Originally Posted by
fastflyer
That is interesting, I had previously thought that "C" inventory upgrades -- whether SWU/ VIP or Mileage, or Business Extraa were classified first by corresponding status group, and then ordered by time of request. Did the AAgent also explain where "R" upgrades were on the gate upgrade list?
In any case as a best AA frequent flyer practice, BXP upgrades should be redeemed before departure, and preferably before the e500-sticker upgrade windows open at T-100 hours (four days before departure). This is the great advantage in fact of these BXP or mileage upgrades, that they are confirmable when C becomes available, possibly long in advance.
Since this was a hnl-Dfw flight, there were quite a few folks with UPG priority that fell below VIP, MLG and BEX. 40+ people (772 with 37 seats) on the list with J0 a week or 2 before the trip. So, nobody got one anyway even at the gate. But even those using miles + copay would have trumped me since, presumably, those are of more value to the airline. Side note: it’s probably a matter of time that aa codes out the ability to use comp sticker upgrades on the long haul Hawaii routes that go East of Phoenix. United restricts their similar Hawaii long hauls from ord/Ewr/iah to the plus points and mileage + copay upgrades.
Agree that the BXP upgrades are most valuable in advance, though as you mentioned they are using the same C bucket that the SWUs and mileage upgrades are going after too.