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• How can I upgrade on AA? Can I upgrade on its partners?

There are several different ways to upgrade on AA, including Upgrade Awards (miles + copay), 500-mile electronic upgrades (stickers / EXP), systemwide upgrade certificates (SWU / eVIP), and load factor-based upgrades purchased at the airport (LFBU). Award tickets are not upgradeable, except by LFBU if available. Upgrades are valid on flights marketed and operated by AA, as well as its oneworld and marketing partners BA and IB (under specified conditions).

Wiki: Upgrades | Inventory Classes
AA.com: The Who, What, When, and How of Upgrading
AA.com: AAvantage Participating Airlines Upgrade Awards
FT: Upgrade with AAdvantage Miles on BA / British Airways or IB / Iberia (consolidated) (2014)

Upgrade Awards (miles + copay)
These can be requested by any AAdvantage member for AA flights (no codeshares) at the time of booking and may clear at any time once appropriate upgrade inventory becomes available. Requests cannot be made online and must be made by phone with an AA Reservations agent. As of October 6, 2009, all published fares (including previously excluded I, O, and Q overseas) are eligible for upgrade. Additional expedite / close-in fees apply within 21 days of travel, although AA elites using miles from their own accounts are exempt. Up to three segments one-way can be upgraded using a single award, and the full miles and copay will be charged if any of the segments clear. Upgrade awards are not valid on partner airlines or on AA codeshare flights operated by another airline. AAdvantage members may use their miles to upgrade other passengers and do not need to be traveling with them.

Passengers can determine which flights have upgrade inventory available prior to booking in order to choose flights that can be cleared immediately after the status changes from ‘Purchased’ to ‘Ticketed’. This inventory cannot be viewed on AA.com, but availability can be determined by calling AA Reservations (+1 800-433-7300) to inquire. Upgrades to First Class book into A inventory, which can also be viewed online with any public inventory tool, such as the KVS Availability Tool, a subscription service. Upgrades to Business Class book into C inventory, which is not publicly available but can be viewed online using ExpertFlyer, a subscription service that also offers a free 5-day trial. A tax differential charge will apply when upgrading a flight originating in France or any segment of an itinerary originating in the U.K.

Wiki: Upgrades: Upgrade Awards
AA.com: Upgrade Awards | AA Upgrade Award Chart | BA/IB Upgrade Award Chart
FT: AA now allows I, O and Q Upgrade Awards (with some higher co-pays) (Oct 2009)

500-mile Electronic Upgrades (stickers / EXP)
These can be requested by elites and full-fare passengers on AA flights within North America, the Caribbean, and Central America at the time of booking. These upgrades are only valid from Economy to the next class of service and cannot be used to upgrade from Business to First on 3-class flights. Requests can be made via the online reservation page, or by phone with an AA agent. Sticker/EXP upgrades may clear at any time between the beginning of the appropriate elite upgrade window prior to departure (EXP 100 hrs, PLT 72 hrs, GLD 24 hrs, non-status 24 hrs) and the departure of the aircraft (‘battlefield upgrade’). Upgrades for EXP, as well as other elites traveling on full-fare economy tickets, are free. In all other cases, upgrades require an appropriate number of 500-mile electronic upgrades (also called stickers). All fares are eligible for 500-mile electronic upgrades by elites, while non-elites must be booked in Y or B to use 500-mile electronic upgrades when traveling alone. Elites can request an upgrade for one companion traveling on the same flight (not necessarily the same itinerary or reservation), and the companion will carry the same upgrade priority as the elite, unless the upgrade requests are split. As of Jul 2009, if both passengers are elites, 500-mile electronic upgrades will be debited separately from each member’s account. (Previously, the default was to debit the upgrades from the requestor’s account, which could be overridden at the airport by asking an agent to remove the ADC code on the Passenger Item List after the upgrade had cleared.)

Upgrades to First Class book into X inventory and upgrades to Business Class book into R inventory, which are not publicly available but can be monitored within 24 hours of departure time by using ExpertFlyer, a subscription service that also offers a free 5-day trial.

Note that schedule changes resulting in a flight number change will result in upgrade requests being dropped. The upgrade requests can be restored to the original date/time by calling AA Reservations.

Wiki: Upgrades: EXP and 500-Mile Electronic Upgrades
AA.com: 500-mile Electronic and Complimentary Elite Upgrades
FT: 500-Mile electronic upgrade / sticker protocols (2009, consolidated)
FT: 500-Mile electronic upgrades / stickers pulled separately for elites traveling together (as of late 2009)
FT: Companion upgrades - Linking and splitting of elite status and PNRs (consolidated)
FT: Use of 500-mile electronic upgrades / stickers by non-elites (consolidated)
FT: Requesting prorated stickers after the end of February (consolidated)
FT: How to deduct stickers from separate accounts (removing the ADC code) (historical interest only)

Systemwide Upgrades (SWU / eVIP)
EXP members receive 8 systemwide upgrades upon (re)qualifying for status each year and AAdvantage members reaching increments of ≥2 million miles also receive 4 systemwide upgrades. Systemwide upgrades are valid through the end of the following membership year (last day of Feb) and travel must be completed by that date. Systemwide upgrades can be requested for AA flights (no codeshares) at the time of booking and may clear at any time once appropriate upgrade inventory becomes available. Requests cannot be made online and must be made by phone with an AA Reservations agent. As of October 6, 2009, all published fares (including previously excluded I, O, and Q overseas) are eligible for upgrade. Up to three segments one-way can be upgraded using a single systemwide upgrade, and the upgrade will be charged if any of the segments clear. Systemwide upgrades are not valid on partner airlines or on AA codeshare flights operated by another airline. EXP members may use their systemwide upgrades to upgrade other passengers and do not need to be traveling with them; the passenger’s own status and time of upgrade request will govern their priority order

Passengers can determine which flights have upgrade inventory available prior to booking in order to choose flights that can be cleared immediately after the status changes from ‘Purchased’ to ‘Ticketed’. EXPs can also accomplish this simultaneously with the assistance of a phone agent and are exempt from phone booking fees. Upgrade inventory cannot be viewed on AA.com, but availability can be determined by calling AA Reservations (+1 800-433-7300) to inquire. Upgrades to First Class book into A inventory, which can also be viewed online with any public inventory tool, such as the KVS Availability Tool, a subscription service. Upgrades to Business Class book into C inventory, which is not publicly available but can be viewed online using ExpertFlyer, a subscription service that also offers a free 5-day trial. A tax differential charge will apply when upgrading a flight originating in France or any segment of an itinerary originating in the U.K.

The priority for granting systemwide upgrades is determined by the passenger’s status, then by time of upgrade request, assuming A or C inventory is available. Upgrade requests are dropped when the airport takes control of a flight and must be requested again at the airport. In this instance, upgrade priority depends on the passenger’s status and the time of checkin. N.B.: Contrary to what some have described at a few overseas stations, members with miles and co-pay upgrades do not officially have priority over systemwide upgrades.

Wiki: Upgrades: Systemwide Upgrades
AA.com: Systemwide Upgrades
FT: What's a Systemwide Upgrade SWU VIP eVIP SWUs, questions, issues (2012 consolidated)
FT: AA now allows I, O and Q upgrade awards (some higher co-pays coming) (Oct 2009)
FT: How quickly do SWU / eVIP upgrades post?
FT: SWU / eVIP balance now available online (Jan 29, 2009)

Purchased Upgrades (LFBU)
These upgrades may be available for purchase at the airport if all elite and award upgrades have already been accommodated. Domestic upgrades are priced at $45 per 500-mile block and are offered at self-service kiosks only. International upgrades are priced at a flat rate of $500–1000 and may be offered at self-service kiosks or at some international ticket counters. All passengers and fares, including award tickets, are eligible.

Wiki: Upgrades: Load Factor Based Upgrades
AA.com: Confirmed Upgrades (LFBU)
FT: LFBU: Non-elite, space-available / kiosk upgrades (consolidated)

Operational Upgrades (op-up)
Operational upgrades (op-ups) are very rare, but may occur on oversold flights, particularly on international routes. Gate agents are not obligated to give priority for operational upgrades to elites or high-fare passengers, as their primary responsibility is on-time departure, but they may do so as a component of good customer service.

Wiki: Upgrades: Operational Upgrades
FT: Complimentary / operational upgrades - all about and "I got one" (consolidated)