American Airlines Counts Loyalty Program, Co-Branded Cards as Revenue Boost

American Airlines plans to leverage its loyalty program and a soon-to-be-exclusive co-branded card program with Citi to accelerate its revenue growth.

The company expects remuneration from its co-branded card program and other partners to reach $10 billion per year by the end of the decade, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said Thursday (Oct. 23) during the company’s third quarter earnings call.

“Deepening our relationship with Citi and expanding our co-branded card portfolio will further the growth of our industry-leading loyalty program,” Isom said. “We’re excited for our exclusive partnership with Citi to begin on Jan. 1.”

American Airlines and Citi announced in December 2024 that Citi had reached an agreement to acquire the Barclays American Airlines Co-branded Card portfolio and would become the exclusive issuer of the airline’s co-branded card portfolio, AAdvantage, in 2026.

The companies said at the time that American Airlines and Citi had already had a co-branded partnership for 37 years and that they extended the partnership for another 10 years.

“Our partnership with Citi will provide more benefits to our customers and is designed to drive growth in our credit card acquisitions and penetration over the coming years,” Isom said during Thursday’s earnings call.

American Airlines achieved record third quarter revenue of $13.7 billion during the three months ended Sept. 30, according to a Thursday earnings release. That number was up 0.3% from the same period in 2024.

Isom attributed that growth to the airline’s continuing investments in its network, customer experience and loyalty program, per the release.

The airline’s AAdvantage loyalty program saw 7% year-over-year growth in active accounts, the release said. Compared to two years ago, the number was up 17%, according to a presentation released Thursday.

“AAdvantage members are more engaged, generate a higher yield versus non-members, and are a key driver for premium cabin demand,” Isom said during the call.

Spending on co-branded credit cards saw 9% year-over-year growth, which the airline attributed to the value customers place on the rewards they can receive in the form of AAdvantage miles.

American Airlines said in another Thursday press release that to support these efforts, the company has appointed a new chief commercial officer. Nathaniel Pieper, who is currently CEO of oneworld alliance, will assume that role on Nov. 3 and report to Isom.

As chief commercial officer, Pieper will lead the airline’s efforts in alliances and partnerships, cargo, co-branded credit cards, loyalty, network planning, revenue management, and sales and distribution, as well as co-leading the Customer Experience team, according to the release.

Isom said during the call that Pieper has more than 25 years of experience leading commercial and financial teams at airlines and that he is “a seasoned airline executive who understand the complexity of highly integrated organizations.”

American Airlines said in the earnings release that year-over-year revenue growth in its premium unit continued to outperform that of the main cabin.

It was reported in April that several airlines have been seeing their premium segment business grow faster than their main cabin business for both consumer and corporate travel.