I have ~2800 points expiring today. I wanted to travel to Japan (using a Business Class PlanAAhead award) in September 2020, but don't have the exact dates. Can I book a ticket today using some hypothetical dates and then change them when plans firm up next year? If so, can I also change the routing later?

It sounds like the ticket is valid for one year after booking, I would just need the PlanAAhead "U" space available, but wanted to check with those here that are knowledgable.

Unlike Aadvantage Saaver awards, ANY changes to Business Extra awards incur a change fee (believe it is $150).

I believe the better course of action wold be to redeem the miles for a Business Extra award certificate, which is then good for 1 year. Business Class PlanAAhead award between North America and Japan requires 7200 points - much more than the expiring 2800.

I have around ~12,900 points, but have never redeemed any or had a material amount expiring. I didn't realize I could do a certificate. Perfect, I'll do that.

What about an award certificate that expires tonight? If I can find any itinerary with available U inventory to Europe, can I then change that once the December 2020 schedule opens up even if the dates, duration, and destination change? I don’t mind the $150 fee if I can end up using the award next December.

if you redeem for BA, are there fuel surcharges?

https://www.businessextra.com/redeem/flight-awards.htm says "Anytime awards": "No change fees". Does AA refuse to honor that promise?

Meeting Services/Business Extra honors no change fees for Anytime awards.

Any CK/EXP/PROs out there who have a future itinerary with a confirmed BXP1 upgrade? I have one for early February, and in the app and on the desktop website, the upgrade section is showing "type of upgrade: complimentary" and "upgrade: confirmed". In the past the upgrade section never appeared with a confirmed BXP1, which leaves me wondering: is this a display/IT glitch or a sign of something more problematic? I applied the BXP1 online and got an email confirmation of the upgrade going through electronically, FWIW.

I saw that the past couple times I used a BXP1; seems to just be an IT glitch, didn't have any issues during travel.

That’s exactly how mine showed up last month and I had no issues with it (waitlisted online and cleared later, but before departure).

I have a BX1A award (plan ahead, main cabin, 2K) that I have to use before the end of this year. Are you able to book 1 portion of the roundtrip (the other date I want won't be available to select for another week) now and then do the return once the date becomes available to book in the future? I've tried waiting previously in the same scenario but when I went to book the return the original departure I wanted it was no longer available so I wasn't able to book. I'm hoping to avoid this situation this time around and was curious if anyone has done anything like this previously? TIA!

Are ExecPlat eligible for unlimited domestic upgrades on a business extrAA domestic economy ticket? I’ve only used business extrAA for international J tickets so far.

Hi, if the upgrade clears, but an upgrade on the return opens up (which I would prefer), can I switch my business extra upgrade to the return?

I have a transatlantic R/T booked in February. The outbound was upgraded using and SWU, and the inbound was upgraded using a BXP3. It now looks like I need to change dates:

1. I know if I find a new outbound date with C inventory, this should be an easy change by the Exec Platinum desk, subject to the ticket chnage fee
2. If I also change the inbound segment, what is the process to transfer the BXP3 upgrade assuming i can find C inventory? Can the EXP line handle this, or do I need to contact meeting services?
3. If I make both date changes in one call, assume this will trigger just one x change fee per fare rules, but do I have to pay any extra fees for the BXP3 date change?

New Promos
BOSTON20
Beginning May 2020, American will offer service from Boston (BOS) five times daily to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina (RDU) and twice daily to Indianapolis (IND). Earn double points when you fly nonstop between BOS and RDU or IND through September 30.

NA2EU
Business Extra members can earn double points for nonstop travel between North America and Europe through April 30 with promo code NA2EU. Promotion is valid for travel on purchased, eligible, published-fare tickets on eligible flights booked in eligible fare classes for travel on flights operated by (1) American Airlines (2) British Airways, and (3) Iberia, and ticketed on American Airlines (001), British Airways (125), and Iberia (075) ticket stock. Promotion is also valid on purchased, eligible, published-fare tickets on eligible codeshare flights operated by Finnair, ticketed on American Airlines (001) ticket stock.

To qualify for the bonus offer, the company must be based in North America, enrolled in the Business Extra program, and register for the promotion between January 1, 2020 and April 30, 2020 using promotion code NA2EU20. Company must register for promotion prior to travel.

Bonus offer is only valid for eligible transatlantic travel with itineraries that originate in North America and terminate in Europe, or originate in Europe and terminate in North America, at airports serviced by American Airlines, British Airways, or Iberia. Eligible travel must be completed between February 1, 2020 and April 30, 2020 to qualify for the bonus offer.

The company's Business Extra account number must be in the reservation to earn the bonus points. Tickets submitted for retro-credit processing do not qualify for promotional bonus points. Business Extra bonus points will be posted to the account within six to eight weeks after the offer ends.

Not able to add this NA2EU...

Is there any sort of forum whereby people trade expiring BXP1s for other certs with longer durations? Would such a scenario be in violation of the program rules? Timing is sometimes tough with these things, but I'm not sure how deep the demand/knowledge goes beyond here.

Forgive me if this is an ignorant question.

FT has a whole forum for trading certificates like these called the Coupon Connection, but after AA banned several accounts for trading certificates, FT users are no longer allowed to offer AA-related exchanges.

Call BE
 

Call Business Extra and tell them what you have and what you'd like to do. If you need to do some sort of upgrade to what you have and have more points, you may have options.

Which inventory do they use for J to F on A321T using BXP1? My flights has plenty in A but when I called, but I was told none was available. I was also told they can't touch my record since I used the BXP1 online rather than calling in.

Did you already upgrade from Y to J using a BXP1?

You have to arm yourself with confirmation of the availability before you call Meeting Services to apply the upgrade. As an EXP, you can see the availability on aa.com when you look at the flight by clicking on the "Systemwide Upgrades" tab if it appears. Or, you could use expertflyer.com to search for "A" space on the 3-cabin flight. Either way, do your homework.

I called Meeting Services this morning to apply a BXP1 upgrade to go from J to F on the A321T this summer. When I first asked, the agent said that there is no availability, but she could "waitlist" me. I replied "I am on aa.com right now, and the website indicates that I can apply a SWU to that flight". Ten seconds later, I had my upgrade.

I'm not sure if agents are just used to looking for upgrades from Y to J or what, but if you already know the availability is there, it's easy to challenge them. That being said, I saw multiple flights this summer where the F cabin was completely empty, and still there was no upgrade availability. Crazy.

I think the agent was just sloppy... this same thing has happened to me a number of times, and even for Y->J when EF showed C2 or more.

I booked J directly.

I cashed in some expiring points on a couple of lounge passes (don't judge...) at the end of last year. Weeks pass, they don't show, and I finally think to call to ask. Nice rep asks me to send an e-mail requesting the missing ones, I do, and two days later they arrive via FedEx. Maybe not the most efficient process ever? I will enjoy my free avocado toast nevertheless.

What will happen to the EXP1 upgrade certificate when the ticket to which it's applied is cancelled? Can I still recover it? The cancellation was done by the passenger's travel agency.

I think you have to call the service centre and pay the redeposit fee.

Waiving fees on award travel
Like you, we’re closely monitoring the news about
COVID-19, and we understand that some travel plans may have changed. To give you more flexibility, Business Extra members can reschedule an award flight with a departure date between March 1 and April 30, with a one-time change fee waiver.

If you’d like to rebook your trip, call our team at
1-800-457-7072 to cancel your existing reservation before your original departure date. You have until December 31, 2020 to provide your new travel dates and we'll process this one-time change fee waiver.

If you've already cancelled your trip and your original departure date was between March 1 and April 30, you still have until December 31, 2020 to call our team at
1-800-457-7072 and rebook with a one-time change fee waiver.

Up-to-date travel advisories
We are closely monitoring the latest COVID-19 advisories and will continue to evaluate the Business Extra program policies to best serve our members.

For the latest information, please visit American's Newsroom.
We're here to help!
8:00am to 7:00pm (CT) Monday - Friday
[email protected] | (800) 457-7072

Has anyone successfully reinstated their points without fee recently? I was advised it's still $150 for the first award.

Thanks

C

I am afraid I had to pay to put my BXP1/BXP3's back - even though they were on cancelled flights or downguaged aircraft. Bit disappointing.

I was able to redeposit 2 anytime international awards with no fee. The redeposited points also got a new 2 year expiration period. All things considered, very pleased with this outcome.

Oh wow, that's awesome. I assumed that we had to rebook travel before voucher expired. Redepositing would be great! Do you think the leniency was because they were Anytime awards and not the more restrictive ones?

I'll try mine today and update.
Could be.

Oh wow, that's awesome. I assumed that we had to rebook travel before voucher expired. Redepositing would be great! Do you think the leniency was because they were Anytime awards and not the more restrictive ones?

I wasn't sure what to expect but didn't ask any questions when that was offered.

Did you call meeting services to do this?
Thanks!

Yes, I did.

I called meeting services yesterday. They returned a BX7B certificate expiring on Dec 31st, 2020 and gave a new 2-year expiration period for the 7,200 points which were credited.

it would be great if they would extend all points expiring this year

Does anyone know how long it usually takes to get a flight credited from BA (on 125 stock)? I requested credit on the 26th and just wondering if it's a couple week process or I should call. I'm assuming everything will take longer due to current conditions but appreciate any recent data points.