Originally Posted by C17PSGR

I occasionally have this issue with government tickets bought through the DTS system (CWT is the provider for me). CWT will hold the ticket when travel is approved which could be weeks in advance. They won't purchase the ticket, however, until 90-96 hours before travel. There is a risk that my upgrade clears in that window and, when it does, it causes problems. I'm always in the quandary of whether to request the upgrade upfront so I have better priority or to wait to avoid complications.

This is never a problem for tickets purchased through AA.com. But some of us don't always have that option.