Originally Posted by
EQDsSUCK
Can anyone confirm once and for all that for upgrade purposes a BE ticket operates just like an economy ticket?
My understanding is that for elites, the only difference in a BE ticket is that you can't change it or cancel it (ar same-day flight changes available?). ???
The definitive answer seems to be that there are only two differences in domestic BE tickets for elites:
1) You cannot cancel the ticket and get a trip credit
2) You earn 60% LESS miles than a normal ticket
You keep seating, upgrades, baggage, same day flight change, boarding.
There is one odd rule. In order for the BE ticket to be eligible for an upgrade, you have to be a status member who ticketed the flight at least 24 hours before departure. We normally think about elites getting complimentary upgrades. But, this also implies that a non-status person cannot use miles to upgrade the ticket, but that a status person can do so as long as it was made more than 24 hours prior to departure.
https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...ic-economy.jsp