(Hat Tip to The Points Guy for sharing this earlier today.)
(Update: A reader with a better eye for details than I have noticed that the terms and conditions clarify this deal is only for targeted AAdvantage members. Sometimes such rules aren’t enforced. My advice is that you shouldn’t book a speculative trip just to get the miles, but if you were planning to fly American anyway, it doesn’t hurt to sign up since Business ExtrAA is a free program. You may want to sign up anyway and start earning points.)
American Airlines offers a program for business travelers that allows you to earn “points” in an account separate and in addition to your usual AAdvantage miles. The Business ExtrAA program is ostensibly for travelers with two or more employees, though it has long been an open secret that this is not really enforced. I’ve had my own account for a while.
To use Business ExtrAA, book a flight, add your AAdvantage number to get miles and elite status, and add your Business ExtrAA number at the same time to also earn points for the business. The Business ExtrAA account owner can then choose to use these points for things like lounge access or award flights for business purposes or maybe just to reward employees. It’s an easy way to double-dip. Only flights with an American Airlines ticket number (starting in 001…) are eligible. If you book your flights through a travel agency, you may still qualify, but you’ll have to call American to have the Business ExtrAA number added to the reservation.
The Points Guy shares that American is currently offering 2,000 bonus Business ExtrAA points when you sign up for a new Business ExtrAA account and the offer code SME4Q12, and also book $3,000 in eligible purchases my March 31, 2013.
Business ExtrAA points, as a separate currency from AAdvantage miles, are very valuable. Those 2,000 points are actually enough for a free domestic economy class ticket! Normally you’ll be able to earn about 2 points for every $10 in eligible spend.
Furthermore, you and anyone you add to the account who travels on an eligible flight by March 31, 2013, will be eligible to earn an additional 5,000 AAdvantage miles. Even if you can’t reach the $3,000 spend requirement above, you can at least use this part of the offer to get an easy 5,000 bonus miles for you and anyone traveling with your Business ExtrAA account number in the next couple months.
I wrote earlier about how being part of Business ExtrAA opens up a few special promotions that aren’t available to most customers. It really is like a separate loyalty program and one you should consider joining (for free!) if you are a frequent American Airline traveler. You can see a full list of BusinessExtrAA awards and their prices by following this link.
Partial Terms & Conditions
(see the rest here)
