christep - that is the strategy I've employed for almost all the owe's I've done. However, of late this is getting more and more difficult with AA. I've talked elsewhere about the lack of responsiveness of the EXP and RTW desks with respect to waitlisting. I've found the best way is to have the ticket taken care of by one of the other carriers (in my case QF). Latest example - I wanted to change an AA flight (same day, just a different time). Called the EXP desk - no can do, told me to call the RTW desk in the morning. Called QF immediately after - no problems at all, flight changed in a few keystrokes. It's quite a joke that my airline of choice can't help me with a booking yet Qantas (rapidly becoming my new airline of choice) can.