American Express® Business Travel Account
Air. Hotels. All on one bill.
Centralise business travel expenses into one simple online account.
Paying for business travel doesn’t need to be complicated
The American Express Business Travel Account (BTA) is a centralised billing solution that uses Virtual Account Numbers for travel costs. Your employees can book business travel without physical Cards, individual accounts or complicated reimbursement processes and you can reconcile travel costs through one simple monthly statement.
Make business travel more seamless with a Business Travel Account
Maximise control
Set parameters around time, cost and suppliers for employee air and hotel spend.
Save time
Consolidate booking and reconciliation into a single statement with one monthly payment.
Increase security
Help reduce non-compliant spend and minimise the risk of fraud with single-use Virtual Account Numbers.
Help improve cash flow
Get up to 51 cash flow days1
by centralising all travel bookings
into one payment to
American Express.
How does the Business Travel Account work?
Book travel
When your employees book travel through your Travel Management Company (TMC) the Business Travel Account automatically applies a Virtual Account Number (VAN) to each air booking and hotel reservation as needed.
Pay Suppliers
The VAN is used to pay for travel. Set account parameters can help maintain compliance with company budgets and policies.
Receive statement
Receive a monthly statement of all BTA travel expenses in one simple PDF or Excel document that's easy to filter and sort, so you can gain accuracy in reporting and discover opportunities to save. Depending on your organisation’s size and needs, you can also receive statements via the Online Statements tool, BTAConnect or an eData file.
Reconcile account
Send a single monthly payment to American Express, which can reduce admin time spent reconciling individual payments and processing reimbursements whilst expanding your cash flow up to 51 days1.
Case study: a consulting firm streamlines its process and cuts costs
The Challenge: A top-tier consulting firm was struggling with outdated and cumbersome travel reconciliation processes. For each trip taken by a field rep, Executive Assistants (EAs) had to spend hours entering data such as traveller names, cost centres and trip details into an Excel spreadsheet, then matching them with specific transactions. The Finance team then had to double-check all this data before reconciling. The process took up to three weeks and was often closed out just as the next monthly billing statement was released.
The Solution: The American Express Business Travel Account allowed the firm to easily capture traveller names, employee IDs and cost centres for each transaction, dramatically cutting down on administration time for both the Finance team and EAs. As an added bonus, the Finance team was able to contain costs and protect against fraudulent transactions by setting controls around when and how much employees could spend on travel—putting both time and money back into the company.
Start your Business Travel Account application
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Frequently Asked Questions
The American Express Business Travel Account (BTA) is a centralised billing payment solution that provides a single view of your air and hotel travel related charges, without requiring a physical Card. This enhanced visibility gives your Company control over expenses, while also helping to save time and money.
Your Company's BTA is lodged with your chosen Travel Management Company (TMC), and American Express works in partnership with that TMC to arrange your centralised payments.
For employees, a BTA can save time and provide peace of mind by eliminating the need to use personal Credit Cards and be reimbursed by the company for business travel. Additionally, flights charged to the Business Travel Account attract complimentary Business Travel Accident Insurance and access to emergency legal and medical support through the 24/7 Global Assist™ hotline, whilst travelling.
A BTA can improve your company’s cash flow with up to 51 cash flow days1, while helping ensure your vendors are paid promptly through single-use Virtual Card numbers so you can take advantage of early-payment incentives.
It also gives you rich data about your travel-related spend that can help:
- Support vendor negotiations.
- Secure savings with preferred suppliers.
- Reduce the risk of fraud by providing single-use Virtual Card numbers instead of Credit or Charge Card numbers.
You can use your BTA internationally wherever American Express is accepted. Foreign transaction fees may apply.
Find more ways to streamline business spend
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Corporate Meeting Card
A fast, flexible and virtual way for staff without Cards to make payments on the go.
Terms & Conditions
1. Extend cash flow by up to 51 days: Depending on when you make a purchase, when your statement is issued and whether or not you are carrying forward a balance on your account from your previous statement period.