On Tuesday I wrote about the offer for the Barclays Aviator Red AAdvantage card of 70,000 miles after first purchase.

• Citibank is gaining exclusivity with American AAdvantage cards, so this card (and opportunities for AAdvantage cards with Barclays generally) will go away.
  
• Unconfirmed reports that last day to apply is September 30, though Citi exclusivity starts next year.

The application link with 70,000 miles has already been pulled. The standard public offer is 50,000 miles. There may be better offers out there, e.g. first year annual fee waived.

I applied for the card as I wrote about it, and I was approved. I did not actually expect to be approved.

Barclays was the pre-merger issuer of US Airways credit cards. They picked up the co-brand from Bank of America when they funded America West acquiring the carrier out of bankruptcy, and later purchased the BofA back book.

Under the 2016 co-brand deal Citibank and Barclays shared the portfolio. Citi wouldn’t pay up at the time for exclusivity (and Thank You Rewards points transfers). So Barclays kept onboard acquisition and in-airport advertising, but not within 100 feet of an American Airlines lounge. That was mostly about keeping the profitable historic portfolio they’d built up.

I’ve had the Aviator Red card before, and I have the Aviator Silver (converted from an Aviator Red). I also recently cancelled my Barclays Hawaiian Airlines cards. Barclays can be finicky so honestly I wasn’t expecting to be approved. It wasn’t an instant approval. It took 48 hours of ‘under consideration’ and I received both a text and an email.

The US Airways card was the very first points-earning card I’d ever gotten, almost 29 years ago. I cancelled it almost immediately after getting it, deciding I didn’t want to pay an annual fee. Then i realized I was traveling enough for work – with reimbursable business expenses – that the math worked out and I should really be earning something.

US Airways was the airline I flew the most, living in Northern Virginia and flying out of National airport, so I applied again. It had only been a couple of months since I’d gotten the card and then cancelled in the first place. They gave me the bonus again. I was not expecting that! But it really juiced me to pay attention and take advantage of points opportunities.

Seeing the legacy US Airways products fade into the sunset feels like the end of an era for me. But the only reason for someone not to apply for this card right now, really, is concern over too many or too many new accounts (Chase 5/24, or going to get a mortgage). We’re close to what’s likely the last opportunity to get this card ever.