AAdvantage, Citi, and the $10 Billion Loyalty Bet

American Airlines invented the modern airline loyalty program with AAdvantage in 1981, and in December 2024 it announced an exclusive 10-year extension and expansion of its co-brand partnership with Citi — buying out Barclays' AAdvantage portfolio in the process. CEO Robert Isom has publicly targeted $10 billion per year in loyalty/credit card remuneration by the end of the decade. This module gives candidates the loyalty-economics context for revenue management, marketing, digital, finance, and product roles.