john doe iii

I'm sorry if this has been asked or answered in a previous post, I was unable to confirm during my search.

I'm in the process of booking a flight from LAX-HNL in Y. The flight is on AA and was wondering if i can use my DM to upgrade to F?

Also, do they offer US PP the opportunity to do sticker upgrades on this route?

Thanks.

heyeaglefn

No, you can't upgrade with miles like that. The day you check in, you may get a pop up asking if you want to upgrade to F.

You will be charged the $30 per 500 mile cost for the flight if you accept.

john doe iii

The flight will be in late April. I wonder if the "merger" will complete by then. I'd love to do the 15000 miles + copay option that AA offers their elites.

JDiver

The only thing that may be accomplished by late April, AFAIK, is the FFP merger, but it was announced as the second quarter, so that might be May or June. That doesn't mean the upgrade policies, etc. will necessarily be aligned, AFAIK.

You can't count on it, but it's a nice thought.

Biggie Fries

Okay, I have a similar issue that I just can't get my head around ...

I am also booking LAX-HNL, as part of PHL-LAX-HNL, for 3Q 2015. PHL-LAX is US metal. LAX-HNL is AA metal. I, too, would like to upgrade on LAX-HNL leg. I am CP. I figure I have a fair chance of drawing upgrade day of flight. Spouse is US Gold. Is there nothing that can be done to get her an upgrade before day of flight? And, on day of flight, what gives with stickers? Who'll have stickers then? Finally, does my AA (LAX-HNL) life get better if we book via AA rather than US? Because, if I understand correctly, booking through AA will lose our upgrade potential on the US legs (PHL-LAX).

aztimm

So long as the FFP's are merged by then (which they should be), why wouldn't you just use SWU's for both you and your traveling partner?

Biggie Fries

Because I'm cheap? Er, uh ... optimization! I have -- at least in my mind -- been coveting the SWUs for travel to Europe. I had a pretty good experience last year as US CP getting day-of upgrades on AA to/from HNL, including HNL-DFW. It's the one aspect of the merger that I have profited from! The SWUs (I hope) will be the other.

Anyhow, under the circumstances, I'm not so worried about the PHL-LAX legs, on US. When we go to HNL through PHX all the way on US, we usually take our (Preferred upgrade) chances PHL-PHX. Then we'd use miles for the PHX-HNL upgrade. Thanks to AA and the merger, on LAX-HNL I (as a CP) may be able to get the upgrade for free. It is the status of my spouse, who will require some usage I can't quite get my head around -- miles? (we have plenty) ; stickers? (when do those things show up?) -- that has me flummoxed.

kelcells

Exact opposite scenario played out for me last night. I booked a ticket through AA travelling in March on US metal from CLT-CUN in Y and called AA about upgrading (for 8,000 miles I believe). I was told this could only be done day of departure and was lead to believe I could use miles for the upgrade then. Is this actually possible? If so, is it a situation where I can call at T-24 or do I need to wait till checkin?

sosfo

As a DM gold flying AA metal LAX -HNL in December, I was only able to upgrade within 24 hours of the departure of that flight (not 24h from the start of my itinerary). I didn't have "stickers" so the system asked me to pay the equivalent ($30/500 @ 2300ish miles=$150). Don't know if that helps, but it was my experience.

PHL

What the agent told you is not correct, unless you perhaps have a balance of AA miles. You cannot use US miles to upgrade your AA flight. At online check-in, 24 hours prior to flight, you can see if the system offers you an upgrade for $30 per 500 miles (per ticket). If it doesn't you can call and double check. Beyond that, you can ask at gate.