tol

Hi All. I'm a newbie here. My question is how often do Gold/Platinum/ExPlatinums get complimentary upgrades both in domestic and international flights.

I.E. Supposing I'm EXP and I fly LAX to LON on AA 10 times per year, buying a coach ticket each time, how many times will I get a Business class upgrade?

And the same for PLT and GLD.

In other words, how usefull is a high rating?

Thanx,
TOL

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MODERATOR'S NOTE

Member nbevan has suggested some strategies for increasing your odds of international op-ups HERE.

Member Danash has suggested a strategy for op-ups on 757 DUB-ORD flights during the rainy season HERE.

dstan
AA Forum Co-Moderator

gemac

LAX-LON? Pretty near never. A complementary upgrade on an international route only happens when AA oversells coach and has empty seats in Business Class, so they need to move people from coach to business. Elites get priority for this, and the eliter the better, but like I said, doesn't happen often, and is definitely not something to be counted on.

The news on domestic flights is better. EXP get unlimited complementary upgrades on a space available. Platinum and Gold earn 4 500-mile upgrades for every 10,000 miles flown, used on an elective basis by the Plat or Gold on a space available basis. Plat and Gold can buy more 500-mile upgrades for $30 each. Space available depends on the route. Longer routes with lots of elites, like LAX-NYC, are very hard for Gold or Plat to get upgrades on. Shorter routes, or ones with fewer elites, are pretty easy.

olimaspecto

Op-ups happen relatively rarely on a route like LAX-LHR I would say. Being EXP of course does help but it's not something you should expect.

swag

I've been Plat almost a year now, and have probably 7 or so years of Gold in my past. Most of that domestic, in and out of the DFW hub. I've never gotten an Operational Upgrade on AA.

You do get sticker (500 mile) upgrades domestically, enough to upgrade 1 out of every 5-7 flights, depending on distance and rounding.

EXPflyer1

I'm a FT newbie too but a long time EXP.

Just FYI, complimentary upgrades are cleared by status. The upgrade window for EXP 'opens' 100 hours before the flight - so if a seat is available you'll get confirmed then. For PLT it's 72 hours before and GLD it's 24 hours. So, you can see how tough it is for a GLD to get an upgrade on a popular flight. For domestic flights I get upgraded a good majority of the time. Certain routes are tougher but I'd put my personal percentage around 75% -80% of the time.

To further address your question, reaching elite status is very valuable for many reasons. For example, gaining elite staus will earn you additional perks such as a 100 percent mileage bonus! (PLT and EXP - Gold is 25%) Also, EXP's get system wide upgrades (eVIP's) that can be used to upgrade from any fare - often worth thousands of dollars each time! (Which could potentially get you upgraded on 4 round trip LAX-LHR flights!) Fees for award tickets are waived for EXP members and the service on the EXP service line is excellent IMHO.

If you want to look at all of the benefits just take a look on aa.com. You can follow the link below to the EXP guide.

http://www.aa.com/content/images/AAd...tinumGuide.pdf

Lastly, there are sometimes pleasant surprises as EXP. Twice on flights from Europe that I booked in discounted coach and upgraded to business I've been further upgraded to First when I got to the gate! You certainly can't count on that but it sure is nice when it happens!

BLI-Flyer

I've been an AAdvantage member since 1982 and I've received one domestic op-up (non-sticker upgrade) in 24 years, from SAT-DFW (woo hoo!)

CloudCoder

AA has the most generous upgrade program in the industry. For one thing their aircraft have more FC seats than most others (16 in the MD-80 comparied to as few as 6 at other airlines). So while AA's upgrade program may not be ideal, it's far better than other airlines.

brp

I guess I've been on the lucky end of things. A few years back, when I was PLT, I got, in the same year, op-ups from CDG, LHR and LHR again coming back to the US. All coach to Business. I just asked if they were upgrading, and they did. Last year, got an op-up on an award ticket MIA-GRU. It does happen, but definitely should not be counted upon.

Cheers.

RayinMaui

I also guess one could say that if you make Executive Platinum you will get 8 system wide upgrades.

I've been in AAdvantage since May of '81 and about four years ago my wife and I (both EXP) were upgraded on a packed flight LHR - ORD from Business to 1st!

But that's my only one!

erenner

Full fare tickets get Gold and Plat complimentary upgrades if available at the times set forth above. This happened once for me only!!! [usually not full fare econs ]

oklAAhoma

My experience has been similar to yours.

I used to receive international op-ups fairly often as A PLT. One time (DFW-FRA) my entire family was moved from coach to business. My husband and I were on paid tickets and our 2 daughters had award tickets. It was great. A few other times (DFW-FRA and DFW-ZRH) my mother was bumped up to J with me. Also great. And I scored at least one NRT-DFW, one BRU-DFW, and one ZRH-DFW while traveling alone.

Most recently (just last summer) as an EXP traveling with an EXP but with only one remaining eVIP between us, my husband and I were both upgraded LHR-DFW.

Op-ups are always a lovely surprise, but should never be expected.

jab

Got an OpUp from ORD-CDG and back with the Mrs. I was Plat at the time and it was during spring break.

Fly AA J all the way

A warm welcome to FT to the OP, duh.

WhoME

Welcome to FT! As a PLT, I've received two domestic op-ups in about two years. Both times (SEA-BOS and OAK-DFW) were on weekend afternoons when business travel was very light. Fortunately for me, both times I was traveling with my wife who was op-upped as well. It helps justify the MRs and last-minute vacations... Both times, however, one set of stickers was initially deducted from my account (i.e. enough for my upgrade but not for both mine and my wife's). Both times, a quick email to customer service restored the missing stickers, but it would have been easy to overlook.

Michael

fly747first

6 on others? Care to provide specific examples?