In 2025, American Airlines reported in its SEC Filings that 11.4% of its $54.6 billion revenue came from co-branded airline fees, classified as “cash payments from co-branded credit-card and other partners.” Those payments include compensation associated with the AAdvantage program and are accounted for partly as marketing-services revenue and partly as consideration for future travel awards.
That’s hardly surprising if you’ve ever looked at the financials of other major airlines, such as Delta and United. What’s drawing attention, however, is American’s reported requirement that AA employees undergo sales training.
Training Might Not Sound Bad to Payments People, but…
A Facebook post reports: “The Association of Professional Flight Attendants union released a memo claiming the requirement violates their collective bargaining agreement by altering core job duties. Traditionally, pitching AAdvantage co-branded credit cards during flights has remained a voluntary option for crew members seeking extra commission payments.”
The training itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the mandate is interesting. Anyone who flies regularly has seen the take-one applications and heard the onboard pitch. Industry reports suggest flight attendants can earn a $50 bounty for each approved application. That’s an incentive for employees and a customer acquisition investment for the airline, which stands to earn royalties on the forward flow.
One Mile at A Time also reports that American Airlines is introducing a new flight attendant scoring system that considers metrics such as net promoter survey scores, operational contributions, and delays attributed to flight attendant .
Buckle Up
The Citi/American Airlines co-brand card is a strong one. The partnership dates back to 1987, making it one of the longest-running relationships in the card business. According to Javelin Card Bench, the portfolio spans several products, including the Citi/AAdvantage MileUp Card, Citi/AAdvantage Globe Mastercard, Citi/AAdvantage Executive World Legend Mastercard, and Citi/AAdvantage Business World Elite Mastercard.
Barclays once operated a competing American Airlines card program, but that arrangement was phased out in early 2026. The Citi/American Airlines program is an example of a solid co-brand relationship, without the partner-switching drama seen in programs such as Apple (Barclays to Goldman Sachs to Citi) and Walmart (Synchrony to Capital One to Synchrony).
American Airlines also maintains co-brand partnerships in other markets. Santander is its partner in Brazil; INVEX in Mexico; and Scotiabank in Peru and several Caribbean markets.
For now, our advice is simple: take the training. Just remember that safety comes first.
