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aXcentis clients can now enjoy complimentary passes to participating Plaza Premium Lounges as well as access to newly enhanced email reporting solution

MARKHAM, ON, Oct. 28 /CNW/ - American Express Business Travel announced today a new benefit of aXcentis. Recently launched in February 2010, aXcentis caters to the needs of small and mid-sized companies, and now clients can enjoy complimentary passes to access Plaza Premium Lounges in Toronto and Vancouver airports, courtesy of their aXcentis program. Additionally, Plaza Premium Lounge memberships are available for clients to purchase at deep discounts and offer access to Plaza Premium's growing global lounge network, which presently includes Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Oman.

Offering a comprehensive travel management program, aXcentis addresses the needs of small and midsized companies who previously may not have had access to travel management programs.  The program offers access to tools, services, and local travel counselors that provide customized advice and cost management solutions tailored to meet a company's specific needs.

"We're certainly seeing more businesses invest in travel once again, albeit in a much more efficient way" said Lyell Farquharson, Vice President and General Manager, Business Travel Canada, American Express. "This cost-efficient state of mind has established a 'new normal' in our industry, where companies are demanding greater control over their travel expenses. Programs like aXcentis offer the management tools and services these companies need, while making the travel experience more enjoyable."

Another enhancement to the aXcentis program is the new Portfolio Email Dashboard Reporting solution. These reports provide key metrics that program managers need frequently, such as traveler use of preferred suppliers, spending patterns and policy compliance.  Portfolio email reporting enables companies to have better control over which suppliers employees are booking with and allows clients to monitor high level spending trends by region and review critical policy metrics, such as investigating trends and identifying if there are possible savings from an increase in policy compliance.

"Companies of all sizes need more sophisticated and intuitive reporting solutions to track their business travel spend, particularly for companies who may not have a dedicated internal team," Farquharson continued, "aXcentis helps these clients manage and track their travel expenses in a way that is comparable to their corporate counterparts."

In addition to these enhancements, aXcentis provides tools and services that can effectively manage 100 per cent of total travel and expense spending with a focus on:

• Program Strategy - aXcentis applies proprietary methodology to evaluate a company's current travel and expense process, identifies areas of improvement and matches a comprehensive, business goal-driven program with clearly defined measurements for return on travel investment.
• Cash Flow Management/Spend Recycling - aXcentis employs a system to manage spend on unused travel so these resources can be applied to future trips, which can free up cash to invest in other business areas.
• Insight and Benchmarking - aXcentis leverages our global data warehouse to  deliver business intelligence that informs sourcing and spend efforts and provides the for basis benchmarking and performance measurement.

Ongoing program management is handled through a local and dedicated aXcentis client management team that will work with companies to optimize their program and provide counsel to help them realize the greatest return on travel spending. Clients also have access to experienced travel counselors who understand the needs of companies and are available 24 hours a day.

About American Express Business Travel

American Express Business Travel (www.americanexpress.com/businesstravel), a division of American Express Company, is committed to helping its clients maximize the greatest return on their travel investment through increased cost savings, world-class customer service and greater spending control. Ranging from small businesses to multinational corporations, American Express Business Travel provides a combination of industry-leading technology, travel management consulting, strategic sourcing and supplier negotiation support, alongside global customer service available online and offline. The Company also provides a dynamic online community (www.BusinessTravelConneXion.com) harnessing the collective intelligence of those in the business travel industry offering a variety of perspectives, best practices, current research and industry news.

American Express operates one of the world's largest travel agency networks with locations in over 140 countries worldwide.

American Express Company (www.americanexpress.com) is a leading global payments, network and travel company founded in 1850.

About American Express in Canada

American Express in Canada operates as Amex Bank of Canada and Amex Canada Inc. Both are wholly owned subsidiaries of the New York based American Express Travel Related Services Company Inc., the largest operating unit of the American Express Company. Amex Bank of Canada is the issuer of American Express Cards in Canada. Amex Canada Inc. operates the Corporate Travel, Travel Services Network and Travellers Cheque divisions in Canada. American Express opened its first offices in Toronto and Hamilton in 1853 and now employs 3,700 Canadians coast-to-coast.

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