Originally Posted by
mipaho
If they search for the leg as an individual segment, they can find it. Interestingly, they can also use it as part of a trip where the 2nd leg is on Alaska Airlines (once again, between my original cities. When they try to swap out the leg for the economy leg in my original reservation, they can only see the option at a higher level (45k level), which isn't even a level that exists on that day. AAnytime awards for both economy and first are higher than 45k on that day, as it's a high travel one.
What if you try calling online customer service instead of the EXP desk? I have actually had much more luck with them when it comes to complicated issues. The other thing I would try is to ask for a supervisor immediately. To me, there shouldn’t be an issue with upgrading that segment, since you booked a U award with a voluntary downgrade.