American Airlines Allows Ticket Name Changes for Business Extra

American Airlines is Permitting Airline Ticket Changes for Certain Business Extra and Corporate Tickets, a significant departure from the usual rule that no name changes are permitted once an airline ticket is purchased (see Why Airline Tickets Don't Permit Name Changes or Transferring Your Ticket to Another Person). Here are the details:

Tickets must be issued on or before September 30, 2020, with travel dates between March 1 – December 31, 2020 (see the American Airlines Global Flexibility Waiver)
There must be a valid and active Corporate Travel Agreement (CART), Business Extra number or On Business number in the Tour code box
If the above are true, multiple name changes will be allowed during the validity of the ticket.

Businesses Can Book One Employee for a Trip, and Substitute Another

Given that business travel is down so much, this is a savvy move by AA to try to get those businesses that may need employees to travel to book tickets with AA, rather than a competitor. If something happens such that the employee who was scheduled to travel no longer can, then a name change can be made to permit a different employee to fly the same itinerary.

Small Businesses Can Sign Up for AA's Business Extra

The good news is that most small businesses of 2 or more employees can sign up for American Airlines' Business Extra. Businesses should be headquartered in one of the following destinations: United States, Canada, Antigua, Argentina, Aruba, Brazil, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Trinidad And Tobago, Turks And Caicos Islands, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Also note that individuals, travel agencies and companies that have a corporate sales agreement, discount, or other agreement with AA, British Airways or Iberia may not participate (except, with AA's approval, for travel that is NOT covered by the corporate sales agreement, discount or other agreement.

You will need to provide your company contact details and also two of the following documents to validate your account:

Employer Identification Number (EIN) | Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) | Federal Tax Identification Number
Articles of Incorporation (S corp or C corp) | Articles of Organization (LLC)
Partnership Agreement (General Partnership) | Certificate of Limited Partnership, Limited Partnership Document (LP, LLP)
Valid Business Name Registration certificate issued by a government agency (e.g. Business License, DBA / Doing Business As Name, Assumed Name, Fictitious Business Name, Registration of Trade Name)
Seller's Permit or Vendor's License issued by a government agency such as a local taxation department or tax commission
Utility bill issued to the business within the last 90 days (e.g. electricity, water, phone, natural gas)

Business Extra Points Earning

Members earn 1 point for every $5 (except for Members that have a physical address in Central and South America, the Caribbean or Bermuda, which earn two and a half (2 ½) Points for every $10) spent on qualifying flights on:

American Airlines
British Airways
Iberia
Finnair flights sold by AA
Qantas flights sold by AA
JAL flights sold by AA

Business Extra points usually post to the Member's account daily. Note that the following tickets do NOT earn Business Extra points:

all tickets issued as Business Extra Program Awards
frequent flyer awards or other ticket promotions including free or reduced rate tickets
companion tickets
charter flight tickets
travel agency/industry reduced rate tickets
infant tickets
tickets flown before a Member's enrollment in the Program
items occupying a purchased seat
unpublished fare tickets, including consolidator fares
tickets issued subject to special provisions

Business Extra points for members in good standing expire on December 31 of the year which is two years after the date on which the travel attributable to the Points occurred.

If a Member has not earned points during a two year period, American may suspend or terminate Member's account by giving advance notice, electronically or in writing, and any points remaining on the date of termination shall be forfeited and no longer available for use.

Business Extra Points Redemption

Some of the best uses of Business Extra points are redemptions for flight awards and upgrade awards. For example, 3200 points can be used to upgrade an AA paid economy ticket in fare code B, N, O, Q or S to American Business Class, while 1200 points can be used to upgrade full fare economy (Y) to Business Class or full fare Business Class (J) to American First Class.

In terms of flights, here are examples of awards for American Airlines transcontinental flights and between the U.S. and Europe. Note that flight awards are only available on AA, British Airways, or Iberia, not on any other partner airline.