Originally Posted by
goldmarch
Sorry if this is an obvious question.
Is it ever possible to get a guaranteed upgrade (at the time of ticket purchase) with miles on AA? I know that I have done it several times on UA. Last time I tried this with AA I was told to buy an upgradable fare and put in a request to be upgraded. Without status, I assumed that it would not come though.
On AA, most fares are upgradable so at least you don't have to make too much of a gamble by buying an expensive fare in order to wait list.
Having said that, it is quite challenging to find upgrade inventory on long-haul flights these days. An ExpertFlyer subscription can help, but I wouldn't be overly optimistic about trying to do this since on many of the more interesting routes, it seems like no inventory becomes available until the day of departure and, as you note, AA elites will have priority at that point.