Data point: Flew DEN>JFK... booked main fare on B6 on AA.com (not basic). 24 hours prior got access to EMS and boarding pass showed "AAELITE" as boarding group. I boarded solo as that group and was first to board the plane. 2 free checked bags (one for me, one for companion without AA status). They added Mint bag tags to our bags (although as usual that sort of stuff means nothing as one of our bags came out almost last). Miles posted properly next day to AA account.

Only issue was trying to pick regular seats >24 hours was a true pain. JetBlue app and website kept giving errors and AA site pushed me there. I eventually was able to get either the web or the app (forget which) to give us a seat. The check in on the app worked fine allowing us to upgrade to EMS seats.