Originally Posted by
mvoight
If possible, it is best to book upgrades that are showing available when you book them. Other than that, there is no guarantee there will ever be availability on your flight, and yes, AA often has flights leave with FC seats empty and mileage or BE upgrades either not being made available by AA RM, or airport agents not bothering to process them.
Yes to this.
If you have ExpertFlyer, check the availability there if you want. Otherwise I think you have to call in and see. The only benefit to the calling in part is that if it's there, you can book it right away. I had several times where ExpertFlyer showed availability and then 30 minutes later it went from C7 to C0 (not their fault, obviously AA change it for some reason).