FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Advice and strategy for using systemwide upgrades / SWU
Old Sep 13, 2023 | 1:52 pm
  #3  
brenc3
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Join Date: Jun 2007
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Here was some advice I gave to someone in a similar predicament

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...l#post35377969

The $10 you spend on an ExpertFlyer subscription is well worth the help it will be in burning a few SWUs. If you have flexibility in dates and destinations you will for sure find something.

I made a large spreadsheet of a few dozen long-haul AA routes I might conceivably be interested in, vs dates I could travel. Get acquainted with major destinations from a handful of hubs (JFK, ORD, CLT, DFW) using Wikipedia and search those routes individually.

I found a fair amount of availability JFK-LHR, and also CLT/DFW-FRA. Some from ORD and JFK to Europe, and a bit to SCL and EZE (try their winter). Don't get your hopes up for Asia or Australia, They are busy routes and AA's capacity is a fraction of pre-pandemic. But I did score 4x HND-LAX this past August so it's worth looking.
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