American Express American Airlines Business Extra Corporate Card review
Editor's Note
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American Airlines American Express® Business Extra® Corporate Card Overview
The American Airlines American Express® Business Extra® Corporate Card offers business owners the opportunity to cut costs and earn bonus points on their employees' business travel. Employees still earn the miles they fly, and business owners who travel earn both. The card is most generous to companies who regularly fly American Airlines. Card Rating*: ⭐⭐⭐½
*Card Rating is based on the opinion of TPG's editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
Yes, you can earn perks for your employees' business travel. With the American Airlines American Express® Business Extra Corporate Card, travelers earn the miles they fly while businesses earn flight discounts and additional points that can be used for, you guessed it — travel.
The information for the American Airlines Amex Business Extra Corporate card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Who is this card for?
The American Airlines American Express Business Extra Corporate Card is especially appealing to companies that rely on American Airlines and its Oneworld partners: British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, Qantas and Japan Airlines, and you don't have to be a big corporation or big spender to take advantage of its benefits. Anyone who is doing business as a sole proprietor — a business structure that requires no paperwork to be filed — can apply for a corporate card.
Related reading: Choosing the best credit card for American Airlines flyers
The card doesn't have any spending requirements and rewards points are good for up to three years. But beware — activity doesn't extend this timeline like it typically does for personal mileage accounts. Let's take a closer look at this card.
Welcome Bonus: Don't hold your breath
If you're looking for a generous welcome bonus, you're sure to be disappointed. The American Airlines American Express Business Extra Corporate Card lacks any introductory welcome bonus offer of any kind but does offer several opportunities to earn points, miles, and flight discounts through spend.
Main benefits and perks
The American Airlines American Express Business Extra Corporate Card delivers a 6% rebate on the first $1.5 million on flown eligible American Airlines airfares purchased each year and 4 Business Extra points per $20 spent on the base airfare of eligible American Airlines flights.
However, benefits aren't as rich for companies that have existing corporate contracts with American Airlines. For those companies that have pre-negotiated airfare discounts in place, rebates are capped at 1%.
Cardholders do also accrue $50 in airfare discounts for every $5,000 in eligible purchases. Discounts are capped at $1,000 per calendar year per cardholder and are only redeemable toward base airfares and not toward taxes, fees or other charges.
Cardmembers do have to register an email address and won't receive rebates until eight to 10 weeks after the end of a quarter, and rebates expire one year after issuance.
Related reading: Airline loyalty programs for small businesses
How to earn points
While employees who are American Airlines AAdvantage members earn AAdvantage miles for their travel on American Airlines, companies also earn points for money spent on American Airlines American Express Business Extra Corporate Cards.
Related reading: How to double-dip on your American Airlines flights using this simple tip
Companies earn one business extra point for every $5 in eligible American Airlines flight purchases on the card and earns one point for every $20 in other eligible spending. Business Extra points can be used toward flights, upgrades, club passes, and status awards.
Related reading: How to use American Airlines Business Extra points for free flights
How to redeem points
Flights and upgrades are the best way to get the most out of your points. Points can be redeemed for award tickets on American Airlines or on partner airlines where at least one segment of travel is on British Airways or Iberia.
Related reading: Guide to earning and burning with American Airlines' Business Extra program
Obscure facts about the AA Amex business extra Corporate Card
Using your Business Extra miles isn't quite as easy as using your own American AAdvantage miles. Expect to spend a bit more time navigating red tape to redeem rewards.
For starters, your Business Extra account number needs to be included on every reservation, and you'll need to use a special portal to redeem rewards. While this may feel like an inconvenience, it's a big step up from a few years ago, when a phone call was required to redeem rewards.
Is the annual fee worth it?
The American Express Business Extra Corporate Card comes with an annual fee of up to $75, but depending on your company's travel budget it could be well worth it.
Just $1,300 in American Airlines airfare purchases earns back the annual fee. Maxing out the card's flight rebates by spending $1.5 million on American Airlines airfares could earn a company $90,000 in rebates — making a $75 annual fee feel like nothing. Note that the card's annual fee can be less than $75, depending on pre-negotiated discount contracts.
Bottom line
If you're an entrepreneur with a good amount of employees and mostly fly with American Airlines, the American Airlines American Express Business Extra Corporate Card may be the card for you.
Its most appealing feature is that it allows for double-dipping. Employees earn miles on their travels while companies earn bonuses and rebates on their travel expenses. It really is a win-win, especially If you're both a company's owner and a regular business traveler — and you're loyal to American Airlines.
Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox.