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American Airlines Group shares (AAL), a major airline, have risen dramatically The carrier increased its share by 15% on Thursday, after it announced that they had entered into an exclusive partnership with Citi C. Citi C will take over Barclays (BCS’s) 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." American Airlines had issued cards through both Citi and Barclays, a British bank.
"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.
American announced in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that they expect an annual cash payment increase of approximately 10%. The carrier—which said it received roughly $5.6 billion from its co-branded credit card and other partners for the 12 months ended Sept. 30—estimates it will receive about $1.5 billion in annual pre-tax benefits compared to 2024 as those payments approach $10 billion per year.
Investors appear to have cheered the announcement. Citi and U.S. traded shares of Barclays were both up around 2% during recent trading. American Airlines’ stock reached its highest price since summer 2023.
American also raises Q4 outlook
In its regulatory filing, American also raised its fourth-quarter guidance issued on Oct. 24, as "the pricing and revenue environment has continued to improve."
American now expects fourth-quarter Total Revenue per Available Seat Mile (TRASM) to be roughly flat to up 1% from Q4 2023, up from a decline of 1% to 3%, and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to be between $0.55 and $0.75, above the prior range of about $0.25 to $0.50.
UPDATE—This article has been updated with American Airlines' financial projections from the deal and sales guidance, as well as the latest share price information.
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