Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > American Airlines | AAdvantage
Reload this Page >

Business Extra ("ExtrAA") Program (master thread)

Old Nov 21, 2012, 10:53 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: Prospero
American Airlines Business Extra Program (master thread)

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:
    1. Go to www.britishairways.com
    2. Select 'Manage My Booking' tab
    3. Follow the instructions to pull up your reservation
    4. Select the link towards bottom listed under 'Quick Links' 'Add On Business or Business Extra number'
    5. 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)
Print Wikipost

Business Extra ("ExtrAA") Program (master thread)

Old Jan 13, 2018, 8:48 am
  #361  
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Columbia, SC
Programs: AA Plat, SPG/Marriot Gold, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Expl
Posts: 2,363
Originally Posted by golfingboy
Can some of you share your experiences on how long does it take for BXP1 certificates to arrive in the mail?

I put in my redemption request for 7x certificates on 12/24 and to this date still have not received anything.

Thanks!
I ordered one BXP1 cert as my first one ever BE redemption on 12/30, right before I had ~600pts expire on the 31st, and it arrived a couple of days ago, so approximately two weeks.
akcae is offline  
Old Jan 15, 2018, 11:52 am
  #362  
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: BOS
Programs: AA Plat
Posts: 302
Originally Posted by shihyin
Any recent experience that PlanAhead award with EXP on the reservation can be modified (change date or cancel the trip to be used for another) for free?
Happened to call the meeting services myself and was told that the fee will be waived if an EXP is on the reservation.
shihyin is offline  
Old Jan 15, 2018, 1:07 pm
  #363  
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 523
Hi everyone. Does anyone know how BXP1 certs are prioritized in the upgrade process?

Will they clear before the 500 segment upgrades ?
tonytifao is offline  
Old Jan 15, 2018, 1:47 pm
  #364  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,522
Originally Posted by tonytifao
Hi everyone. Does anyone know how BXP1 certs are prioritized in the upgrade process?

Will they clear before the 500 segment upgrades ?
Prior to airport control, it depends on which inventory is released (C vs R).
nall is offline  
Old Jan 15, 2018, 10:16 pm
  #365  
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 7,390
Nevermind, I was misinformed.

Last edited by golfingboy; Jan 15, 2018 at 10:22 pm
golfingboy is offline  
Old Jan 16, 2018, 1:47 pm
  #366  
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Programs: AA ExP 5MM, DL Lifetime Medallion 2.3MM
Posts: 68
New to this thread. I have two first class plan ahead BE certificates to Europe, but have not been able to find space. The agent said, "Oh, you are too far out (travel in June). You can use an anytime award or wait. Since the flights are wide open, the plan ahead awards should open up."

Has anyone had experience with this? Does it sound right that AA is not opening up any plan ahead BE awards even though the cabins are completely empty, or nearly so?

Does this strategy sound strange to wait? June does not seem THAT far away.

Help and insight appreciated.
DrBillAtwood is offline  
Old Jan 16, 2018, 2:41 pm
  #367  
 
Join Date: May 2008
Programs: AA PLT 2MM
Posts: 2,026
Originally Posted by DrBillAtwood
New to this thread. I have two first class plan ahead BE certificates to Europe, but have not been able to find space. The agent said, "Oh, you are too far out (travel in June). You can use an anytime award or wait. Since the flights are wide open, the plan ahead awards should open up."

Has anyone had experience with this? Does it sound right that AA is not opening up any plan ahead BE awards even though the cabins are completely empty, or nearly so?

Does this strategy sound strange to wait? June does not seem THAT far away.

Help and insight appreciated.
I believe Plan Ahead awards are the same inventory as mile sAAver awards. Very rarely do I ever see sAAvers open up on AA metal these days...
thehawk75 is offline  
Old Jan 16, 2018, 9:33 pm
  #368  
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: NYC
Programs: AS MVP Gold, BA Silver, AA Gold, Marriott Titanium, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,619
Originally Posted by DrBillAtwood
I have two first class plan ahead BE certificates to Europe
Are there even four flights a day with first class cabins --- and don't they all fly to London Heathrow? If you're looking to fly anywhere else, you may want/need to be asking about business class....
jbalmuth is offline  
Old Jan 17, 2018, 7:21 am
  #369  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,278
Originally Posted by DrBillAtwood
New to this thread. I have two first class plan ahead BE certificates to Europe, but have not been able to find space. The agent said, "Oh, you are too far out (travel in June). You can use an anytime award or wait. Since the flights are wide open, the plan ahead awards should open up."

Has anyone had experience with this? Does it sound right that AA is not opening up any plan ahead BE awards even though the cabins are completely empty, or nearly so?

Does this strategy sound strange to wait? June does not seem THAT far away.

Help and insight appreciated.
The advice above is spot on. A Business Extra award comes from the same inventory as normal sAAver AAdvantage awards. AA has become very stingy with premium award space on AA metal routes to Europe. It's completely normal to see no award space even when the F or J cabin is wide open, especially for the summer high season. It's likely that more space will open up as the date gets closer, but as you're looking for 2 seats it will tough.

Also, as mentioned above, the only routes that AA offers F on to Europe are the 77W flights to LHR from JFK, MIA, DFW, and LAX. Since normal BE awards are only valid on AA metal, you need to focus your search on these routes, which is severely limiting your options.
JJeffrey is offline  
Old Jan 17, 2018, 10:35 pm
  #370  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Vail, CO
Programs: AA EXP/1mm, Marriott Titanium/LT Gold, UA Silver
Posts: 624
I have a pretty unique issue I could really use some help on if anyone knows how to approach this one - will try to keep it as brief as possible.

2 weeks ago I was flying LAX-JFK-MIA-MDE in paid J. I requested an upgrade to F on LAX-JFK using a BXP1 which was confirmed at time of request. Got the certificate in the mail - all is good. Unfortunately with the storm back east that week that flight was cancelled so I got moved to LAX-MIA and all was well. The agent mentioned she could see if I could use the certificate on JFK-LAX on the way home so we waitlisted that - I just asked to make sure it was noted with a BXP1 - I did NOT want a SWU pulled on a domestic flight. She said to save the certificate and if it clears will be collected when I attempt to board the plane. Fast forward to flight home I was moved to first last moment and boarded the plane (jetlagged) and did not think much of it. When I got home realized they had never collected the certificate at JFK. I went into my account, turns out a SWU was pulled which was exactly what I did not want.

I am hoping I can get this resolved and the SWU reinstated - obviously I still have the BXP1 in my possession. Does anyone have a similar experience like this? Or know who I can reach out to and try to get this resolved? I would think this is a customer service issue so a bit unsure. Getting through to the EXP desk right now with the storm back east seems a bit tough as is. I am hoping I can sort this out as it was just confusion - nothing malicious. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated...
uscjeff is offline  
Old Jan 17, 2018, 10:39 pm
  #371  
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: San Francisco
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 364
Originally Posted by uscjeff
I have a pretty unique issue I could really use some help on if anyone knows how to approach this one - will try to keep it as brief as possible.

2 weeks ago I was flying LAX-JFK-MIA-MDE in paid J. I requested an upgrade to F on LAX-JFK using a BXP1 which was confirmed at time of request. Got the certificate in the mail - all is good. Unfortunately with the storm back east that week that flight was cancelled so I got moved to LAX-MIA and all was well. The agent mentioned she could see if I could use the certificate on JFK-LAX on the way home so we waitlisted that - I just asked to make sure it was noted with a BXP1 - I did NOT want a SWU pulled on a domestic flight. She said to save the certificate and if it clears will be collected when I attempt to board the plane. Fast forward to flight home I was moved to first last moment and boarded the plane (jetlagged) and did not think much of it. When I got home realized they had never collected the certificate at JFK. I went into my account, turns out a SWU was pulled which was exactly what I did not want.

I am hoping I can get this resolved and the SWU reinstated - obviously I still have the BXP1 in my possession. Does anyone have a similar experience like this? Or know who I can reach out to and try to get this resolved? I would think this is a customer service issue so a bit unsure. Getting through to the EXP desk right now with the storm back east seems a bit tough as is. I am hoping I can sort this out as it was just confusion - nothing malicious. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated...
AA is usually pretty good at resolving mistaken SWU redemptions. They'll look through your reservation records, see a BXP1 upgrade was placed, and restore the SWU. Just expect to provide your BXP1 certificate number to them so that they can invalidate it. The EXP desk isn't going to be able to help you very much with this, though. Instead, reach out to AAdvantage Account Customer Service (800-882-8880, M-F 8am-7pm CST) and tell them what happened.
potus18 is offline  
Old Jan 18, 2018, 6:11 am
  #372  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,278
Originally Posted by uscjeff
I have a pretty unique issue I could really use some help on if anyone knows how to approach this one - will try to keep it as brief as possible.

2 weeks ago I was flying LAX-JFK-MIA-MDE in paid J. I requested an upgrade to F on LAX-JFK using a BXP1 which was confirmed at time of request. Got the certificate in the mail - all is good. Unfortunately with the storm back east that week that flight was cancelled so I got moved to LAX-MIA and all was well. The agent mentioned she could see if I could use the certificate on JFK-LAX on the way home so we waitlisted that - I just asked to make sure it was noted with a BXP1 - I did NOT want a SWU pulled on a domestic flight. She said to save the certificate and if it clears will be collected when I attempt to board the plane. Fast forward to flight home I was moved to first last moment and boarded the plane (jetlagged) and did not think much of it. When I got home realized they had never collected the certificate at JFK. I went into my account, turns out a SWU was pulled which was exactly what I did not want.

I am hoping I can get this resolved and the SWU reinstated - obviously I still have the BXP1 in my possession. Does anyone have a similar experience like this? Or know who I can reach out to and try to get this resolved? I would think this is a customer service issue so a bit unsure. Getting through to the EXP desk right now with the storm back east seems a bit tough as is. I am hoping I can sort this out as it was just confusion - nothing malicious. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated...
I had that exact same thing happen a few years back, I was waitlisted using a BE upgrade but AA pulled a SWU instead. As potus18 mentioned above, you need to contact AAdvantage Customer Service to get it fixed, not the normal EXP line.
JJeffrey is offline  
Old Jan 18, 2018, 10:38 am
  #373  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Vail, CO
Programs: AA EXP/1mm, Marriott Titanium/LT Gold, UA Silver
Posts: 624
Thanks a ton for the above advice - really appreciate it. Once the east coast weather related delays die down I will call and report back what I hear
uscjeff is offline  
Old Jan 22, 2018, 11:00 am
  #374  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: BA Gold, HH Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,240
I have a PlanAAhead Europe-USA ticket issued and need to cancel and use later(I don't have future travel date yet). I know changes are free for EXP.
Can I cancel now and rebook later without paying the $150 fee. I will lose EXP on 01/31. Ticket validity is upto Nov 2018
Acid is offline  
Old Jan 22, 2018, 2:17 pm
  #375  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: DFW/DAL
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, AS MVPG, HH Diamond, NCL Platinum Plus, MSC Diamond
Posts: 21,422
Originally Posted by Acid
I have a PlanAAhead Europe-USA ticket issued and need to cancel and use later(I don't have future travel date yet). I know changes are free for EXP.
Can I cancel now and rebook later without paying the $150 fee. I will lose EXP on 01/31. Ticket validity is upto Nov 2018
Cancel before losing your EXP status.
mvoight is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.