Originally Posted by
Erasmus
I believe you, but YMMV. Indeed, I too thought I had succeeded---had the ticket issue confirmation in my grubby little hands (email inbox) and everything....
And then AA called me. Some sharp eye audited the ticket and noticed I had used an AS-issued SWU and put me back in WT+. (I didn't accept that, obviously, and rerouted back to AA metal, but a less convenient routing.)
So, the "rules" are that AS SWUs cannot be used for BA. Whether or not you get an agent to issue and ticket it is one thing, whether the ticket will stay that way until you are able to fly it seems to be another. Why AA has decided this is where they need to spend their resources right now is beyond me.
Before we make claims on rules, let's look at this objectively so everyone understands what the "new" rules are that just recently came into effect.
Firstly, was your reaccommodation to BA metal prior to September 12th? If so, then the agent who reaccommodated you did so in error as the new benefit went live on that date.
Was your original revenue ticket booked into Main? If so, you can’t use the AA SWU to upgrade into J on the BA metal flight skipping WT+. Upgrades are revenue Main to WT+, revenue WT+ to J.
If the reaccommodation was since September 12th, was there U inventory availability on the BA flight you were reaccommodated to? If there wasn't U space available, then you can't use an AA SWU (either granted to AA Elites or granted to AS Elites) to upgrade and it can't be waitlisted. If that is the case, you were rightfully moved back. If you purchased a PE/WT+ fare then there was no U award space available.
If you were originally booked in revenue Main, then the AA SWU would only upgrade you to WT+ on BA metal. In that case, with PE inventory available, the AA SWU was utilized to upgrade you into WT+ and counters your claim that the SWUs granted to AS Elites cannot be used on BA flights.
If you were reaccommodated after September 12th, your revenue ticket is PE/WT+ and there is U space availability on you BA TATL flight then I would call AA at the number in the email and request that it be applied but I suspect the lack of U space on your particular BA flight is the limiter if you were in revenue PE/WT+. If you were in revenue Main, the AA SWU will only upgrade you to WT+, not into J on the BA metal flight.
You can easily check for BA U availability as it is the same inventory that is used for BA J awards. If you have a BAEC account, use book with Avios for the single segment TATL flight, if there are award(s) available in J, an AA SWU can be used to upgrade into that inventory from PE/WT+ but not from Y to J. If there is WT+ award availability, you can upgrade to WT+ on a Main cabin fare. BA will also show you how many seats are available for awards.
Alternatively, you can use the award search on AS for the single BA TATL segment. If there is award availability, there will be a redemption amount listed. If no amount listed, no award availability. To determine the number of award seats available, keep increasing the passenger count by one and resubmitting the search. When there is no longer an award amount listed, availability will be one less than the passenger count you just searched for.
Until we know all the mechanics of your scenario and determine why/where you lost the upgrade or were ineligible for it, we shouldn't make blanket statements on rules.
James