Airlines
American
American's AirPass provides fixed rates for flights to more than 350 destinations. The point is flexibility for travelers, especially road warriors, to fly when they want, without notice if needed, or to change flights as needed. It comes with AAdvantage status, Admirals Club lounge membership, last seat availability, instant upgrades at booking when available and, for a companion, Main Cabin Extra seating, which offers extra legroom and free snacks and beverages.
The Business Extra loyalty program awards companies $1 for every $5 spent on employee travel on American, as well as British Airways, Iberia and codeshare flights on Finnair, Qantas and Japan Airlines. Employees continue to earn their AAdvantage miles in the meantime. Accounts must list at least two travelers, but there are no flight or spend minimums.
Last, the American ExpressBusiness Extra corporate card, with an annual fee up to $55, earns four Business Extra points per $20 spent on American base fares and one point for every $20 of eligible spend on the card. It offers a rebate as high as 6 percent on the first $1.5 million of base fare spend. The cardholder earns a $50 flight discount for every $5,000 charged on the card, maxing out at $1,000 in discounts per year. Flight discounts expire in a year.
Delta
Delta's SkyBonus points program, at no cost, lets travelers earn SkyMiles points while the company earns points on each dollar spent on published fares and upgrades for Delta and its partner carriers from a North American point of sale. Accounts must spend $5,000 per year and have at least five unique travelers. Travelers are not required to be SkyMiles members to earn their companies SkyBonus points. SkyBonus points expire on the third Dec. 31st after they're issued. SkyBonus Elite allows additional rewards and greater flexibility in redemptions. Delta SVP of global sales Bob Somers said Delta's small and midsize enterprise-focused programs have 50,000 customers and that will grow another 10,000 this year.
Delta also offers negotiated midsize corporate agreement discounts for a minimum of $300,000 in annual spend on Delta, Air France, KLM, Alitalia, Aeromexico, Virgin Atlantic, Korean Air and codeshare partners. Those customers get the Delta Edge management and reporting portal, custom reporting, global sales support and dedicated sales reps, the last newly expanded to these smaller customers. Travelers under the program get basic priority.
United
United's Propel offers fixed discounts, from 2 percent to 6 percent to start, based on share volume. Companies must spend at least $250,000 through United each year from U.S. and Canada points of sale, whether booked directly or through the travel management company. The discounts apply to flights with joint-venture partners Air Canada, Lufthansa Group, ANA and Air New Zealand; apply to all fare classes except Basic Economy and include last seat availability. When the program launched in June 2018, Americas sales VP Jake Cefolia said the carrier will reevaluate each client's discount every year, and discounts could hit 19 percent. United also kicks in a certain amount to spend on amenities like seat upgrades.
The offering complements United's PassPlus prepaid product, which lets companies preload UATP cards for use on fares and amenities. It includes 2 percent to 20 percent discounts that also work for Lufthansa Group, ANA and Air New Zealand, booked directly or through the TMC. It requires $50,000 in annual spend—$10,000 per the required minimum five travelers. PassPlus comes with club memberships and MileagePlus Premier membership, which includes priority check-in, access to Economy Plus seating where available and priority for upgrades. United is migrating the PassPlus program onto its Jetstream management and reporting portal, and the carrier expects that automation to help it lower that participation threshold, a move that should make it accessible to more companies.
United PerksPlus awards the company whenever MileagePlus-enrolled travelers fly. Companies can use those rewards on travel certificates, United Club memberships or passes and MileagePlus Gold or Silver status, or the company can convert them to MileagePlus points and deposit in travelers' accounts.
And the United Explorer Business card for small businesses offers two miles for each U.S. dollar spent on gas, office supply stores, restaurants and United purchases and one mile per dollar spent on other purchases. At a $95 annual fee, it comes with a free checked bag per flight, priority boarding and two United Club passes. Account owners earn a bonus 50,000 miles if they spend $5,000 in the first three months and another 50,000 files if they reach $25,000 in the first six months. Cards for employees, which contribute to the above totals, come at no extra cost. There are no blackout days or foreign transaction fees.
Hotels
Best Western
Best Western Rewards Business Advantage offers a 10 percent chainwide discount rate, which includes last room availability, within North America; the rate varies between 5 percent and 10 percent elsewhere. Also as part of the program, the company account owner is upgraded to Diamond Elite status in Best Western Rewards and receives 30 percent bonus rewards points per stay booked using the Business Advantage corporate ID. Company travelers who sign up are upgraded to Gold Elite and receive 10 percent bonus rewards points per stay.
Best Western further differentiates by giving the account owner additional rewards points per traveler stay, 10 percent of what the traveler earned, for use on future business stays or company incentives. Neither the account owner nor the travelers are required to stay for a minimum number of nights per year as long as they remain registered with Best Western Business Advantage. For both loyalty status tiers, points never expire, there are no blackout dates, redemptions for free nights count toward status and travelers receive their choice of thank you gifts upon arrival, have access to an exclusive reservations line and are eligible for room upgrades. Accounts go live within two to five business days, and the program has no annual fees.
Best Western VP of worldwide sales Wendy Ferrill said Best Western's five-person, dedicated Business Advantage sales team will work directly with interested businesses, whether that means the owner, a finance admin, an HR exec or the like. She noted that companies tend to scale out of the program into a traditional managed account when they reach $5 million in annual spend.
Hyatt
Hyatt Leverage offers enrolled companies discounts of 5 percent to 15 percent off standard rates at participating hotels. Each hotel property determines the final discount. Companies must put in at least 50 stays a year using Hyatt Leverage rates, and that includes leisure stays. Travelers can get the discounted rates by using a Hyatt Leverage corporate ID while booking directly or through Hyatt reservation centers. A web dashboard allows program administrators to view traveler information, reservations and room expenses and to track total bookings and room spend. Hyatt also offers email templates to help administrators communicate with travelers about program benefits. Travelers don't need to be World of Hyatt rewards members, but members can earn loyalty points on Hyatt Leverage rates.
InterContinental Hotels Group
IHG Business Edge offers a dynamic rate discount at 95 percent of InterContinental Hotels Group's 5,656 properties. IHG also will negotiate volume discounts between 7 and 10 percent, depending on volume. Business Edge rates apply to business and leisure travel. Any rate that an SME has negotiated with a local property will rule. Each managed account comes with a dedicated salesperson, while dynamic rate users can access the self-service portal and receive support 24 hours a day on business days.
There's no sign-up fee and no minimum annual spend, and an account takes five days to process and go live. A single portal features spending and savings data, some RFP support for high-volume destinations, the ability to invite company travelers to participate, and travel booking. Travelers also can use their companies' Business Edge corporate IDs to book Business Edge rates on IHG.com, on the app, over the phone or via their travel management companies or online booking tools. Travelers must be IHG Rewards Club members, and IHG upgrades them to Gold Elite status after their first stay using a Business Edge rate. The portal also serves as a gateway to an online community of SMEs that participate in Business Edge. As an added perk, Business Edge members are eligible for a 60 percent discount on a one-year subscription to The Wall Street Journal.
Business Edge launched in August 2018 and has 7,600 corporate accounts. IHG SVP of global sales Derek DeCross said the program is in account-acquisition mode, too. Meanwhile, IHG's small meetings team is working with the Business Edge team to integrate.
Radisson
Radisson Hotel Group's Radisson Rewards for Business allows travel arrangers to access discounts of as much as 10 percent and to earn 10 points for every U.S. dollar spent on others' bookings. Travelers also can earn 20 Radisson Rewards points for every U.S. dollar spent on rooms, food and drink at participating hotels and can register to upgrade to Silver status after three stays.
Sonesta
Sonesta Global Preferredoffers 11 percent to 15 percent discounts to qualified preferred corporate clients that stay a minimum of 5,000 room nights per year across Sonesta's brands in markets where clients have note negotiated rates with Sonesta.
Managed Travel Technology
Concur Hipmunk
Concur Hipmunk, targeted for lightly managed travel programs, combines technology from Hipmunk, which Concur acquired in 2016; Concur Expense; TripLink; and TripIt Pro. It includes discounts on air, hotel and car rental bookings. Partner suppliers include American Airlines, Avis, Getaroom, Hotels.com, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotels Group, Priceline, United Airlines and Vayama. A Hipmunk discount for air, car rental or hotel is marked in the booking channel by a suitcase icon next to the search result. The benefits depend on suppliers' offerings. One airline might offer a discount in a certain market to gain market share, for example, Concur told BTN when it launched the product in 2017.
Car Rental Companies
Avis Budget Group
The Avis for Business program gives small businesses 30 percent off base rates, accessed via an Avis Worldwide Discount number the account owner can share with the company's employees. The program also offers a reward day for every 15 completed rental days, access to the Avis for Business member site to view rental activity and track rewards, free Avis Preferred membership and a customer service team available by phone or online. Additionally, a business account owner receives a reward day after the first completed rental and double rewards during the first 90 days of membership.
Hertz
Hertz Business Rewards, which serves programs with $100,000 in annual car rental spend, offers a free rental day for every 15 paid rental days booked with an HBR Corporate Discount Program Number. Enrollment is free, and new accounts receive credit for 10 paid days to start. Credits also are doubled for the first 90 days. Rentals around the world count toward reward days, but certificates for free rental days can be redeemed only at U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico locations. A portal, available within 48 hours of enrollment, allows the account owner to track rental days. The company's travelers will receive free status as Hertz Gold Plus Rewards members. Travelers that book—or travelers whose agents book—Hertz Business Rewards discounted rates using their company's program number receive Premium Emergency Roadside Assistance, which reduces the business' financial liability, according to Hertz's website. Starting Sept. 15, the roadside assistance benefit applies only to rentals from Hertz airport offices. Colleagues also become authorized drivers for the vehicle when a company traveler books using the company's program number. For Business Reward renters, Hertz also waives the late return fee and the fee for returning to a different location.
Credit Cards
American Express
The American Express Business Platinum Card, with a $595 annual fee, offers business owners five Membership Rewards points for every U.S. dollar spent on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com. It also provides a $200 credit for one airline for baggage fees and other ancillaries. Cardholders earn 1.5 points per dollar spent on purchases of $5,000 or more and one point per dollar on all other purchases. During the first three months, cardholders earn 50,000 points for the first $10,000 spent on qualifying purchases and another 25,000 points for the next $10,000. When the cardholder uses points to book qualifying airline purchases on amextravel.com, 35 percent of the points are returned. The card charges no foreign transaction fees and offers one year of Platinum Global Access to WeWork, access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection airport lounges, credits for Global Entry and TSA Precheck, Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status and Hilton Honors Gold status.
The American Express Business Gold Card, with a $295 annual fee, offers four points for every U.S. dollar spent on the two categories on which the company spends the most each month, based on the first $150,000 each year. The six categories Amex tracks for this purpose are airfare purchased directly from airlines; U.S. restaurants; U.S. advertising on TV, radio or web; U.S. gas stations; technology purchased directly from U.S. hardware, software and cloud providers; and shipping in the U.S. The account manager enjoys the same points-earning model from purchases on employees' cards. When cardholders use their points to book qualifying airline purchases on amextravel.com, 25 percent of the points are returned, maxing out at 250,000 points back per calendar year. Reporting at the end of the year categorizes spend by month and purchase type.
U.S. Bank
U.S. Bank's FlexPerks Corporate Rewards allow corporate cardholders to earn one FlexPoint per U.S. dollar spent. As an example of what that buys, 20,000 FlexPoints can be redeemed for any airline ticket up to $400. It works on 150 airlines with no blackout dates, thousands of hotels, most major car rental companies and merchandise and gift cards. A company can allow employees to earn and redeem points or can pool points for the company to use, whether as rewards, rebates or a combination. FlexPoints costs $80 a year for each card and works with U.S. Bank's Corporate Travel Card, Executive Card, Executive Platinum Card and One Card.