US Airways & America Airlines Credit Card Merger
Since I have two of the US Airways Dividend miles credit cards, I have been thinking and planning a lot about the merger with American Airlines. First, some of the facts that I base my assumptions and decisions on.
1) My first US Airways card was opened in May 2012, with my second card in February 2013.
2) I just paid the $89 annual fee on my card opened in May 2012. As a result, I received 2-$99 companion passes, as well as 10,000 bonus miles.
3) The US Airways/American Airlines merger is anticipated to be complete by the third quarter of 2013.
4) Everything I have read leads me to believe Citi Bank, which runs the credit cards associated with American Airlines, will take the lead on the merger. Therefore, the relationship with US Airways and Barclays Bank will be severed.
Right now, the smartest thing for the consumer to do is to acquire as many free or cheap US Airways miles as possible. That is because at some point the US Airways Dividend miles program will get migrated into the American Airlines AAdvantage program, which means the US Air rewards program will fail to exist.
Why this is important to those looking to travel on reward flights is because the chance to earn those free or cheap miles will disappear in the future.
Over the past year plus, I have become a big fan of the US Airways Barclays credit card because of the bounty of miles they have given us for being a customer.
The Merger
I wanted to “pay” the annual fee on my older US Airways credit card in order to get the 10,000 mile bonus. However, thinking long term about the merger and what will happen with the US Airways credit card started to concern me.
Should the merger actually get finalized sometime this year, it is still well ahead of my initial anniversary date on my first card of May. Therefore, there is a potential that paying the annual fee for this coming year could be a bad choice if the card gets rolled over into an American Airlines Citi card.
My goal is to get to the next annual bonus miles, which get posted before you actually pay the annual fee. My thinking is the likelihood of getting a May 2014 – 10,000 annual bonus on the card is probably slim with the merger. No annual bonus miles is too bad because I fully intended on paying the fee each year since $89 was a great value for the 10,000 miles earned. So therefore, I was faced with the dilemma – was I better off cancelling my year old card, and possibly applying for another down the line?
Unfortunately, no one is able to tell me exactly what will happen with our Barclays US Airways cards at this point. So I was faced with the decision to take the risk of paying the annual fee and hoping I maybe get the annual bonus next year, or close down the card.
We have 60 days from when the annual fee gets posted to ones account to cancel and get the fee refunded. I am halfway through that time period, which was a perfect time to call up Barclays and discuss my options.
I ultimately decided that there was more than likely very little chance of getting the annual bonus miles in the future, which means there was no reason to pay the $89 annual fee on the card for this new year. I was going to cancel my May 2012 US Airways card. However, the Barclays agent had other plans for me.
She quickly offered me an additional 2,500 miles to hold onto the card. So now, besides the 40,000 miles I earned initially, and the 15,000 miles I earned for the targeted $750 spend over 3 months, plus the 10,000 annual bonus, I now have earned a total of 67,500 miles from a single credit card, and that does not include the miles earned from actual spend (which in 2012 was over 5,800 miles).
I am still faced with the same question though despite the bonus miles from Barclays. Do I remain a good customer and keep my initial US Airways card? Or should I close it and attempt to try and get the card again, as well as the new bonuses?
Maintaining a healthy, and profitable relationship with Barclays is just as important to me as earning free miles. I want to make the right choice that benefits both of us. I more than put enough spend on the Barclays cards to make me a good customer.
I can not say this enough…the US Airways Dividend miles credit cards are powerhouses when it comes to earning miles.
Our family capitalized on the Continental Airlines merger with United by earning tons of free miles via the OnePass credit cards, and it was one of the smartest travel decisions we ever made. The chance to earn US Airways miles is limited.
Best The US Airways® Premier World MasterCard® Offers
The The US Airways® Premier World MasterCard® (affiliate link) offers 40,000 mile after first purchase and payment of the first year annual fee $89.
Additional benefits include:
- First checked bag free on eligible bags for you and up to four companions on domestic US Airways operated flights
- One companion certificate good for up to 2 guests to travel with you on a US Airways operated flight at $99 each, plus taxes and fees
- Priority boarding Zone 2 on US Airways operated flights
- Redeem miles for award travel on US Airways and American Airlines booked through usairways.com or US Airways Reservations
- Earn miles on every purchase with 2 miles for every $1 you spend on US Airways purchases and 1 mile for every $1 on purchases everywhere else
Plus, redeem for award travel faster with a 5,000 mile discount on US Airways flights.
Save Money, Travel More!
Source: InACents
Note: The updated link in this post provides us with a commission should you elect to apply for the card using it. Thank you!