View Upgrades
Jan 29, 2015, 4:42 pm
#1
Used to be garyjr316
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: LAX or SBA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, Gold Passport, Hilton HHonors, Marriott
Posts: 800
View Upgrades Availability
Hi all... I'm looking to book my wife and myself on a flight LAX-MIA with the end destination being EYW in March. With my work schedule my options are somewhat limited. I prefer to have a direct flight from LAX-MIA and vice versa but I am not having much luck finding any sAAver availability. Is there any sites/ways to view which flights are upgradeable from a revenue ticket via miles? Or do I just need to come up with a list of flights and call the AA desk to ask?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Last edited by Dad to GO; Jan 29, 2015 at 5:47 pm
Jan 29, 2015, 5:37 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: SJC/VCE
Programs: AA PLT (2.9+ MM), HH GLD, Hyatt Diamond, SPG PLT
Posts: 10,161
Expertflyer.com will show you this information. Its a subscription service - but has a free trial period (5 days I think). If it is a two class of service plane, you'll need to find "A" availability and for a three class plane, you'll be looking for "C" availability.
Also, when you upgrade on AA you will do so with "miles" not points.
Also, when you upgrade on AA you will do so with "miles" not points.
Jan 29, 2015, 5:46 pm
#3
Used to be garyjr316
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: LAX or SBA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, Gold Passport, Hilton HHonors, Marriott
Posts: 800
Expertflyer.com will show you this information. Its a subscription service - but has a free trial period (5 days I think). If it is a two class of service plane, you'll need to find "A" availability and for a three class plane, you'll be looking for "C" availability.
Also, when you upgrade on AA you will do so with "miles" not points.
Also, when you upgrade on AA you will do so with "miles" not points.
Jan 29, 2015, 6:06 pm
#4
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: LAX
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold but PlatPro thanks to LPs
Posts: 4,439
ExpertFlyer is well worth the monthly fee. You can see exactly the fare buckets available on a given flight. Once you know a given flight has the upgrades you want, buy a Coach ticket, put it on "hold", then phone immediately to get the upgrade and purchase the ticket.
Jan 29, 2015, 6:19 pm
#5
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,342
ExpertFlyer is well worth the monthly fee. You can see exactly the fare buckets available on a given flight. Once you know a given flight has the upgrades you want, buy a Coach ticket, put it on "hold", then phone immediately to get the upgrade and purchase the ticket.
Jan 29, 2015, 6:35 pm
#6
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SFO, SJC
Programs: AA - EXP 2MM+, Marriott PLT, UA, National Exec
Posts: 495
Expertflyer.com will show you this information. Its a subscription service - but has a free trial period (5 days I think). If it is a two class of service plane, you'll need to find "A" availability and for a three class plane, you'll be looking for "C" availability.
Also, when you upgrade on AA you will do so with "miles" not points.
Also, when you upgrade on AA you will do so with "miles" not points.
Cheers.
Jan 30, 2015, 5:24 pm
#7
Used to be garyjr316
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: LAX or SBA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, Gold Passport, Hilton HHonors, Marriott
Posts: 800
View Upgrades
When I'm using expert flyer. And I see a 777 with availability in (A) but not in (C) am I able to upgrade from a coach seat with mikes or does there need to be (C) availability since its 3 classes.
Jan 30, 2015, 5:26 pm
#8
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,342
For three class aircraft, "A" inventory is for business>first upgrades. You cannot double upgrade. You need C to upgrade from coach to business.
Jan 30, 2015, 5:29 pm
#9
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: AA PLT 3MM
Posts: 1,135
No - you need C inventory for a Y->J upgrade and A for J->F. These days, it is quite normal for A class to be available well in advance, but for C to not be released until a few days before the flight.
Jan 30, 2015, 7:13 pm
#10
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 71
Also, for DCA-DFW-HNL, is the DFW-HNL segment a two-class aircraft so I would need to look for availability in "A" to upgrade from lowest fare economy to First using 15,000 miles plus co-pay each way? And if DCA-DFW uses three classes then there needs to be C availability?
Thanks.
Jan 30, 2015, 7:24 pm
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP / LT PLT / 3MM, Marriott LT Gold
Posts: 35,388
You're welcome!
Jan 30, 2015, 7:53 pm
#12
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 71
Thanks for your response!
Jan 30, 2015, 8:58 pm
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Programs: OWEmerald; STARGold; BonvoyPlat; IHGPlat/Amb; HiltonGold; A|ClubPat; AirMilesPlat
Posts: 38,186
When i do a revenue booking and am signed in, all the flight options displayed will also have a small notation "Upgrade Available" under each flight with upgrade space at the time of booking. Not sure if this is just because I'm an ExecPlat, but this should show for anyone since miles could be applied by a non-ExecPlat instead of SWUs.
Jan 30, 2015, 9:36 pm
#14
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,342
When i do a revenue booking and am signed in, all the flight options displayed will also have a small notation "Upgrade Available" under each flight with upgrade space at the time of booking. Not sure if this is just because I'm an ExecPlat, but this should show for anyone since miles could be applied by a non-ExecPlat instead of SWUs.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html
Jan 31, 2015, 3:00 pm
#15
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 799
Annoyingly, it does not display upgrade options if you ran out of SWU. I considered changing flights to get a better schedule (or switch from 772 to 77W) but could not see availability on AA. EF was essential.