American Airlines has launched a business loyalty programme, rewarding companies and their employees with AAdvantage miles and loyalty points when booking business travel.
AAdvantage Business is available to companies of at least five employees based in the US or Canada, and there is no minimum spending requirement for the business to start earning miles.
American Airlines said that the programme will allow companies to earn 1 mile for every US$1 spent when booking through American Airlines, which can be redeemed on flights, lounge access, hotels, car rental and more experiences.
For that same US$1 spent, employees will earn 1 loyalty point which counts towards their accrual for earning status as an AAdvantage member. Note that these points are on top of any miles or points the traveller is earning as an AAdvantage member.
Travellers must include both the business account number and their own AAdvantage number in the reservation to receive the additional loyalty points. During booking, travellers can choose ‘business travel’ so that their business account number is automatically added to the trip.
Scott Laurence, American’s senior VP of partnerships and retailing, commented:
“American has built something no one else offers. We want to reward both the companies doing business with us and the traveller who’s actually flying in the airplane seat. It’s a win-win. We’ve designed a simple program that goes above and beyond in delivering rewards and tools that benefit everyone.”
Additionally, companies applying for the CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard will accumulate further rewards while their travellers will earn even more loyalty points.
New cardmembers will earn twice the miles for their company on all eligible AA purchases plus an additional loyalty point toward their AAdvantage status for every US$1 spent on their business card. Cardmembers will also get their first checked bag free on domestic American Airlines flights, plus preferred boarding.
Aside from the status benefits, the airline said that the programme will give travel managers the ability to track business trips through one portal, which will include online tools for reporting, traveller management and duty of care.
