It’s not that AA couldn’t. It’s that they wouldn’t. As a 1MM who failed to re-qualify for PLT under the new terms, I have found that there is never upgrade or award availability for us even if the cabin is completely empty at the time of booking. Award travel is offered at ridiculous routings (especially on the BE portal) and stickers are virtually useless. In fact, I have found better availability for AA business class awards redeeming AS than I do using AA. It’s a problem that I don’t foresee will ever be rectified. Even UA has better availability. AA wants big spenders, but they don’t offer as good of a product as their competitors. They also continue to turn the screws on economy passengers; often pricing themselves out of markets because of the ridiculous rollout of BE. I don’t see how anyone remains loyal to them going forward. I know I’ll be giving Alaska at least 75k BIS this year (even with the so-so rollout of their Saver Fares).