Schultzois

Sorry if there's a reference on this somewhere else, but I couldn't really locate it...

I have a ticket for EZE-MIA on the AA980 that arrives at 6:20am in paid A class.
I also have a ticket for MIA-PHL on AA858 at 10:35am in cheap-o G class (a fare that loses all value if you don't cancel before flying time).

As these are separate tickets, my first concern is that I'm somewhat aware of a risk of mis-connect in the case of extreme delay of AA980... can this be mitigated if I call AA and ask them to link the PNRs (is that even something they would do?). Or ask at the airport when I check-in for AA980? The international ticket is part of a larger itinerary (issued by AA) with MIA as a stopover, and that's why I didn't just book all the flights together in the first place. That and I'm happy to pay a premium for First on a longhaul, but less so for the short flight where F doesn't give much more space anyway.

Also, if the the two PNRs are not linked and my arrival on AA980 is several hours late, will they really just look at me and say "tough" or would they realistically try to accommodate me on a later flight to PHL? Once again, this would only become an issue if AA manages to get their service from EZE delayed by more than 3 hours or so, in which case I would be disappointed if they put the whole burden of their delay on me...

Finally, I've requested a sticker upgrade for the 858, and would like to check in online 24 hours ahead (which I can do if I leave the records separate, but can't if I link it to an international itinerary). Does this make any difference in your advice? Should I check in at 24-hours and then, after checking in, try either by phone or at check-in at EZE to get the two flights linked?

Thanks for any suggestions you might have here.