American to Add New Tier to AAdvantage Business Program

American Airlines on July 21 will add a new tier within its AAdvantage Business program, which it introduced in October 2023 for small and midsize companies as a replacement for the former Business Extra program, the carrier announced Wednesday.  

The new tier, dubbed AAdvantage Business Select, is for companies with spend at American of $250,000 or more within a calendar year. It comes with additional benefits on top of the program's current perks, including savings of up to 4 percent on eligible fares, Preferred Group 5 boarding for travelers, and immediate access to using company-earned miles for free travel and employee transfer. 

For companies with less than $250,000 in annual spend, the account must have a minimum of five active, registered business travelers and have total spending of at least $5,000 on eligible "flown revenue" from registered travelers over the last 12 months before a company can use its miles, according to American.

All AAdvantage Business members will continue to earn one AAdvantage mile for every $1 spent on eligible travel, and registered travelers can earn additional loyalty points. 

American did not immediately clarify whether there is a maximum spend threshold for the program, above which the carrier would individually negotiate corporate customers.

Since launching the program, American has made other changes to AAdvantage Business. Last October, the carrier added policy control, enabling travel managers to set corporate travel policies in the program's travel management portal. The carrier in July 2024 expanded point accrual capability to bookings in all channels after limiting it to direct bookings at the program's 2023 launch.