Barclays AAdvantage Cards Convert to Citi April 24 + United Goes Dark Next Week

This weekend delivered a flood of major announcements that will reshape how millions of travelers use their points and cards. From American's massive portfolio transition to United's unprecedented system shutdown, these aren't small tweaks - they're fundamental changes that could affect your travel plans as soon as next week.

Let's break down exactly what's happening and what you need to do right now.

Which airline is pre-canceling flights next week for a planned systems outage?

The answer is chillin' near the bottom of today's newsletter... keep scrolling. 👇

If you're holding a Barclays-issued AAdvantage card, circle April 24, 2026 on your calendar. That's the day Citi officially becomes the exclusive issuer of all American Airlines co-branded cards, and Barclays exits the program entirely.

Citi just published the full transition playbook, and there's a detail buried in there that could work in your favor - at least temporarily. When your card converts, you'll keep your existing Barclays benefits while also gaining the standard Citi card perks. That creates a brief stacking window where you might enjoy double benefits, particularly valuable if you're sitting on annual credits or companion certificates.

You'll receive a new card with a new account number. This isn't a soft transition - your Barclays card number becomes invalid, and you'll need to update any recurring payments immediately. Citi warns there will be a no-login window from April 24-26 while systems sync, so plan accordingly if you need to access your account or make payments during that period.

Your miles balance, credit limit, and account history will transfer over automatically. But here's the interesting part: because you're getting a new card number, this technically counts as a new account for some purposes. That could mean new welcome bonuses down the line, though Citi hasn't announced those details yet.

In a move I've never seen before from a major U.S. carrier, United Airlines is planning a controlled overnight cutover next week that will take its key reservation systems completely offline for 2-3 hours.

The airline has already pre-canceled most departures during the maintenance window. If you have a United flight scheduled for the overnight hours next week, check your booking immediately - there's a good chance it's already been axed.

Everything that depends on the reservation stack essentially freezes. That means no booking new flights, no retrieving existing reservations, no ticketing, no cancellations or refunds, and no check-in. Flights already in the air will continue operating normally, but anything that requires system access stops cold.

The good news? United is being transparent about this. Rather than risk a DeepBlue-style meltdown during peak hours, they're choosing a controlled overnight window and proactively managing passenger rebooking. If your flight was canceled, you should have already received a notification with rebooking options.

For award travel nerds, this is particularly interesting. System upgrades often precede new functionality - could United be preparing to roll out improved award search or dynamic pricing features? We'll find out soon enough.

If you're still holding the legacy Bilt card, you have until 11:59 PM Pacific tonight to make the seamless switch to one of the new card options. After tonight, this unique window closes permanently.

What makes this switch special? No hard credit pull. Same card number. Apple Pay and Google Pay refresh automatically. It's essentially a product change without the typical friction of applying for a new card.

Bilt recently overhauled its entire card portfolio, and the new versions come with materially better benefits for most cardholders. If you haven't made the switch yet and you want to avoid a hard pull down the line, tonight is your deadline.

Chase just launched a 50% transfer bonus to Marriott Bonvoy running through February 28. On the surface, that sounds fantastic - your 100,000 Chase points suddenly become 150,000 Marriott points instead of the usual 100,000.

But here's the reality check: even with the bonus, you're still only getting 1.5 Marriott points per Chase point. Given that Chase points are typically worth around 1.5-2 cents each when transferred to airline partners or redeemed through the travel portal, and Marriott points average closer to 0.7-0.9 cents in value, the math rarely works out in your favor.

There are exceptions. If you're targeting a specific high-value Marriott redemption - think St. Regis Maldives during peak season or a luxury property where cash rates are astronomical - and you're just short on points, this bonus could bridge the gap. But as a general strategy? I'd keep your Chase points for airline transfers.

Capital One just launched its second transfer bonus to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank since adding the program last September. Through February 28, you'll get a 30% bonus when transferring Capital One miles.

Here's the catch: even with the bonus, you're still not hitting a true 1:1 ratio. Capital One miles transfer to JAL at a base rate that requires the bonus just to approach parity with other programs. But if you're planning Japan travel and specifically want to use JAL for domestic Japan flights or their excellent international business class product, this is the best rate you'll get from Capital One.

The sweet spot here is JAL's domestic Japan network. After the bonus, you can move between Tokyo and Osaka or explore Hokkaido for minimal points. Those short domestic hops are where JAL Mileage Bank shines compared to American programs.

The answer: United Airlines is pre-canceling flights next week for a planned 2-3 hour systems outage during an overnight cutover. The airline has already notified affected passengers and is proactively rebooking them rather than risk a major operational meltdown during peak hours.

Hit reply and let me know - I read every response and I'm genuinely curious how folks are approaching this massive portfolio shift. Are you planning to maximize those stacked benefits during the transition window, or are you more focused on updating autopay settings before the blackout period?

That's all for today - see you tomorrow with more!

Before we wrap up, I wanted to share some timely opportunities I've been tracking (courtesy of our friends at AwardTravelFinder). These deals won't last long, so let's dive in.

Airline programs:

Hotel programs:

Other programs: