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Business Extra is the loyalty program from American Airlines aimed at small and medium sized businesses. Anyone can sign up for Business Extra (even private individuals who don’t have a business) and, if you fly American Airlines, British Airways or Iberia with any frequency, it’s a program you should probably be signed up to.
Business Extra is a completely separate program to American Airlines AAdvantage and you can accumulate points/miles in both at the same time and for the same flights (more info on Business Extra via this link).
Over the past two or three years Business Extra has become more useful as the scope of the flights which qualify for Business Extra points has increased (e.g. US-based flyers can now credit British Airways flights to Business Extra) but the program has always had its annoyances.
Fortunately these are annoyances that American Airlines appears to be addressing.
I always disliked the fact that to redeem Business Extra points for upgrades you had to request a paper certificate (yes, paper!) which then had to be presented at the airport when checking in (and claiming your upgrade)…but a year ago American Airlines started issuing upgrade certificates via email.
Another annoyance was that, for a long time, there was no way to apply an upgrade (or even to request an upgrade) online so, despite the fact that paper certificates had gone the way of the Dodo, passengers still had to call American Airlines “Meeting Services” to have the upgrade applied or to ask to be put on the waitlist – as of a few weeks ago this process was moved online (mostly).
The final (big) annoyance was that Business Extra points have always been credited to accounts somewhat slowly – usually towards the middle of the month following the month in which they were earned – so, unlike AAdvantage Miles, there has always been a wait for points to post….and that’s never been ideal if you were looking to spend your earnings.
Well, now it looks like American Airlines has gone and done something about this final issue – here’s what Business Extra has announced:
We’re excited to announce that your Business Extra points are now posting to your account daily based on flight activity.
With quicker access to your earned points, you’ll be able to redeem awards sooner. This is another step toward making our program easier to use.
You may have seen a few larger point postings in your account – that was the system finishing posting your April flight activity. Daily point postings begin with May activity.
There is, however, one thing that I don’t understand. I don’t understand why Business Extra decided to explain how the new points posting system will work like this:
“It works like a credit card statement:
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- Base points post throughout the month, within 2 to 3 days of your flight
- Promotional points post based on the terms and conditions of the individual promotion
- Statements are available once the processing period closes”
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I’m pretty sure that the credit card points I earn during any given month appear in my account at the end of every billing cycle and not within a few days of a transaction having take place so, assuming the claim from Business Extra that “[w]ith quicker access to your earned points, you’ll be able to redeem awards sooner” is true, I don’t see how the new Business Extra points posting system works like a credit card statement.
I can’t use the credit card points I earn within days of having earned them (only after they post at the end of the month) but Business Extra appears to be saying that’s what we can now do with its points….so what am I missing?
Has Business Extra made an incorrect comparison or am I misunderstanding something here?
It should be noted that, even though it may be possible to enroll in Business Extra as an individual who does not have a business, the enrollment process DOES require the applicant to supply a business web site address, at least for applicants from Canada. So, be prepared to create one if you plan to enroll in this program.