American Airlines Makes Changes to AAdvantage Business Program

Citi is an advertising partner of TPG.

AAdvantage Enterprise, American Airlines Loyalty Programhas announced some changes, which should be welcome news for business travelers.

Effective immediately, AAdvantage Business members will now earn Loyalty Points and AAdvantage Miles for bookings made through third party travel agencies.

This reverses a recent decision to limit earnings for those who book directly with the airline or through AA-controlled booking channels. AAdvantage recently reversed This controversial policy for consumer bookings and has now reversed it for business bookings.

Another positive improvement is the introduction of a dedicated phone support service for AAdvantage Business members, available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET on weekdays by calling 877-229-8278.

EQUAL First reported by Travel WeeklyBased on email communications sent to tour managers, future improvements to the program include:

• By the end of this summer: Redeem and manage AAdvantage miles directly from your AAdvantage Business account without first transferring them to your personal AAdvantage account and storing payment card information in your AAdvantage Business account.
• By the end of 2024: Redeem and manage shared trip credits and display individual company travel policies within your AAdvantage Business account and enable name change waivers for all travelers registered in the account, allowing companies to transfer tickets between employees.

Currently, AAdvantage Business accounts can earn 1 AAdvantage mile for every dollar spent on eligible flights through the AAdvantage Business program. Going forward, travelers will still earn miles as usual through the AAdvantage program (5 miles per dollar spent and 5 Loyalty Points per dollar on eligible flights).

Spend on co-branded corporate credit cards, such as Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® (see prices and fees), miles are earned for the AAdvantage Business account, not the personal AAdvantage account. However, the individual will earn 1 additional mile Loyalty points for every dollar on eligible American Airlines purchases in their personal account when spent with a corporate co-branded card.

This is a way for both businesses and business travelers to be rewarded for booking business trips through the AAdvantage Business program; hopefully these recent improvements will make the program more appealing to travelers.

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