Nov 21, 2012, 10:53 am
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Note: older posts have been archived to ARCHIVE: Business Extra Program master thread (consolidated)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)
Feb 1, 2019, 8:22 pm
#797
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SNA
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1K (until it expires then never again), *wood Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 9,239
First time I've tried to use a BXP1 and have a question: I got the e-cert and called to have it applied, I knew from EF there was no C space (despite 0 seats reserved and 7s across the board on all faire classes....
) - agent was super nice, I ended up having to pony up an extra $29 to move out of S bucket, I know now to check that before hand, but after all was re-ticketed and waitlisted I check on AA.com and under upgrades for the flight it still shows "Type : Complimentary, Requested"...I know for SWUs that changes to System Wide. Is it supposed to change for BXP1s as well? If so does it take time to show on aa.com and I just need to wait or should I call back?
) - agent was super nice, I ended up having to pony up an extra $29 to move out of S bucket, I know now to check that before hand, but after all was re-ticketed and waitlisted I check on AA.com and under upgrades for the flight it still shows "Type : Complimentary, Requested"...I know for SWUs that changes to System Wide. Is it supposed to change for BXP1s as well? If so does it take time to show on aa.com and I just need to wait or should I call back?
Feb 1, 2019, 8:23 pm
#798
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Programs: OWEmerald; STARGold; BonvoyPlat; IHGPlat/Amb; HiltonGold; A|ClubPat; AirMilesPlat
Posts: 38,186
I'm curious if there's ever been an immediate change in the Business Extra redemption chart? Meaning, more BE points were required for an award without advanced warning? I ask because I'm holding points for a trip in 2020 or 2021 but don't want a surprise in points needed for my trip.
Feb 2, 2019, 7:56 am
#799
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
First time I've tried to use a BXP1 and have a question: I got the e-cert and called to have it applied, I knew from EF there was no C space (despite 0 seats reserved and 7s across the board on all faire classes....) - agent was super nice, I ended up having to pony up an extra $29 to move out of S bucket, I know now to check that before hand, but after all was re-ticketed and waitlisted I check on AA.com and under upgrades for the flight it still shows "Type : Complimentary, Requested"...I know for SWUs that changes to System Wide. Is it supposed to change for BXP1s as well? If so does it take time to show on aa.com and I just need to wait or should I call back?
) - agent was super nice, I ended up having to pony up an extra $29 to move out of S bucket, I know now to check that before hand, but after all was re-ticketed and waitlisted I check on AA.com and under upgrades for the flight it still shows "Type : Complimentary, Requested"...I know for SWUs that changes to System Wide. Is it supposed to change for BXP1s as well? If so does it take time to show on aa.com and I just need to wait or should I call back?I mentioned it just up thread, but IME the meeting services reps are no different than your normal run of the mill AA phone reps, some are ok but many are not well trained to borderline clueless.
Feb 2, 2019, 10:40 am
#800
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Live: IWI; Work: DCA/Everywhere; Play: LAS/SJU/MLE
Programs: AA EXP, DL PM, Hyatt Glob, Marriott Ambassador/LTP, Nat'l Exec Elite, LEYE Gold
Posts: 6,670
First time I've tried to use a BXP1 and have a question: I got the e-cert and called to have it applied, I knew from EF there was no C space (despite 0 seats reserved and 7s across the board on all faire classes....) - agent was super nice, I ended up having to pony up an extra $29 to move out of S bucket, I know now to check that before hand, but after all was re-ticketed and waitlisted I check on AA.com and under upgrades for the flight it still shows "Type : Complimentary, Requested"...I know for SWUs that changes to System Wide. Is it supposed to change for BXP1s as well? If so does it take time to show on aa.com and I just need to wait or should I call back?
) - agent was super nice, I ended up having to pony up an extra $29 to move out of S bucket, I know now to check that before hand, but after all was re-ticketed and waitlisted I check on AA.com and under upgrades for the flight it still shows "Type : Complimentary, Requested"...I know for SWUs that changes to System Wide. Is it supposed to change for BXP1s as well? If so does it take time to show on aa.com and I just need to wait or should I call back?
Feb 3, 2019, 9:36 am
#803
Suspended
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 860
Is there a set date for when the previous month's Business Extraa points should post?
I have a few BA flights from early Jan that I'm waiting on before I can trigger an award, but still no sign of AA processing Jan points. Even when they do process the month of Jan, I'm expecting that I'll have to submit a claim since BA flights rarely ever post automatically for me (which then usually takes an extra few weeks on top).
I have a few BA flights from early Jan that I'm waiting on before I can trigger an award, but still no sign of AA processing Jan points. Even when they do process the month of Jan, I'm expecting that I'll have to submit a claim since BA flights rarely ever post automatically for me (which then usually takes an extra few weeks on top).
Feb 3, 2019, 11:10 am
#804
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: NYC/PHX
Programs: IATA, Sabre, AvgeekAgent
Posts: 1,958
if you learned anything from this thread, it should be "never waitlist a BXP1" -- even the good agents might not be able to push it through when C becomes available, whereas if you set an EF alert and simply call to apply the BXP1 once C is available, at least the good agents can clear it.
Feb 3, 2019, 12:14 pm
#805
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Live: IWI; Work: DCA/Everywhere; Play: LAS/SJU/MLE
Programs: AA EXP, DL PM, Hyatt Glob, Marriott Ambassador/LTP, Nat'l Exec Elite, LEYE Gold
Posts: 6,670
Is there a set date for when the previous month's Business Extraa points should post?
I have a few BA flights from early Jan that I'm waiting on before I can trigger an award, but still no sign of AA processing Jan points. Even when they do process the month of Jan, I'm expecting that I'll have to submit a claim since BA flights rarely ever post automatically for me (which then usually takes an extra few weeks on top).
I have a few BA flights from early Jan that I'm waiting on before I can trigger an award, but still no sign of AA processing Jan points. Even when they do process the month of Jan, I'm expecting that I'll have to submit a claim since BA flights rarely ever post automatically for me (which then usually takes an extra few weeks on top).
Feb 3, 2019, 3:03 pm
#806
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Thousand Oaks, Ca., USA
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat; Bonvoy Titanium Lifetime Elite;Hyatt Globalist; HHonors Diamond; United Silver
Posts: 8,315
Sorry to belabor what may be obvious, but I'm not sure how electronic certs change things.
I have 850 points expiring at the end of the year. I rarely see BXP1 space confirmable in advance these days. If nothing shows up, can I request a BXP1 before year end, which will give me another year to use it? And if I cancel it afterwards, I will get points back in my account with the same expiration date as the BXP1 I'm cancelling?
And if I cancel while I'm still Ex Plat (which I won't be after Feb 2020), then no fees are involved?
I like using them for J to F LAX-JFK (which is usually confirmable) but I happen to be holding J saver awards for the dates I want to fly, and the difference between J&F isn't so big that it seems worthwhile for the two of us to cancel award tickets and use BXP1s to get into F when saver J awards on that route seem to have become extinct. So even though there is a great fare the day I want to fly ($559 one way in J), if I don't need the EQD because I won't requalify anyway, then it seems silly to give up the J saver seats.
I have 850 points expiring at the end of the year. I rarely see BXP1 space confirmable in advance these days. If nothing shows up, can I request a BXP1 before year end, which will give me another year to use it? And if I cancel it afterwards, I will get points back in my account with the same expiration date as the BXP1 I'm cancelling?
And if I cancel while I'm still Ex Plat (which I won't be after Feb 2020), then no fees are involved?
I like using them for J to F LAX-JFK (which is usually confirmable) but I happen to be holding J saver awards for the dates I want to fly, and the difference between J&F isn't so big that it seems worthwhile for the two of us to cancel award tickets and use BXP1s to get into F when saver J awards on that route seem to have become extinct. So even though there is a great fare the day I want to fly ($559 one way in J), if I don't need the EQD because I won't requalify anyway, then it seems silly to give up the J saver seats.
Feb 3, 2019, 10:07 pm
#807
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SNA
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1K (until it expires then never again), *wood Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 9,239
if you learned anything from this thread, it should be "never waitlist a BXP1" -- even the good agents might not be able to push it through when C becomes available, whereas if you set an EF alert and simply call to apply the BXP1 once C is available, at least the good agents can clear it.
Feb 3, 2019, 10:25 pm
#808
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Live: IWI; Work: DCA/Everywhere; Play: LAS/SJU/MLE
Programs: AA EXP, DL PM, Hyatt Glob, Marriott Ambassador/LTP, Nat'l Exec Elite, LEYE Gold
Posts: 6,670
Thanks, confirms my concern...I'll set an EF alert and call in to un-waitlist/re-apply should I get an alert and know better for next time!! Frustrating part is I booked Mint for the outbound but figured I'd take AA for the return to grab some EQMs as the Mint ticket was $400ish and AA was >$700 for J but $180 for Y and with a completely empty J cabin figured I'd likely clear using BXP as I need EQMs more than EQDs this year. If I had a do-over I would have just booked Mint both directions :/
Feb 9, 2019, 4:14 pm
#809
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Thousand Oaks, Ca., USA
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat; Bonvoy Titanium Lifetime Elite;Hyatt Globalist; HHonors Diamond; United Silver
Posts: 8,315
1. the $659 business fares are still out there, just primarily at odd times or weekends ($559 has been Saturdays only for a while), and always only on advance purchase. Google Flights is useful for finding them. Keep in mind that you can use same-day flight change to get on another flight in the same fare bucket (for business class) and then use a BXP1 to get to F. unfortunately the $859 fares are generally gone -- if the $659 is unavailable then it seems to be $1100-1300 or higher.
2. I'd say C might pop up more in the 36-48 hour range. EF is pretty reliable at this.
3. You mention calling both AA and Meeting Services. You'd only have to do this if you need to upfare to get out of B/N/O/Q/S (call AA to avoid the $200 change fee, which technically they could still charge you but in my and others' experience they don't) and then call Meeting Services to apply the BXP1. If your ticket is already in an eligible fare class (i.e. not B/N/O/Q/S) then you'd only need to make one phone call, to Meeting Services. Note their limited hours and there's nothing you can do if C goes away when they're closed.
4. I don't see the benefit to splitting the PNR in advance and I wouldn't necessarily waitlist the BXP1. People have all kinds of trouble (read upthread) getting Meeting Services to clear them. I'd rather wait until C is available and then call to apply the BXP1, and if only one is available, split it then.
2. I'd say C might pop up more in the 36-48 hour range. EF is pretty reliable at this.
3. You mention calling both AA and Meeting Services. You'd only have to do this if you need to upfare to get out of B/N/O/Q/S (call AA to avoid the $200 change fee, which technically they could still charge you but in my and others' experience they don't) and then call Meeting Services to apply the BXP1. If your ticket is already in an eligible fare class (i.e. not B/N/O/Q/S) then you'd only need to make one phone call, to Meeting Services. Note their limited hours and there's nothing you can do if C goes away when they're closed.
4. I don't see the benefit to splitting the PNR in advance and I wouldn't necessarily waitlist the BXP1. People have all kinds of trouble (read upthread) getting Meeting Services to clear them. I'd rather wait until C is available and then call to apply the BXP1, and if only one is available, split it then.
I have a question about the order of SDFC and BXP1. If I use a BXP1 to go from J-F, what is the impact on SDFC? Does it make it harder? If I'm willing to SDFC into J, will I get the BXP1 back? Or should I just hold off on the BXP1 until after SDFC (if still available).
I have a $559 OW LAX-JFK in J, but it departs at 3:15 pm and I'd love to arrive in time for a night on the town.
Feb 9, 2019, 5:36 pm
#810
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Live: IWI; Work: DCA/Everywhere; Play: LAS/SJU/MLE
Programs: AA EXP, DL PM, Hyatt Glob, Marriott Ambassador/LTP, Nat'l Exec Elite, LEYE Gold
Posts: 6,670
Very helpful.
I have a question about the order of SDFC and BXP1. If I use a BXP1 to go from J-F, what is the impact on SDFC? Does it make it harder? If I'm willing to SDFC into J, will I get the BXP1 back? Or should I just hold off on the BXP1 until after SDFC (if still available).
I have a $559 OW LAX-JFK in J, but it departs at 3:15 pm and I'd love to arrive in time for a night on the town.
I have a question about the order of SDFC and BXP1. If I use a BXP1 to go from J-F, what is the impact on SDFC? Does it make it harder? If I'm willing to SDFC into J, will I get the BXP1 back? Or should I just hold off on the BXP1 until after SDFC (if still available).
I have a $559 OW LAX-JFK in J, but it departs at 3:15 pm and I'd love to arrive in time for a night on the town.
All that said, I don't think I've ever tried doing an A to A SDFC where I'm in A because of a BXP1. So maybe give it a shot and see what happens?