I always book my flights directly with the airlines so avoid the “third-party-booking-headache” that comes when problems arise within the reservation. In my experience, it’s always best to deal directly with the airline that ticketed you.
When booking flights on American Airlines, here are two simple things you can do to sweeten the deal:
Get Your Dollar
Mr. Rebates offers $1 cash back per order at American Airlines. Sure it’s just a dollar, but it takes a second to click through aa.com through the cash back portal, and it does not affect your mileage earning/status perks since it’s still booked directly with the airline.
Business Extra
In addition to having an AAdvantage account to earn personal miles, take a minute to enroll in the Business Extra program so that you can “double dip” and also earn points there. Business Extra points can be used for flights, upgrades, status, and lounge access. Once you have your Business Extra account number, you can link it to your AAdvantage account and make sure you include it when booking your reservations on AA.com
I’ve had my Business Extra account for about a year now and haven’t checked it until recently; I was pleasantly surprised that I had enough points for a flight award and more! For something that requires very little work, it’s definitely worth it to maximize your earning potential.
What experiences do you have with either of the two tips I’ve mentioned?
I would just treat Business Extra as an unexpected freebie bonus. Been using for at least 3 years and my experience with them is that they’re pretty flaky when it comes to both posting the points or being responsive, and the points take about a month and a half to post, roughly after the 15th of the month after you’ve taken the flight. Even then, I’d say about 30-40% of my flights have some trouble posting and I find myself constantly having to submit tickets for credit. You will need your ticket stock number, so never throw away a boarding pass until Business Extra credits the flight, but otherwise yes, it is a nice added bonus tool.
Exactly! You took the words out of my mouth. Definitely an unexpected freebie. I don’t waste my time cross-referencing what has posted.
Business Extra is only for business owners, correct? So, for people like me that don’t own a business, there is no benefit out of that AA program.
I have been collecting business extra points for about 3 years. I have never been able to use a plan ahead award. But this year I did send 2 friends to Bali in economy round trip in an anytime award. I have had to ask for the credit of most of my points. I think they are getting better. The points expire but you can buy a ticket with them and cash it in for $150 and keep those points for another year plus… A very good deal.
really they went to Hong Kong and then on to Bali on Avios.
What’re the rules for signing up for a Business ExtrAA account? Can I basically create one for myself? I think I saw a restriction saying that you need to have a company with 2 or more employees.