Okay as far as AA goes on code shares a lot of the time booking on the OA will earn milage but NOT top tier status. Possible reason for the higher prices is also limited seats the OA only allows so many seats for the code share partner so if the per say AA flt number has 1 left to sell vrs 100 on the actual carrier its gona blow the price sky high and amount will vary according to seats left
also far as I know no airline allows upgrades or other perks on codeshare flts with exception of such as AA/AE



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sunsetaz