We have done both emailing and calling many times. As we do not live in the US anymore, we can't simply head to an AAdvantage desk or whatever is at the airport these days.
When calling they insist on explaining that the upgraded ticket which is a Z-fare is not eligible for mileage and refuse to resubmit the request; they keeping trying to explain to me on CX the eligible fares are different, etc...
I finally did what I dislike doing and I pulled a DYKWIA that I had status on CX to know the fare class differences to get an agent to even consider resubmitting the request again with the original booking ticket and the boarding pass even though they don't match in classes. Hopefully this time around we will finally get the mileage without more trouble. It just seems like a hassle.
My girlfriend only has basic Gold status, so maybe the agents are not as experienced?
Be honest, I think this is as much a CX issue as well, since I had my own issues getting credit for my upgraded flight. But at least when I submitted the request the MPO desk at HKG, the [CX] agent who helped me listened that it was an upgrade so she looked up the original ticket and credited my account immediately based on that info.