The AAdvantage Business program is designed to allow companies to earn American Airlines miles on employee business travel and provide employees with additional loyalty points, but to fully participate in the program, companies must generally maintain $5,000 in flight revenue through eligible programs and have at least five registered, active business travelers.
Many small businesses find it difficult to meet these requirements given their size. Fortunately, businesses can get around these requirements if an authorized representative of the business is a cardholder of an eligible AAdvantage Business cobranded card. Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® (See Rates and Fees).
Here’s how and why small businesses should get an AAdvantage Business Card.
How does the AAdvantage Business program work?
Through the AAdvantage Business program, your business earns 1 mile per dollar spent and travelers earn 1 loyalty point per dollar spent on eligible flights purchased through American-owned channels (including aa.com, American Airlines Booking and the American App.) Miles can be redeemed for airfare and loyalty points are the measure of achieving elite status with American Airlines.
These earnings are on top of those travelers already earn through the U.S. AAdvantage program. Therefore, a traveler typically does not lose any earnings by becoming a traveler on her AAdvantage Business account for a company. One of the exceptions is a traveler who works for multiple companies with an AAdvantage Business account. AAdvantage Business’ terms and conditions prohibit individuals from registering as travelers for more than one company, even if the traveler is an employee or contractor of more than one company.
Businesses can earn and keep AAdvantage miles, but they cannot redeem them. Instead, companies can transfer miles to the business traveler’s or travel manager’s AAdvantage account and redeem the miles as normal.
Related: The best ways to spend your American Airlines AAdvantage miles
Small businesses can benefit from AAdvantage business cards.
To fully participate in the AAdvantage Business program, a company must generally meet both of the following requirements:
- $5,000 in qualifying program earnings in the past 12 months
- 5 business travelers who have taken at least 1 flight in the past 12 months
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If a business does not meet these requirements, travelers will not be able to earn additional loyalty points through the AAdvantage Business program and the business will not be able to transfer miles to individuals. However, small businesses can get around these requirements if an authorized representative holds a qualifying AAdvantage Business co-branded card. Citi/AAdvantage Business World Elite Mastercard.
So, even if you’re a sole proprietor and spend less than $5,000 each year on business-related flights; Citi / AAdvantage Business World Elite Mastercard If you travel for business reasons, you can earn extra miles and loyalty points through the AAdvantage Business program.
Similarly, a partnership with two employees who frequently travel to the workplace may meet the requirement of $5,000 in qualifying program aviation revenue, but not the requirement of five business travelers. However, the official representative of the partnership is Citi/AAdvantage Business World Elite Mastercard — Perhaps even adding other employees as authorized users — so businesses and travelers can benefit from the AAdvantage Business program when they travel.
That means AAdvantage Business co-branded cards qualify for: Citi/AAdvantage Business World Elite Mastercard This has become very important for small businesses that do not meet one or both of the standard requirements of the AAdvantage Business program. To learn more about this card, check out our Citi/AAdvantage Business World Elite Mastercard review.
Related: Who qualifies for a business credit card?
Conclusion
Many small businesses may struggle to meet the spending and travel requirements of the AAdvantage Business program. Fortunately, authorized representatives can Citi / AAdvantage Business World Elite Mastercard Cardholder.
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