Carl

That is simply how the contract was written. Someone recently posted that Barclays reconfirmed this. Of course it's possible (and likely) that they'll sell the portfolio to Citi after the contract ends.

GNRMatt

Again, I ask, where is the wording in this contract? If it is a corporate contract between AA/Barclays/Citi, I highly doubt that you or anyone else on here has actually read it because it would be considered privileged information for the companies. If it is publicly available, what is the link?

Also, you mentioned that someone posted that Barclays confirmed this...anyone can post anything on the internet. Where is the actual statement from Barclays confirming this?

The reason I point these items out is because it interests me (and I'm sure many others) very much. I'd rather get this information based on facts though and not based on random internet postings.

nall

I believe the 2017 date was mentioned at a press event during the merger, but it sounds like that might have since been extended.

Source: http://www.themiddlemarket.com/news/...-247075-1.html

GNRMatt

It says specifically in there "In 2008, Barclaycard's contract with US Airways was extended to March 2017. After US Airways merged with American Airlines, Nealon says Barclaycard's contract was extended again. Nealon declined to provide details about the duration of the most recent extension, but says American's contracts with the two card issuers expire at the same time."

So, American's contract with Barclay's and Citi apparently end at the same time. They may extend both or choose just one based on this article. It is unknown what AA will do. Unless anyone can provide more up-to-date information with a cited source from one of the 3 companies that contradicts this, I believe, at this point, it is completely unknown how long the AAviator cards will last.

SpammersAreScum

So, all we know for sure is, at some unspecified date after March 2017, either Barclays or Citibank might no longer have a contract with AA.

Let's suppose Barclays did lose out at the unknown date. Would they be forced to then terminate cards that had later expiration dates? Seems unlikely, so why wouldn't they issue such cards?

intub8r

There has been much talk in the thread of upgrading from Red to Silver, but I haven't seen as much information on downgrading from Red to Blue or colorless (no annual fee).
I was interested in lowering the annual fees since I already have a Citi Executive AA card and I feel many of the benefits are duplicated between the Citi and Barclay's products. I have had one of the cards for a LONG time though, and I wanted to preserve the line of credit / credit history.

Just to add my data point:
I called to ask to be downgraded to either the Blue or colorless card (two accounts). The rep told me that I would have to APPLY for the Blue, and the application was not yet live online - she said it would be "when the merger was finalized" (whatever that means!)
She was, however, able to instantly downgrade my two Red accounts to the colorless accounts.
My account anniversary dates are June 30 and January 12, FWIW.

sechs

No conclusions can be made from the available information.

Both banks' agreements end at the same time. American could renew one or the other, both or neither. It's meaningless.

sechs

Might want to review the Barclays retention thread. At least one person posted that they received a credit for the difference in fees rather than a downgrade.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...all-cards.html

nall

Does anybody have any idea how hotels.com, booking.com, and other such similar sites are coded by MasterCard? I'm curious if they'd qualify for the 2x bonus (or not).

Bretmd

Hi all,

I recently contacted Barclay regarding the foreign transaction fee on the Aviator Red card and got this reply:

Please note that by using your AAdvantage Aviator Red World MasterCard account for a foreign transaction, you will receive 0% foreign transaction fee; however, Mastercard charge 1% currency conversion fee for any transaction not completed in U.S dollars; this will be included in the a amount billed to your statement.

Is adding this 1% a typical practice for cards that waive a foreign transaction fee? I've got a long Europe trip coming up and am trying to decide which card to use.

Thanks!

GNRMatt

I believe it is. You'll never get the same conversion rate that you see on a site like Google. Only very large institutions can get that rate. I used my AAviator card in May/June in Europe and got a favorable rate.

LASNRT

I got great rates as well using my card in Europe.

For 3 charges I made which posted on May 18, the difference between the "true" rate and the rate I was charged were miniscule.

Here's part of my statement:



According to XE's historical rates, the rate that day was 0.88072, instead of the .87804 I was charged.


So according to the "true rate," my charges should have been $233.89, $12.26, and $29.74, instead of $234.59, $12.30, and $29.84, an 84 cent difference for the day.

Not bad at all, I would say, on over $275 in charges.

Scsweet

I think the reply you received is only partly correct. If I understand the Card Act rules correctly issuing banks must disclose any foreign exchange fee (even what is passed on from MC/Visa) in their fee disclosures and any exchange fees must be billed separately (not buried in the transaction by altering the exchange rate).
Barclays advertises the Red card as having no foreign exchange fees and (as in the post above) I can confirm that during a recent trip to France no exchange fees posted to my account. The small variation between billed amounts and listed rates in the post above are consistent with the continuous fluctuations of the foreign exchange markets.

Bretmd

Thanks for the detailed replies! I went through some foreign transactions from my last statement and it looks like I got a favorable exchange rate for those days.

They seem to fold the 1% into the rate itself- I wonder if a "currency conversion fee" is considered separate from a "foreign transaction fee" in this case. Maybe that means it doesn't need to be billed separately?

Majuki

So according to the "true rate," my charges should have been $233.89, $12.26, and $29.74, instead of $234.59, $12.30, and $29.84, an 84 cent difference for the day.

Not bad at all, I would say, on over $275 in charges.[/QUOTE]

Use MasterCard's rate for the exchange rate provides the most accurate rate to use. For the posting date of May 18th, the USD/EUR rate was 1.142201:

206 * 1.142201 = $235.29
10.80 * 1.142201 = $12.34
26.20 *1.142201 = $29.93

It looks like Barclaycard used three exchange rates. I can't tell if these rates were applied at the time of the purchase or on the transaction posting date. Presumably if they were on the transaction posting date the exchange rate used would have been the same. For comparison, with a Chase Visa card using the published Visa rates on the transaction posting date, it is possible to reconcile purchases down to the cent.

There was a lawsuit that resulted in them specifically having to disclose this and any other fees separately. If they pass the 1% fee they need to disclose it separately. They can't fold it into the exchange rate.