OWdevotee

Thanks, Gruss. It is a little odd.

So, is 'P'(latinum) the correct designation for an AA ExecPlat, do you know? I'm wondering if it's incorrect, which might (or might not!) explain why I've been unable to select 1st class seats upon check-in, even when they're available.

I'll report back next week if Mrs. earns the elite bonus miles on her next flight, although I suspect she won't. It's a codeshare - US ticket, AA metal. AA.com reflects her lack of status when she goes to pick seats. (The reservation I was referring to my in my original post is a business class award for next year, so all seats are available to her anyway, at no charge.)

EDITED TO ADD - I just tried to make a dummy reservation on usairways.com using her AAdvantage number and it did indeed offer her the Preferred seats at no charge.