Originally Posted by
stellaf80
I'm trying to book flights back to the UK from the US for my family in October and was hoping to find flights that could be upgraded with miles as we have a lot of miles, but not enough to send all four of us business. I signed up for an Expert Flyer account and the only flights that seem to be showing that they have seat availability for upgrading with miles are the BA-operated ones, but you need to book a fare with booking class Y to qualify with BA for mileage upgrades. Expert Flyer says there are Y-class flights available to book, but the only flights showing on the AA website are Q & O. Any advice on how I go about finding elusive Y-class flights to book? Or experience with expert flyer and how accurate they are?
You don't mention where, in the US, you are originating. But as mentioned in this thread, search the long haul segment first (e.g. JFK-LHR, DFW-LHR, etc.). Doing a JFK-LHR search on 10/4 with the +/3 day option allows you to see a full week. I did this for 10/4, 10/11, 10/18, 10/25 and unfortunately saw no availability at this time. AA will typically open those seats up closer to departure so you could call and waitlist. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this, but they'll take your $350 up front and give it back if the upgrade falls through. They'll also ding your account 25,000 points when the upgrade clears. It's been a while since I waitlisted. Also, make sure you don't book a basic economy fare, as those aren't eligible for point+copay upgrades.
Here are the parameters you'd need to put in your search to ensure you're seeing only AA metal. Jus keep searching iterations using other gateway cities that would be part of your routing (LAX, DFW, ORD, MIA, CLT, PHL, JFK).
Side note: I also did a search JFK-LHR for 1/15/24 +/- days and found a ton of availability. #1 - it's low season and #2 - AA likely opened those up in the past few weeks based on low sales demand.
