any time soon and you should be maximizing the miles you can currently earn for sign-up bonuses from all cards. The US Airways personal card from Barclays seems to have gotten easier to win approval (even with another active card) in the last few months. Since the last app-o-rama post, I’ve heard from over 10 readers who have all recently had success applying for another US Airways card while in possession of their current card. It was just a few months ago that Barclays was automatically rejecting some applications of customers who already had the same card, not even bothering to pull a credit report. It seems things have loosened up quite a bit since the merger became official…coincidence?
The US Airways® Premier World MasterCard® – Limited Time Increased Offer!
With the pending AA/US merger this card is a must as these miles will one day become AAdvantage miles. This card will eventually go away, leaving behind the harder to obtain AA Citi Cards. While Barclays is one of the tougher banks in terms of approval for your first card, they have a reputation lately as being easy to obtain additional cards. This one was very important to me. After receiving the sign-up bonus and then an additional 15K bonus on my last US card, I wanted to apply for another non business version of the card. Automated APPROVAL! Here’s hoping the 15K additional bonus now returns for this card as well. Current best offer (updated 4/30/14). 40,000 bonus miles after first purchase and payment of the $89 annual fee. That’s30,00040,000 more AAdvantage miles for me (or perhaps a fuel surcharge free BA ticket)! See Building Up US Miles for the AA Merger – Time to Take AAdvantage, Full List of Offers!1) 40K
30Kafter your first purchase, annual fee of $89, up to an additional 10k when you transfer a balance within 90 days (1 mile per $). Full landing page and promo details.
- Earn up to 40,000 bonus miles on qualifying transactions
- EXCLUSIVE: Redeem flights for 5,000 fewer miles
- Zone 2 boarding on every flight
- Enjoy 2 miles per $1 spent on US Airways purchases
- Earn 1 mile per $1 spent everywhere else
- Annual companion certificate good for round-trip travel for up to 2 companions at $99 each, plus taxes and fees
- First Class check-in
- Please see terms and conditions for complete details
Related –
- US Airways Card 10K Mile Anniv. Bonus for Canceling
- Building Up US Miles for the AA Merger – Time to Take AAdvantage, Full List of Offers!
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
