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

http://www.flyertalk.com/articles/am...m-changes.html

Oh well. There goes AA's frequent flyer program down the drain.

4 SWUs for EXPs instead of 8.

Most awards will cost more.

Off-peak period for awards is cut back.

Elite membership year is a month shorter.

An EXP will earn less miles on a transatlantic discount economy ticket than a non-elite currently earns on the same ticket. On transatlantic routes, for a non-elite, the miles earned will be about 75% less than what they used to be.

The only difference left between AA and the other crappy programs now is that AA's is not completely as terrible as all the others, only almost. Thanks American, I feel SOOOOO special now.

Is it just me or did AA raise the price for Gold nomination? I recall it used to be 2400 points, but now its 3200 points listed.

I have redeemed this a couple of times in the past for employees. I believe you are correct.

Wow... 800 more points for a status even more worthless than it was one year ago.

Because that makes sense to the consumer... :confused:

It seems to me that every frequent flyer program has been devalued as the economy has improved quite a bit. I don't see a compelling superior alternative to Business Extraa unfortunately.

Interesting resolution to this:

A couple weeks later, I got a call from AA saying there'd been a schedule change to my flight. I called back, they said there was no change, and I was still booked into First on the same flight. I said, "So you're sure there's nothing I need to know?" and they put me on hold for a while.

When they came back, they said "Everything looks fine sir, you're booked into Business. What row would you like?"

So I think what happened was something got flagged in their system indicating we were booked into the wrong cabin, they realized it mid-call, and quietly rebooked us into Business without mentioning that was happening. I'm entirely fine with it, since that's what the BXP1 entitles us to, not First.

The interesting part is that, according to ExpertFlyer, there wasn't actually any upgrade availability before the call. I think they forced Business upgrade availability mid-call, which is why I was on hold for so long, because they didn't want to have to come back and tell me that I'd been put back into Economy, after two separate phone calls in which I was assured I'd be flying First.

Adding BizExtra to AS reservation?
 

The Wiki has instructions for adding a Biz Extra number to BA reservations but does anyone know if the same can be done for bookings on Alaska Air?

No, Alaska has its own business rewards program, Easybiz.

AC passes giftable?
 

I cashed in expiring Business Extra points to get a couple of AC passes. I'm thinking of giving one to a friend who flies a ton on AA but has no domestic lounge access. The passes themselves aren't personalized beyond a stamped number, so it seems like I could just hand him one and tell him to write his name on it before handing it over at a club. Right? Or will the lounge agents ask him for the corresponding Business Extra account number or otherwise want to know how he got the pass?

Missing bonus
 

I flew in late May on a paid BC fare LAX-LHR-BCN and back. I registered for the BXTA16 promo that would have given me 1600 pts

I never saw the bonus post so I called in the fall and the agent said give it some more time to post so I did. I finally called last week and was told 1) my actual flights never even posted 2) I could request retroactive credit however no way to get the bonus points. I pressed that issue and she explained that they will never go back and credit any promos:confused:

Anybody had luck or advice on this? 1600 pts is a decent amount to fight over

Your friend should be fine, they don't ask at all.

Has December posted?

Nothing has posted as of today.

Just saw December posted today.

flight posted but zero BE credit ??
 

Two of my colleagues flew from SFO to TPA in December. There flights just posted to BE, but both got zero BE points credited. And the BE website says "N/A" under disqualification as it usually does. See screen shot below.

Can anyone explain this?

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/488/32...288bfee9_z.jpg

Give it a few days. I seem to remember that with the way BE post flights, the flights show up with zero points first, then the actual number of posts will show up days later.

you were right ckpeter, the points did post Monday 1/24. 120 points... and I got an email that day from BE CS saying that they had posted.

I signed up for Business Extra in late October 2016. Since then I've had several paid J tickets to AMS, AKL, and a few domestics all with AA flight numbers. Each time a reservation is made I call in to get my Business Extra number added. However, I have zero flights on my account but mysterious 199 points. My J tickets were $6K - $9K each, so I'm missing a lot of points.

My account shows '0' points earned, but 199 'beginning points balance'.

How long should I wait for flights to post? Most were AA metal, but a couple were BA flights ticketed as AA codeshares.

I just received my monthly account email from the program, and it mentions opting in for 20th anniversary promotions by logging in. Except there there are no listed promotions available. Does anyone know what they are or if and when they might become available.

Sounds like you should submit a missing points request form on the website.

I have a flight booked with a BXP1 certificate applied. There's no reason I have to keep that flight associated with my AA number, right? I should be able to change it to my AS number instead? (Considering switching all crediting this year to AS due to AA program changes.)

I imagine this is fine, as my wife is on the same reservation and has always had her AS number on it, and there wasn't any issue when I called in to request the upgrade. But I don't know if the primary traveler makes any difference.

Do I need to have the BXP1 cert in hands before requesting an upgrade or can I use the confirmation number to request?

Switching the FF program for the primary traveler doesn't make any difference. I've had Meeting Services put in my AS number while they were booking a ticket and applying a BXP1 without them raising any objection.:cool:

No. Meeting Services isn't going to ask for any information from the certificate that matters and the confirmation number of the redemption is meaningless to them. They will ask you for the expiration date - just tell them you don't have the certificate in your hands at the moment, but you're confident the expiration date is after the date of travel. They'll be fine with this and it's no violation of any of the rules.

In fact you don't even need to have requested/redeemed point for a BXP1 to apply the upgrade. Unless your travel is relatively soon (within ~4 weeks) or you use BXP1's all the time and know you won't "get stuck with one", it is probably better to ensure that the upgrade space is available and Meeting Services can clear you before even ordering the cert. It used to be (and I imagine still is) that certs were only processed once or twice a week and are sent USPS (unless you pay for faster shipping). So it can take a bit for the paper cert to arrive to you.

The only requirement is to have the BXP1 in-hand when you get to the airport on departure day. All the processing is done by the ticket agent at the counter.

Cheers!

This is still the case based on my recent experience. I was surprised by how long it took.

Meeting Services is supposed to require the certificate Serial Number now when making the request - a recent change. I don't know if they can pass that over or if it is required to make the request.

Actually, I'll call now and find out since I need to do this and don't have enough certs in-hand yet!

Yeah - My effort to waitlist BXP1 upgrades without the certs in hand was rejected.

I used a BXP1 today and was asked for the serial number. What was really interesting though is that at T-24 I was able to get my boarding pass through the AA app.

The other time when I was able to get my BP through the app, the agent at the airport said she didn't need my BXP1 cert (essentially a freebie that I later used again).

I'm wondering if them now asking for the serial number is to prevent a cert from being used again. I'll find out tomorrow!

BXP1 BusinessExtra Upgrades
 

I have 2 of the BXP1 upgrade certificates. However, I'm having a tough time using them. Is it ok to sell the certificates or is it something that AA frowns upon?

I'll gladly take them off your hands

I've always been asked for a serial number when redeeming, so I just presumed it was to prevent you from re-using it when you fail to present it at check-in.

You can't sell your upgrades, and there's a whole thread dedicated to people who try to do something similar. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...arter-etc.html

Interesting.
I have never been asked for a serial number when I called.
They asked just for "Star File" number, though.
My last call was last summer, so it was a while ago. Maybe things have changed since then?
Last three times I didn't even submit the paper certs at the airports which happened last fall and last month.
I don't really know what to do with the (un)used certs...

I believe the serial number requirement is new in 2017. Agent told me specifically that it was to prevent re-use when not collected since many agents were not doing so at the airport.

That makes the most sense. I had it with me but nobody asked for it. If the serial number requirement means that I don't have to stop by the ticket counter for a paper ticket, then I'm all for the change. Yeah it stinks losing out on the occasional double dip BXP1...but it's about time they caught up with this loophole.

It's not a loophole per se. When you book with BXP1, you are instructed to surrender the certificate at check-in or you will lose your seat assignment. Some people thought check-in was at the gate, and completely by-passed the ticketing agent.

I forgot (yes, forgot) to turn in my BXP1 once. They deducted an eVIP instead. Now I make extra sure not to forget. If there was a loophole, it must have missed me :confused:

Ouch.

I got two freebies when the GA either didn't know what to do with my BXP1 or didn't want to deal with it (I presented it, GA looked at it, handed it back as though it was a drugstore receipt for chewing gum). Wasn't EXP at the time so thankfully didn't lose eVIPs. Recently, I haven't had the same glitch where I was formerly able to check in via the app without tendering the cert at check-in. I've been getting the "see an agent" message, and the agent has taken the cert.

I just called to upgrade JFK-SFO-JFK from I to A, and I was asked for the serial numbers. Definitely a deterrent to anyone who would willfully fail to tender the certificates along the way.

I had that happen once as well, but a call to AAdvantage Customer Service got the eVIP reinstated.

Whenever I have used one, I am not able to check in in advance and have to go to the ticketing agent to check in (and turn in the certificate).