mvoight

Or the musical chairs tie breaker.
All of the upgraders race to the empty FC seats.................. In case of a tie, the airport police can decide who has to leave the cabin.

cova

Your account EQD only shows for flown flights once posted. You could still have flown a flight and it is not yet posted and that won't count.

Obviously, people might go out and buy expensive, refundable tickets to up EQD if based on purchase.

j1194

Am I the only one asking the burning question?

Are EP/CK going to start earning 500 mile upgrades?

If not we will just burn the ones in our accounts (albeit I have a decent number) and then this is no benefit whatsoever if we remain EP/CK continuously !?

Short term benefit unless we get to start earning 500 mile upgrades again as Gold/Plat do.

JonNYC

Yes, you are No, they will not.

MrJBoy

I booked AA domestic coach award flights at BA.com using Avios.
I already added my AAdvantage number to the reservation, so now I can see it in my account at AA.com, and I was able to pick better seats.

I am not sure if this ticket is still eligible for award ticket to upgrade since I booked it via BA.com...

rasheed

I'm glad you asked. I was stating that I feel the on most flights (excluding flights where there are lots of paid Business and long EXP lists), the cutoff for the last upgrades would be some point in the Plat or Gold part of the list. Before this new method, it would be always the earliest buyers/requestors to win. Now, a buyer with high EQDs will beat every other Plat and/or Gold based on their level. Also, there will be a few higher status award tickets that will take away a few seats. My general presumption is on many flights, you can reorder the revenue CK or EXP or Plat Pro, but they got upgrades before and will be upgraded after the change.

I want to add my genuine appreciation to AA for the level of detail on this change. We knew it was coming and there was enough complexity to get some details. I may not like the change due to my status level and enjoyment to buy early especially when I was an EXP, but there is not a lot of ambiguity in this one.

Rasheed

WiscAZ

Personally, I couldn't be happier that this is now "live". I get why a lot of people don't love this change but for me it works great.

I book a lot of last minute trips and always seem to be #1-3 on the list. I have high EQD but barely make the EQMs each year (I've already far exceeded EQD for EXP re-qualification but am just over half way there on EQMs). I just typically never book further than 4 weeks out unless its international. It will also help a lot on international flights. I used to feel like I had to book as far out as possible to get a better chance at an SWU. Now I'll have a better shot.

JonNYC

Definitely agree.

ESpen36

Nope. EP/CK do not earn stickers, but they can purchase them if desired.

Remember that EP/CK do not burn stickers when they upgrade themselves. They burn stickers only when upgrading companions.

As long as you are the only one upgrading, you should never have to buy stickers.

The above is an issue ONLY if you tend to travel with companions and would like to upgrade them. Otherwise, EP/CK members never need stickers.

G-CIVC

I requalified EP until 2/2019 but have (well, or 99% will) switch away/not credit to AAdvantage anymore. I'll be a $0 rolling EQD EP starting April 2018 It'll be interesting to see how things turn out...well at least I'm still above all PLTs and GLDs!

unitedbusiness

so with the new upgrade priority, would an EXP with a lower rolling EQD outrank a PLTPRO/PLT with a higher rolling EDP tally?

sam2k2002

Yes.

Upgrade Order:

1. Concierge Key
2. Executive Platinum
3. Platinum Pro
4. Platinum
5. Gold

Only within each of these levels do the other factors matter (ex. EQD)

AATrout

Expand on this. Award Upgrades are not the same as Award Tickets. The former often involve a copay for INTL travel. If the copay upgrade continuum for INTL travel is different than domestic - I would appreciate that clarity. I think what you are saying is the last tranche being 500-mile segments = domestic is accurate. But not those preceding it.

rasheed

The answer is if anyone has ever done an e500 equivalent upgrade request on a revenue ticket issued on BA ticket stock for an AA coded/flown domestic flight. I am sure that is a much more common situation than this one. My searching so far hasn't yielded any success. I have heard some of this is only possible at the gate, but no advance automated upgrade due to non-001 ticketing, but that is just anecdotal.

Well I think both your examples are now gone with connecting being gone for some time now. The argument is okay though because early bookers (not always low cost, but I get your point) helped the airline manage demand with earlier upgrade booking as a reward. Also, connecting was/is competing with another carrier that might offer a direct route. I think the first one removal (date booked) required a fare management or EQD strategy which is more recent and perhaps a matured demand management tool which doesn't need to entice early bookers (pricing alone does just fine). The second (connecting) required many more hubs which is true with the larger AA. So, I don't think the methods used were strange, but perhaps not as favorable to high cost ticket buyers versus perhaps high volume, early planners and low ticket cost buyers (which I think there are still many of this type out there).

Rasheed

Time traveller

I don't know if this will make a big difference for a lot of travelers.

This year, I have missed quite a few (greater than 50%) of "sticker upgrades" as an EXP. AA upgrades are becoming like UA upgrades. Unless you are AA CK (or UA GS), don't expect upgrades anymore.

I feel service is down too. On the flights in Y without the upgrades, only once did a FA offer me a complementary snack/beverage. The FAs did their required beverage service and then disappeared to the back until the flight landed.