American Express Global Business Travel is introducing "card swipe" tracking that enables clients to locate travelers through their Amex corporate cards. Amex claims the functionality can overcome "incomplete itinerary information and spotty cellular and data connections" during crises. It's part of a set of new features that Amex is announcing, including a "premium" service for clients' top travelers and additional integration with the Sabre TripCase itinerary management tool.
The card-swipe feature is an example of Amex's "unique closed-loop network" that combines the business travel operation, which now is a joint venture no longer wholly owned by American Express Company, and the company's corporate card, according to Amex GBT vice president of new product development Nicolas Buc.
Amex already had developed the means to transmit to expense management systems information from card swipes "in near real time," Buc said, adding that a lot of customers had asked about using it for traveler-location purposes.
When asked if Amex GBT may consider developing similar functionality for clients using competing cards, Buc said, "For the moment we really are focusing on the American Express corporate card."
Amex also announced a new personalized service designed for executives and very frequent travelers. Dubbed First, the service focuses on compiling traveler preference information that is "much richer" than what is contained in a typical traveler profile and provides dedicated "expert" travel counselors chosen by a "thorough" selection process, Buc said.
It includes "personalized trip planning," "continuous monitoring" of the traveler's itinerary and "proactive" care on the road.
For offline bookings, when travelers (or their travel arrangers) contact a First agent, that agent "automatically" would have available all of that traveler's information to help make appropriate choices, Buc said.
For online bookings by First travelers, Amex will, for example, "validate all reservations. ... When we reach out to a hotel to confirm we'll also provide those preferences on the type of room they prefer, the type of water they like, which newspaper, etc.," he explained. "We have a level of detail that allows us to provide a lot more information to the hotel which goes beyond the traditional booking."
First agents also are "empowered to proactively" assist travelers during trip disruptions, Buc said.
The service is available to customers in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. Interested clients can select which of their travelers are afforded First services. Pricing is based either on annual memberships per traveler or a fee applied per passenger name record. "The fees depend on the type of traveler and service level required," Buc said.
Meanwhile, Amex added more information to the Sabre TripCase itinerary management app. Amex first integrated with TripCase last summer and enabled client travelers to link their Amex corporate cards. That connection has meant TripCase users can see within the app any travel-related benefits to which they are entitled by being Amex cardholders. Now, Amex is extending the provision of "trip-relevant and contextual information" with the addition of benefits to which they are entitled by being Amex business travel customers, such as free hotel Wi-Fi or breakfast, for example.
When asked if displayed benefits also can include those negotiated directly by a traveler's organization, Buc said, "We intend to add other types of benefits in the future."