Originally Posted by
JayJ
I think you can get premium seats now based on AA Plat Pro unless you are booked on a saver fare. AA Plat Pro is the same as MVPG 75k. I recently booked an award trip on AA and was able to upgrade my son and myself to Main Extra. If not, go for exit row 17, if available. To get to first class, you will probably need to split the PNR and try to get yourself upgraded. Couples don't fair well with complimentary upgrades.
But it's below the 75k's on the upgrade list, so not really the same. And this is a flight to SEA.
Again, OP is very unlikely to get upgraded here. Want first, buy first, in this case.
But yeah if premium or exit row is "good enough" then, sure, take that. If the goal is to impress the wife and her mom with fancy first class seats then I don't think that any of the suggested methods (buying an upgrade, upgrading with miles, getting comp upgrades) is likely to work out. I'm not trying to be harsh here; just realistic.
Also if you are going to upfare, prices are probably more likely to go up than down (as the cabin fills) so I would check prices now, compare against what's available on the competition, and make a decision. Doing it later will likely cost more.