Shares of American Airlines Group (AAL) soared 11% Thursday after the carrier announced it had signed a new, exclusive credit card partnership with Citi (C), which will be taking over Barclays' (BCS) share of the portfolio.
American Airlines and Citi, who have partnered on credit cards for more than 37 years, inked a 10-year extension with the bank "becoming the exclusive issuer of the AAdvantage co-branded card portfolio in the U.S. in 2026." Up until now, American Airlines has issued cards with both Citi and the British bank Barclays.
"The 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 companies said.
Investors appeared to cheer the move. Citi stock and U.S.-traded shares of Barclays both were up about 2% in recent trading, while American Airlines stock hit its highest level since the summer of 2023.
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