arollins

I remember you, PHL-LAS flyer, with the GF in LAS. Yes standby is available for you. They may confirm you as you check in, but that depends on the load factor, chances are you will not be the only person trying to get in early.

Beware on taking connecting flights, they do not always work and you might be stuck at another airport, it's best to take connections only if guarantee at the beggining. Seats may not be guaranteed either, as others with confirmed tickets but no seat assignment will be attended first, also by T24 is when most upgrades occurs & non upgraded flyers tend to start swaping their seats with those that become open, don't be surprised if you get stuck in a middle non-reclining seat. Check baggage may or may not work against you, that seems to be mostly agent dependent. One thing to remember is that I don't think you can swap US for AA metal flights yet. Lastly, the higher in elite status, the better the chances, so be prepare to wait it out a bit.

swag

Since this is US metal, US rules apply.

This means Move Up. The bad news is that you're limited to flights with the same number of stops, i.e., only nonstops. And you're also limited to flights departing within 6 hours earlier than your original (though sometimes the agents will let you do a double move-up to bypass that rule). And this can only be done at the airport.

But the good news is that Move Up is free for all elites. And if there's an available seat, you can immediately confirm the change at the ticket counter, and check your bag. And choose the best available seat. If the desired flight is full, then you can standby at the gate, also free, not sure about the checked bag rules.

redtop43

Does MoveUp apply to lowly US Silvers? I thought it was Gold and higher. I also thought that with the FF programs integrated, the rules were the same now except for UG's.

Just going to go to the airport and try to beg my way on.

SJC AA

There is no such thing as a US Silver anymore. There are only AAdvantage elites now, and Gold is the lowest tier.

swag

Yes, pre-merger, Silvers qualified for free Move-up, and currently, 25K-level elites (newAA GLD) still do. This will all be moot in a few months, of course.

Let us know how it goes. Good luck.

PitHokie

Interesting to find this thread when I'm flying tomorrow VPS-CLT-PIT on US metal and essentially looking to do the same thing.

One question though. How would the double move-up work? If I'm not going to be able to move up until 6 hours before my flight anyway, and in my case there is an available flight tucked right in that window, isn't it moot?

Or is it that the agent could move me any time tomorrow (day of travel), but only DO a move that results in me getting on an earlier flight with the same itinerary within a 6-hour window, thus being able to move me twice?

I'm trying to see if there's any point in me arriving any earlier than 6-hours-and-change before my scheduled flight for MoveUp purposes.

One more thing. In a double MoveUp scenario, do I need to pay twice?

swag

The 6 hour rule is based on flight times, not based on when you are doing the change. If flights are at 10 pm, 5 pm , and noon, and you show up at the airport at 9 am, booked for the 10 pm, they can move you up to the 5 pm then. And once you are confirmed on the 5 pm, they can move you up to the noon. Anecdotally, some agents will do both for you, some will only move you once, and the you need to head to the gate to try for the 2nd move.

And as an elite, your move ups are free, so 2x zero is still zero.

PitHokie

Awesome! Then I'm headed to VPS first thing in the morning - thanks!

I hadn't updated my profile in forever... no longer an elite, although my boarding passes for this trip have been showing AA Platinum for some reason this trip!

PitHokie

Ended up getting switched by the TA at VPS to the 7:50 am out of there and landed in PIT at 12:54 pm, almost 11 hours before my originally-scheduled time.

Thanks for the tips!

redtop43

Thought I'd report on my experience.

Arrived at airport around noon as there were some connections leaving at 1:45, as well as nonstops at 3:35, 5:55, and the one I was ticketed on at 8:25. Ticketing agent told me he could put me on the 3:35 but there were only middle seats. I told him I was very fussy about my seats and would rather stay on the 8:25. I checked my bag and went upstairs and then saw a seat map showing an exit row available. Went to customer service and they said they couldn't switch me because I had checked a bag, even though it was 2 1/2 hours until the flight.

In the end, they put my bag on the 5:55 anyway! It was waiting at baggage claim when I got to Vegas.

Sidebar, not really relevant to this thread, but I was doing searches on Orbitz for a trip on this route in October, and the flexible dates matrix display bore only a passing resemblance to actual fares available (my search was limited to US).

AA-Flyer-SAN

OK I have most of this MOVE UP policy understood (though I can't wait until it switches to the AA confirmed same day change), but, can anyone confirm if I can still get added to the gate list for the upgrade? I have already been upgraded for a flight on Friday. Thanks for advice....

Mykle

Once you are confirmed on the flight in economy, you can then be upgraded (or added to the standby list) for First.

Carl

Typically if I MoveUp, an F upgrade is confirmed if available at that time. I can usually tell whether this will happen and choose flights accordingly if it makes a difference. If it's not confirmed at the counter, you would automatically be on the upgrade list.

AA-Flyer-SAN

Thanks for the quick responses! Despite no AC power the F service on US is far superior!

GoPhils

Except free confirmed same day changes are only available to you EXP's :-) ... I guess I will have to see how much worse getting standby is than MoveUp

MoveUp was a great benefit IMO that was available to all US elites. And in relation to your question, as a lowly US Silver/AA Gold I often had better success getting upgrades when moving up than when sticking with my regular itinerary.