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Note: older posts have been archived to ARCHIVE: Business Extra Program master thread (consolidated)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)
#1801
Join Date: Jan 2021
Location: Miami, FL
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, Delta Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Clear
Posts: 99
Just like SWU were hard to use in 2022, I found ZERO availability for BXP1 upgrades and I called on every flight I took this year and had about 100k miles flown. I actually called them to unwind the BXP1 points and then can use them for the AA lounge.
#1802
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Scottsdale AZ
Posts: 727
I notice your ex plat so it won’t matter as much, but wouldn’t having the BXP1 applied to your PNR bump you over other ex plats on the waitlist for upgrades? Might be useful if you had less loyalty points than them on a competitive route?
#1803
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 253
that’s not how you maximize the value of a bxp1. If you have a flexible schedule they are super valuable, but you do need a flexible schedule to really maximize their value. I Always check space and book what has confirmed space when using a bxp1.
#1804
Join Date: May 2015
Location: DCA
Programs: AA EXP, DL FO, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 6,712
I didn't think BXP upgrades carried over to the standby list.
#1805
Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, Hilton DMD, Hyatt Glob, Hertz PC
Posts: 267
Audits:
My company has gone in and out of having enough W2'd travelers (vs partners and consultants), so it is conceivable it might not pass an audit.
BUT:
Several years ago, I was at an event for tech startups at which an AAdvantage rep was pushing the program heavily. His name escapes me, but he wore Converse' and jeans to all AA Functions. Per his encouragement, I signed up for Business Extraa during the event. The terms and conditions at the time, I believe, did not mention anything about the company having to maintain that many employees, etc, it was very vague.
The guy, if he knows anything about startups, conceivably knows that they go through changes constantly, sometimes even before the end of their first tax year. So if any startups that signed up during his events are later cut, I would attribute some blame to him.
Also, I think of BE as a little extra pocket change on the side. Auditing everyone and cutting some would certainly look terrible, but probably wouldn't have any actual impact on companies small enough to not qualify.
My company has gone in and out of having enough W2'd travelers (vs partners and consultants), so it is conceivable it might not pass an audit.
BUT:
Several years ago, I was at an event for tech startups at which an AAdvantage rep was pushing the program heavily. His name escapes me, but he wore Converse' and jeans to all AA Functions. Per his encouragement, I signed up for Business Extraa during the event. The terms and conditions at the time, I believe, did not mention anything about the company having to maintain that many employees, etc, it was very vague.
The guy, if he knows anything about startups, conceivably knows that they go through changes constantly, sometimes even before the end of their first tax year. So if any startups that signed up during his events are later cut, I would attribute some blame to him.
Also, I think of BE as a little extra pocket change on the side. Auditing everyone and cutting some would certainly look terrible, but probably wouldn't have any actual impact on companies small enough to not qualify.
#1806
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AUS
Programs: BAEC Gold, AA PPro, Hyatt Globalist, Amex Plat
Posts: 7,040
Audits:
My company has gone in and out of having enough W2'd travelers (vs partners and consultants), so it is conceivable it might not pass an audit.
BUT:
Several years ago, I was at an event for tech startups at which an AAdvantage rep was pushing the program heavily. His name escapes me, but he wore Converse' and jeans to all AA Functions. Per his encouragement, I signed up for Business Extraa during the event. The terms and conditions at the time, I believe, did not mention anything about the company having to maintain that many employees, etc, it was very vague.
The guy, if he knows anything about startups, conceivably knows that they go through changes constantly, sometimes even before the end of their first tax year. So if any startups that signed up during his events are later cut, I would attribute some blame to him.<snip>
My company has gone in and out of having enough W2'd travelers (vs partners and consultants), so it is conceivable it might not pass an audit.
BUT:
Several years ago, I was at an event for tech startups at which an AAdvantage rep was pushing the program heavily. His name escapes me, but he wore Converse' and jeans to all AA Functions. Per his encouragement, I signed up for Business Extraa during the event. The terms and conditions at the time, I believe, did not mention anything about the company having to maintain that many employees, etc, it was very vague.
The guy, if he knows anything about startups, conceivably knows that they go through changes constantly, sometimes even before the end of their first tax year. So if any startups that signed up during his events are later cut, I would attribute some blame to him.<snip>
Regards
#1807
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,546
Regarding annual spend: I had about $1,000 of flights credited in the last week of 2021, and sometime in the last week, my spend counter at https://www.businessextra.com/redeem/redeem-points.htm dropped by $1,000. So it does seem that it's a rolling counter with at least monthly resolution, maybe even daily. I think that's how we all assumed it would work, but here's an additional DP.
#1808
Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, Hilton DMD, Hyatt Glob, Hertz PC
Posts: 267
Absolutely. But if the terms and conditions change, the new terms cannot be retroactively applied to previous years, i.e. in an audit.
AA and/or the guy himself would only be to blame if they knew of impending changes yet continued to market towards a category of businesses that would not qualify under future terms.
That said, I can hardly imagine it being a problem if, from year to year, the three traveling employees change.
AA and/or the guy himself would only be to blame if they knew of impending changes yet continued to market towards a category of businesses that would not qualify under future terms.
That said, I can hardly imagine it being a problem if, from year to year, the three traveling employees change.
#1809
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AUS
Programs: BAEC Gold, AA PPro, Hyatt Globalist, Amex Plat
Posts: 7,040
Absolutely. But if the terms and conditions change, the new terms cannot be retroactively applied to previous years, i.e. in an audit.
AA and/or the guy himself would only be to blame if they knew of impending changes yet continued to market towards a category of businesses that would not qualify under future terms.
That said, I can hardly imagine it being a problem if, from year to year, the three traveling employees change.
AA and/or the guy himself would only be to blame if they knew of impending changes yet continued to market towards a category of businesses that would not qualify under future terms.
That said, I can hardly imagine it being a problem if, from year to year, the three traveling employees change.
The points and miles game is ever changing. Nothing is static, you have to adapt, improvise and overcome...
Regards
Last edited by scubadu; Jan 3, 2023 at 6:55 am
#1810
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Charlotte, NC USA
Programs: AA EXP; Marriott Lifetime / Annual Titanium; Massively Missing Starwood
Posts: 5,337
Wow. Audits! I'm new to this program and only have myself, my wife and my daughter signed up. They do not work for the company; just me.
I've got just over 18,000 points and am EXP so most domestic awards are not that interesting to me. I was trying to figure out the fare classes to figure out if international upgrades to business class from discounted coach clear ahead of the EXP SWU's that I have and, in general, if they are any more likely to clear than those fairly useless (for European travel) SWU's. My gut tells me those BXP2 and BXP3 awards are not all that useful unless dates are very flexible.
So now I'm thinking of cashing everything out for the BX6E award and see if it triggers an audit. I'm not out any cash and if they audit and I fail, they just cancel the award and I lose the points.
Thoughts?
I've got just over 18,000 points and am EXP so most domestic awards are not that interesting to me. I was trying to figure out the fare classes to figure out if international upgrades to business class from discounted coach clear ahead of the EXP SWU's that I have and, in general, if they are any more likely to clear than those fairly useless (for European travel) SWU's. My gut tells me those BXP2 and BXP3 awards are not all that useful unless dates are very flexible.
So now I'm thinking of cashing everything out for the BX6E award and see if it triggers an audit. I'm not out any cash and if they audit and I fail, they just cancel the award and I lose the points.
Thoughts?
#1811
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: PHL, NYC
Programs: AA PLT, DL SLV, UA SLV, MR LTT, HH DIA
Posts: 10,066
#1812
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: PHL, NYC
Programs: AA PLT, DL SLV, UA SLV, MR LTT, HH DIA
Posts: 10,066
You're probably not alone in this practice. However, this is exactly what a Business Extra audit will uncover and disqualify you from the program.
#1813
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,313
Wow. Audits! I'm new to this program and only have myself, my wife and my daughter signed up. They do not work for the company; just me.
I've got just over 18,000 points and am EXP so most domestic awards are not that interesting to me. I was trying to figure out the fare classes to figure out if international upgrades to business class from discounted coach clear ahead of the EXP SWU's that I have and, in general, if they are any more likely to clear than those fairly useless (for European travel) SWU's. My gut tells me those BXP2 and BXP3 awards are not all that useful unless dates are very flexible.
So now I'm thinking of cashing everything out for the BX6E award and see if it triggers an audit. I'm not out any cash and if they audit and I fail, they just cancel the award and I lose the points.
Thoughts?
I've got just over 18,000 points and am EXP so most domestic awards are not that interesting to me. I was trying to figure out the fare classes to figure out if international upgrades to business class from discounted coach clear ahead of the EXP SWU's that I have and, in general, if they are any more likely to clear than those fairly useless (for European travel) SWU's. My gut tells me those BXP2 and BXP3 awards are not all that useful unless dates are very flexible.
So now I'm thinking of cashing everything out for the BX6E award and see if it triggers an audit. I'm not out any cash and if they audit and I fail, they just cancel the award and I lose the points.
Thoughts?
I think the only audit risk is for those who continue in the program without 3 distinct travelers and accumulate a robust number of BE points.
Doesn't matter to me; I met the 3 traveler minimum for my company by a decent amount; I just can't keep the 5k use per year going so I'm done with it til if/when that changes.
In a practical sense, the 5k min and 3 traveler dashboard is a decent audit all by itself, if you fall short on either of those metrics, you can't cash anything out, problem solved.
Last edited by LovePrunes; Jan 4, 2023 at 4:19 pm
#1814
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: LAX
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum, Alitalia Freccia Alata
Posts: 213
This is a new one for me. I had a paid first class fare on AA, booked through AMEX Travel, earn 0 points. The fare code was a normal published fare code. I've never had any issues with AMEX Travel bookings earning points, so I wrote to them. The reply I received stated: "So, fares through Amex travel are considered private fares, which means the general has no access to the discounts that Amex cardholders get. That is why you didn't earn any points on that flight." The other employee booked his ticket through Capital One Travel (same fare code, same flight) and did earn full points. Is this a new policy?
#1815
Used to be 'g_leyser'
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Brandon Johnson International Airport (expect delays)
Programs: AA PlatPro, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold, IHG Plat, Reno Air MEGA Platinum
Posts: 10,036
This is a new one for me. I had a paid first class fare on AA, booked through AMEX Travel, earn 0 points. The fare code was a normal published fare code. I've never had any issues with AMEX Travel bookings earning points, so I wrote to them. The reply I received stated: "So, fares through Amex travel are considered private fares, which means the general has no access to the discounts that Amex cardholders get. That is why you didn't earn any points on that flight." The other employee booked his ticket through Capital One Travel (same fare code, same flight) and did earn full points. Is this a new policy?