I am a Platinum Card member and as of January 7th 2009 have 51,271 'Miles towards Elite Upgrades'.
I have searched the forum and unfortunately I am still unclear about what these miles are actually good for.
I know they expire annually each 1st March.
I see that a one way upgrade From / To Europe / US is presently 25,000 miles + $ 350 US, does that mean I have enough miles %51,271 > 50,000 and if I pay $ 700 US I can be upgraded (economy to Business) for the return trip (2 way).
Sticker Upgrades. You get 4 500 Mile Stickers for every 10,000 miles flown. So with 51K in elite miles, you should've received 20 stickers over that time. You can use these stickers for domestic upgrades..
Programs: AAdvantage EXP, AA 1.4MM, Marriott Rewards
Posts: 1,361
I'll give you the short answer. Someone else will no doubt supply the link to the corresponding page at AA.com
As a Gold or Platinum (but not Executive Platinum) you will receive 4 500-mile upgrades (sometimes called "stickers") every time you clock another 10,000 miles between Mar 1 and the last day of Feb. Your 51xxx should have gained you 20 of these 500-mile upgrades.
The 500-mile upgrades are used by requesting an upgrade when you purchase domestic tickets on flights on AA equipment (some fares excluded). You can also request an upgrade for companions. More can be purchased online for $30 each.
As a PLT you'll be lining up behind any EXP's (except the latecomers, much to be said about this). EXP neither earn nor need stickers for themselves, BTW.
Miles toward upgrades is a counter - and every time you cross another 10k threshhold you get four more electronic domestic upgrade credits (or "stickers"). As jakeryan1 mentioned, you should have received five sets of four over the time this past year that you were plat.
That counter has nothing to do with how many redeemable miles you possess. They're shown under a different heading.
Others have answered the question regarding the miles toward elite upgrades.
There is a line called "500 Mile Upgrade Account Balance" in the account summary that will telll you how many upgrades you have. You should have gained at least 5 for the past year.
Regarding you question about upgrading a UK to US flight
The 25K required comes from the mileage that would be listed next to:
"Total Available Award Mileage +"
+ Flights, awards and other eligible transactions processed within the last two weeks may not be reflected
Programs: AA EXP, BA Exec Club, LANPASS, Hilton HHonors
Posts: 581
You can also find the information you need in the Platinum guide you should have received with your card. If you don't have it to hand, you can download a copy here:
No, as mentioned above, these are for domestic (USA) upgrades only.
The stickers can also be used for travel from the US to the Caribbean, Central America, Canada, and Mexico. However, if the OP is located in London with no travel intra US or these areas the stickers would do little good.
Location: the aisle seat - with my feet in the aisle & my laptop under the middle seat
Programs: AA EXP & MM, Priority Club Plat since 1985
Posts: 3,751
You can use miles to get transcontinental upgrades, but as you read, there is also a cash fee as well. These are one way,and you would need to purchase them for each direction. So the answer to your question is, based on availability, yes.
The 500 mile segment question has already been covered.
But why bother when it's much quicker to just post a question on FT and wait to be spoon-fed? 
