Originally Posted by
milesforhire
Thank you for the clear answer! Are the same things possible for an international flight? Award flights?
International flight - no. Domestic award flight - yes (same rules apply as above I'm pretty sure - has been awhile since I same-day-standbyed on a domestic award but I'm fairly positive I've done it before).
Beware of agents that complicate the process, especially if you're checking bags. A competent agent will be able to check your bags on the earlier flight(s), but I've had multiple agents refuse to check my bags on an earlier connection for whatever reason. One agent told me "the flight is oversold by 10 so you're not going to make it" - well I show up at the gate and guess who gets the last seat - me. Then again I've also had agents that confirmed me on earlier flights for free and took care of everything. Also, being able to standby for free can help you violate MCT if your inbound is early - it's hard to believe AA could be early but it does happen!