Citi adds American Airlines as a 1:1 transfer partner, offers Admirals Club passes on brand-new card
Editor's Note
- American Airlines is Citi's newest transfer partner.
- Three Citi cards will allow 1:1 transfers to American's AAdvantage program.
- New Admirals Club perks are now available for some cardholders.
A major credit card issuer has just added American Airlines as a transfer partner.
Citi on Sunday announced the launch of 1:1 transfers from its ThankYou Rewards program to American's AAdvantage loyalty program for three of the rewards cards in its lineup.
The move has made Citi the only card issuer with direct transfers to American, one of the three largest U.S. airlines.
Points transfers are expected to go live right away, on Sunday.
Citi revealed the news as part of the unveiling of the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (see rates and fees), its brand-new premium-tier credit card that comes with additional American Airlines benefits in the form of annual day passes to the airline's Admirals Club network.
Those lounge passes will be specific to the new Strate Elite Card, but existing cardholders with two other cards, the Citi Strata Premier® Card (see rates and fees) and the Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available), will be able to transfer their ThankYou Rewards points to American going forward.
The information for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Citi and American get closer
Citi and American partnering on a credit card is nothing new. The airline and the issuer first joined forces decades ago and already jointly offer American's suite of airline-specific cards, like the one that's been a workhorse of my wallet for the better part of a decade.
But a new agreement between the two sides, unveiled late last year, set the stage for deeper ties between the companies.
And on Sunday, those ties led to Citi becoming the only major card issuer to allow consumers with transferable rewards to move those points directly to American.
"I think that we have always desired a major airline point transfer partner, and of course it would only be with American, so we're delighted that we've come to the conclusion that customers will value this," Pam Habner, Citi's head of U.S. branded cards and lending, told TPG.
Here's what to know about the new transfer options and new American Airlines perks for Citi cardholders.
Can you transfer Citi ThankYou Rewards points to American Airlines?
Yes, depending on the card. As of Sunday, July 27, cardholders with the following Citi cards can transfer their ThankYou Rewards points directly to American's AAdvantage program:
- Citi Strata Elite (brand-new card with a $595 annual fee)
- Citi Strata Premier ($95 annual fee)
- Citi Prestige ($495 annual fee, no longer available to new applicants)
Points will transfer at a 1:1 ratio, so 1,000 Citi ThankYou Rewards points will become 1,000 AAdvantage miles.
How to transfer Citi points to American Airlines
If you're hoping to jump right into Citi-American transfers, you should be able to log right into your ThankYou Rewards account, pull up the transfers page and move your points over to the airline.
Once they hit your AAdvantage account, you'll be able to book an award flight on American, whether you're hoping to book the airline's brand-new Flagship Suites on a flight to Europe or snag a coach deal on a short domestic flight.
Read more: How to redeem miles with the American Airlines AAdvantage program
New Admirals Club benefits for cardholders
Among the headlining features of the new Citi Strata Elite Card unveiled on Sunday is access to American's network of Admirals Clubs.
Specifically, Strata Elite Card holders will get four annual passes to American's clubs.
Those can each be redeemed for one-time use; think of them like a day pass.
First look: American's new Flagship Lounge and Admirals Club in Philly shine in big debut
Can you bring a guest?
Yes, but there's a catch.
Strata Elite Card holders can choose to redeem their annual Admirals Club passes for adult guests age 18 and over. However, should you bring three adults into a lounge with you on one visit, know that that would exhaust your annual allotment of four club passes.
A cardholder is allowed to bring in up to three children (under the age of 18) on a visit without using up all their annual passes, though.
If you're a traveler who wants frequent access to the Admirals Club — and with a more lenient guest policy — you might instead consider the full-fledged club access you get via the cobranded Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees).
Not quite a 'first,' but a major moment for Citi and American
It's not technically the first time Citi has offered cardholders a chance to transfer points to American. Several years ago, during the coronavirus pandemic, the issuer offered American transfers on a temporary basis.
But now, these transfers seem far more permanent, making Citi's growing suite of Strata cards a more intriguing option for travelers who like to fly American.
Previously, JetBlue was Citi's only U.S. airline transfer partner. That meant Citi cardholders hoping to redeem points for a flight on American had to go through its Oneworld alliance partners like Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways and Qantas.
Per TPG's July 2025 valuations, American's miles are the most valuable of any U.S. carrier.
American gains a transfer partner
Up until this announcement, American had been the largest U.S. airline without a credit card transfer partner.
The airline briefly allowed direct transfers from Bilt Rewards, but that tie-up ended a little over a year ago.
Meanwhile, American's top airline competitors have both allowed points transfers from their top banking partners for years: Delta Air Lines partners with American Express, while United Airlines has a partnership with Chase.
Scott Long, American's senior vice president of AAdvantage, told TPG that there's more to come on its Citi ties, which customers will see in the future.
"This is a rethinking of what we can do as partners, and a new partnership to go broader and deeper than we have before," Long said. "We think there's more that we can do, but this is an exciting first step."
Related reading:
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