Co-brand and private label cards

Partner card programs: renewals, wins and losses, launches, and the economics behind them.

3 items in 3 issues, Oct 24, 2026 to Nov 9, 2026, newest first. Each item links to the issue it ran in, where its sources are listed.

November 2026

Mon, Nov 9 · Cards & payments
Barclays co-brands. Barclays' Samsung Galaxy Card, launched in July, has beaten the bank's internal adoption expectations, Doug Villone, head of U.S. cards and partnerships, told Banking Dive. The bank does not disclose sign-ups. The card is added to Samsung Wallet on approval, and cardholders can do about 70% of common servicing tasks in the wallet. More than half of the card's transactions run through Samsung Pay, mostly outside Samsung's own ecosystem. Building into the partner's app "creates a new layer of coordination," Villone said, adding, "We never viewed this as a 'set it and forget it' product."Co-brand programs that once might refresh every five or 10 years now need a refresh "in many cases, every three or four years," Villone said, and "often it's the value proposition that may need to be refreshed" rather than the look of the card. Where most co-brands once offered 1% to 3% in a rewards currency, programs now may add status, lounge access, streaming credits or quadruple points at grocery stores. Barclays, which entered U.S. cards in 2004 with a partnership model, extended its Frontier Airlines co-brand in June through 2037. Its Barnes & Noble card is about 20 years old, and its JetBlue partnership is 10 years old.
Read in the issue →

Tue, Oct 27 · Cards & payments
Citi / American Airlines. Citi is refreshing the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select and Business cards, effective Jan 24, 2027. The annual fee rises from $99 to $150, with the $0 first-year fee kept. New earn: 3x on AAdvantage Hotels & Cars, plus 2x on streaming and rides/rail for Platinum Select, or a chosen business category for the Business card. Both get up to $100/yr in inflight credits (replacing the 25% discount) and a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit. Platinum Select also adds Walmart+, and both add new travel protections. It's another mid-tier co-brand moving to a higher fee with more credits, the same pattern as the premium tier.
Read in the issue →
Sat, Oct 24 · Cards & payments
Program renewals. Bread Financial renewed its Sephora and Signet/Blue Nile card programs earlier in the week, the main private label moves of Oct 21-24.
Read in the issue →