American Airlines Continues to Try to Get Back in Agencies’ Good Graces

American Airlines is making a couple of significant changes to its AAdvantage Business incentive program, the name for its corporate loyalty program, which is pretty positive for corporate agencies.

Effective immediately, American will allow those booking with travel agencies to earn rewards through its AAdvantage Business program—the airline had previously only allowed rewards when booking directly with American, a change it made last year when it flipped its American Business Extra program into the AAdvantage Business program.

Advisors will remember that American reversed course on a similar decision for leisure bookings earlier this year, a victory for the North American travel trade and the associations who fought against it, including ASTA and ACTA.

At the same time this week, American announced a new dedicated phone support line for AAdvantage Business members, something it did not previously offer. The phone will be open 12 hours each day Monday through Friday, starting at 8 a.m. EST each morning.

The AAdvantage Business program is open to businesses with at least five active travelers and a spend of $5,000 with American. American waives those requirements for Citi/ AAdvantage Business World Elite Mastercard card members.