Last edit by: Prospero
American Airlines Business Extra® Program (master thread)
Historical Notes
Key Information
Note: older posts have been archived to ARCHIVE: Business Extra Program master thread (consolidated)
Historical Notes
- October 5th, 2021: New award types introduced: BXL1 for Platinum status and BXP0 to convert Business Extra points to AA miles at a 1:6 rate. New requirement introduced to redeem: Starting January 1, 2023, current members will be required to have three unique travelers and maintain $5,000 in qualifying Business Extra flight activity during the previous 12-month period to redeem points.This policy will go into effect immediately for new members who join the program on October 4, 2021 or later.
- Feb 2018 - BXP1, BXP2, BXP3 Upgrade Certificates can be redeemed electronically, without the need to redeem or submit paper certificates. [URL="https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/29470237-post1150.html"[/url]
- Dec 2015 - Unannounced more-restrictive changes to BXP upgrade certificates implemented. [URL="http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-airlines-aadvantage/898180-business-extra-program-master-thread-consolidated.html#post25942133"[/url]
- Nov 2015 - Europe AA Business Extra closed and migrated to AA-BA-IB On Business [URL="http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-airlines-aadvantage-combined-airline-program/1715008-aa-ba-ib-europe-business-programme-nov-30-2015-ex-business-extra-europe.html"[/url]
- Oct 2014 - Business Extra Awards may be redeemed for flights on US Airways
- Sep 2013 - Business ExtrAA brand changed to simply Business Extra
- Sep 2012 - Upgrade Awards are no longer restricted to use within 30 days of travel [url=http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/19345217-post394.html[/url]
Key Information
- Promotion Codes - For a current list of Business ExtrAA promotions, see: Business ExtrAA Bonus Offers (consolidated)
- Point Expiration - Business Extra points expire on a rolling basis, two years after the year in which they are earned, on December 31 at midnight U.S. Central Time. Their validity can not be extended.
- Award Redemption - All awards must be redeemed via the Business Extra website. Flight Awards are delivered electronically via email with an Electronic Authorization Number. Upgrade Awards and Admirals Club Day Passes are delivered in paper certificate form via regular mail. Redemption sweeps occur twice per week and expedited delivery is available if you provide your FedEx/UPS account number via email. Gold Status and Admirals Club Membership awards are processed and active in the member's account after approximately one week, with other membership materials delivered in the mail within 4 weeks.
Note: BE awards must be booked on nonstop flights if they are available between your origin and destination.
- Award Inventory Codes - Per Meeting Services, Business Extra Awards book into the following inventory (although there are conflicting reports from mvoight and InsipidMonkey on whether or not this information is accurate for PlanAAhead Awards, for which availability may be significantly less than MileSAAver Award and/or T inventory availability):Award Type Books Into
PlanAAhead - Economy T
PlanAAhead - Business* U
PlanAAhead - First† Z
AAnytime - Economy Y
AAnytime - Business* J
AAnytime - First† F
Upgrade to Business* C
Upgrade to First† A
* = First class cabin on 2-class flights
† = First class cabin on 3-class flights
- Flight Award Reservations - Award Tickets must be booked through AA Meeting Services at 1-800-433-1790 (U.S. and Canada; others contact your local reservations office), and you will need to provide the Reservations Agent with the Electronic Authorization Number from your award certificate. As of Oct 2012, flight awards can be booked without a telephone booking service charge.
- Flight Award Expiration - As published on the Business Extra website, Award Tickets must be booked within one year of redeeming the certificate, and are then valid for one year from booking:
Award ticket must be issued by midnight one year from the original award redemption date. Tickets issued against Business Extra flight awards are then valid for one year from the ticket issue date. - Upgrade Award Reservations - Upgrade Awards may be applied once a reservation is Ticketed by calling AA Meeting Services or using the Business Extra website. Once requested online you will receive an email with a confirmation number and serial numbers for each upgrade certificate requested.
Upgrade Awards carry fare restrictions (excludes B, N, O, Q or S fares). Take careful note of your fare when making a reservation. It is possible to "Upfare" a reservation from the lowest available fare to an BXP-upgrade-eligible fare by placing it on Hold at AA.com, calling AA to request the desired higher fare basis code, then completing the purchase online.
You can specify ITA searches that exclude the ineligible fares as follows:jfk:: aa /f ~bc = b & ~bc = n & ~bc = o & ~bc = q & ~bc = s
(Or you can place everything after the slash directly in the second advanced control box.)
These filters can also be concatenated with other commands, such as maximum duration, separated with a semicolon:jfk:: aa /maxdur 800 ; f ~bc = b & ~bc = n & ~bc = o & ~bc = q & ~bc = s
- Upgrade Award Expiration - Electronic BXP Upgrade Awards are valid for 1 year from redemption. Previously, paper Upgrade Awards were valid thru Jun 30 or Dec 31 of the following year, with the exact date depending on the batch of certificates available at the time of redemption.
- Returning Unused Awards - Points redeemed for awards but not yet applied to a ticket can be returned for no charge by using the 'returns' option in your account options. Points will be reinstated with an expiration date 2 calendar years from reinstatement (i.e., expiring on December 31 two calendar years from reinstatement). For awards already applied to a ticket, you must call Business ExtrAA customer services at 800-457-7072, or email [email protected]. Customers outside the US should use the email.
- Business Extra Account Credit - A Business Extra number can be added to an existing reservation (for example, booked by a third-party travel agent) by calling AA Meeting Services.
A Business Extra number can be added to an existing BA reservation as follows:- Go to www.britishairways.com
- Select 'Manage My Booking' tab
- Follow the instructions to pull up your reservation
- Select the link towards bottom listed under 'Quick Links' 'Add On Business or Business Extra number'
- Add your Business Extra number and check the box to give your consent.
Retroactive credit for completed travel can be requested via the Business Extra website.
- Contact Business Extra
Web home page: https://www.businessextra.com
Booking and Ticketing (Meeting Services desk)
www.aa.com
1-800-433-1790 5:00 a.m. - 12:00 midnight (CT) 7 days a week
Business Extra Customer Service
1-800-457-7072 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (CT) Monday - Friday
Fax: 1-817-931-9029
E-mail: [email protected]
Link to aa.com BE contact web form
http://www.aa.com/contactAA/viewEmai...businessExtrAA
Link to BE web contact form
Note: older posts have been archived to ARCHIVE: Business Extra Program master thread (consolidated)
Business Extra ("ExtrAA") Program (master thread)
#181
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 44
Apologies as I haven't read through this whole thread but I'm thinking about redeeming for a BXP2 certificate for a relative flying from US to Europe. The outbound leg was booked in Y, so it should be eligible, but I called the Business Extra customer service number and they told me there was no availability and they could put her on wait list.
The flight departs in 16 days, so I'm trying to decide a few things if I should redeem for the certificate:
How soon will it physically get to me?
When will I know if cleared for upgrade to Business?
Can I return the certificate and have points redeposited into my account if it doesn't get used?
The flight departs in 16 days, so I'm trying to decide a few things if I should redeem for the certificate:
How soon will it physically get to me?
When will I know if cleared for upgrade to Business?
Can I return the certificate and have points redeposited into my account if it doesn't get used?
#182
Moderator: New York City and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2007
Programs: AA PLT, Natl EC
Posts: 10,855
Apologies as I haven't read through this whole thread but I'm thinking about redeeming for a BXP2 certificate for a relative flying from US to Europe. The outbound leg was booked in Y, so it should be eligible, but I called the Business Extra customer service number and they told me there was no availability and they could put her on wait list.
The flight departs in 16 days, so I'm trying to decide a few things if I should redeem for the certificate:
How soon will it physically get to me?
When will I know if cleared for upgrade to Business?
Can I return the certificate and have points redeposited into my account if it doesn't get used?
The flight departs in 16 days, so I'm trying to decide a few things if I should redeem for the certificate:
How soon will it physically get to me?
When will I know if cleared for upgrade to Business?
Can I return the certificate and have points redeposited into my account if it doesn't get used?
1) Certs ship twice a week and you should get it in the regular mail within two weeks (last record I have was a redemption on 4/13/16 and receipt on 4/22/16). You can pay for FedEx to be sure you receive it in time, but will probably be ok if you redeem today. You do not need to have the cert in hand in order to request the upgrade, but do obviously need it in hand to check in.
2) I would check J cabin availability (and fare buckets if you have ExpertFlyer) to guess at the odds of the upgrade clearing. You may clear a day or two before, or at the gate, or not at all.
3) Yes, you can return the cert for a $150 fee. This will NOT extend the expiration date of the points.
https://www.businessextra.com/faq.htm
#183
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: MEM, TLV
Programs: DL, AA PLT, US, HH Gold, BW Diamond, Avis PP, Choice PLT
Posts: 559
Apologies if this was posted and answered already but didn't see it and wasn't able to find it in searching.
Can an I get credit for past flights flown prior to opening up the account. Say I opened the account today but flew 50 times this year on AA prior to today. Can I request credit for these flights?
Thanks
Can an I get credit for past flights flown prior to opening up the account. Say I opened the account today but flew 50 times this year on AA prior to today. Can I request credit for these flights?
Thanks
#184
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: ORD, LAS
Programs: AA-EXP, BAEC Silver, Hyatt-Globalist, Hilton-gold, SPG-gold
Posts: 855
Apologies if this was posted and answered already but didn't see it and wasn't able to find it in searching.
Can an I get credit for past flights flown prior to opening up the account. Say I opened the account today but flew 50 times this year on AA prior to today. Can I request credit for these flights?
Thanks
Can an I get credit for past flights flown prior to opening up the account. Say I opened the account today but flew 50 times this year on AA prior to today. Can I request credit for these flights?
Thanks
#185
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: JFK, DCA, BUR, YVR
Programs: AC, AS, BA, DL, HH (D), MR (T/LTP), UA (*S), UScAAre (PLT/1,87MM), WN
Posts: 5,207
I need more clarification on this. I redeemed 3000 points at the end of the year. Some 2000+ were set to expire at the end of 2016. If I needed to return the award, and I pay the $150,- fee. Does this mean that I will only get the net back? Or is there a way of changing the award, paying the fee, and not forfeit anything?
#186
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: American EXP; British Airways Gold
Posts: 1,896
I need more clarification on this. I redeemed 3000 points at the end of the year. Some 2000+ were set to expire at the end of 2016. If I needed to return the award, and I pay the $150,- fee. Does this mean that I will only get the net back? Or is there a way of changing the award, paying the fee, and not forfeit anything?
The reps are very helpful, and there's not much of a wait to speak with someone.
#187
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: AA-EXP, LATAM Gold+, BA-Blues
Posts: 720
I need more clarification on this. I redeemed 3000 points at the end of the year. Some 2000+ were set to expire at the end of 2016. If I needed to return the award, and I pay the $150,- fee. Does this mean that I will only get the net back? Or is there a way of changing the award, paying the fee, and not forfeit anything?
#188
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: W29
Programs: It's Complicated...
Posts: 6,817
#189
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, Star Alliance Gold, Hilton Honors Gold, JetSmarter, Global Entry, CLEAR
Posts: 102
Apologies if this was posted and answered already but didn't see it and wasn't able to find it in searching.
Can an I get credit for past flights flown prior to opening up the account. Say I opened the account today but flew 50 times this year on AA prior to today. Can I request credit for these flights?
Thanks
Can an I get credit for past flights flown prior to opening up the account. Say I opened the account today but flew 50 times this year on AA prior to today. Can I request credit for these flights?
Thanks
Unfortunately, you would not be able to. Which is a little bit of a bummer, but that's just how it is. It is quite easy to earn and rack up points though!
#190
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, Star Alliance Gold, Hilton Honors Gold, JetSmarter, Global Entry, CLEAR
Posts: 102
There's no minimum spend or anything like that. If you have a business it would be silly not to sign up, even if you don't spend anywhere near $25k annually. Your BE account is totally separate from your personal AAdvantage account. Yea, the earning can be slow if you don't spend much, but it still adds up.
No harm at all! You actually accumulate more points than you would think. I am an AA Platinum member, so generally I go for the BXP certificates for upgrades instead of using my upgrades, when I don't buy a first-class ticket. I have been given the upgrades as far out as 4-5 days, and sometimes when I am about to board. For 650 points, they are a bargain. If you do $15K in annual spend you could get around 3000 points per year. That's enough for a club membership, many upgrades, and a one-way free flight.
So hopefully you sign up and start getting some awards. They also do promotions throughout the year which also helps get tons of miles!
#191
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: AA-EXP, LATAM Gold+, BA-Blues
Posts: 720
It's clear that refunding an award doesn't extend the validity of points that otherwise would have expired; the question, then, was whether one could still use of the value of already expired/redeemed points, by changing the award (either for a different zone at identical cost, or a more expensive one, topping up with additional points).
In my case, for example: in December 2016, I had a bunch of points that were set to expire, but was just short of an international award I wanted. So, to not lose the points, I cashed in my expiring balance for a domestic business class award, which I'm not even when I will use. So: If it turns out one can change the award certificate (even exchange, or a higher award) without forfeiting points from the original issue that otherwise would have expired, that would be fantastic, and well worth the $150 fee.
Just not sure if it's possible...
UXB - apologies if I misunderstood your question.
#192
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: W29
Programs: It's Complicated...
Posts: 6,817
I'd understood it differently.
It's clear that refunding an award doesn't extend the validity of points that otherwise would have expired; the question, then, was whether one could still use of the value of already expired/redeemed points, by changing the award (either for a different zone at identical cost, or a more expensive one, topping up with additional points).
In my case, for example: in December 2016, I had a bunch of points that were set to expire, but was just short of an international award I wanted. So, to not lose the points, I cashed in my expiring balance for a domestic business class award, which I'm not even when I will use. So: If it turns out one can change the award certificate (even exchange, or a higher award) without forfeiting points from the original issue that otherwise would have expired, that would be fantastic, and well worth the $150 fee.
Just not sure if it's possible...
UXB - apologies if I misunderstood your question.
It's clear that refunding an award doesn't extend the validity of points that otherwise would have expired; the question, then, was whether one could still use of the value of already expired/redeemed points, by changing the award (either for a different zone at identical cost, or a more expensive one, topping up with additional points).
In my case, for example: in December 2016, I had a bunch of points that were set to expire, but was just short of an international award I wanted. So, to not lose the points, I cashed in my expiring balance for a domestic business class award, which I'm not even when I will use. So: If it turns out one can change the award certificate (even exchange, or a higher award) without forfeiting points from the original issue that otherwise would have expired, that would be fantastic, and well worth the $150 fee.
Just not sure if it's possible...
UXB - apologies if I misunderstood your question.
#193
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: AA-EXP, LATAM Gold+, BA-Blues
Posts: 720
Returning Unused Awards - Electronic Flight Awards may be returned free of charge within 5 calendar days of redemption. All other unused awards may be returned for a $150 fee (waived for AAdvantage Executive Platinum members) and points will be reinstated with the original expiration dates. Thus, this method cannot be used to extend the life of expiring points.
#194
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: W29
Programs: It's Complicated...
Posts: 6,817
I'd love for you to be right here- but Wiki post at the start of this thread gives exactly the opposite advice:
Is the Wiki wrong? Presuming it's correct - only possible workaround I could think of was exchanging the award for another type. Will try to call about this next week and see what's possible.
Is the Wiki wrong? Presuming it's correct - only possible workaround I could think of was exchanging the award for another type. Will try to call about this next week and see what's possible.
#195
Join Date: Oct 2006
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 1,635
I dont know if the Wiki is wrong, just telling folks how it worked for me. Maybe I got lucky. I find it hard to believe that the system is smart enough to figure out the original points expiration and work any other way than what I have personally experienced. See post 682.