Originally Posted by
azmojo
FWIW, I didn't have the points available at the time I booked it. I am sure the award availability is not there for upgrade at this point.
IME First Class awards (Z) are easier to get than biz-class awards (U). If you didn't have the miles then, but you've got 'em now, you can always call AA and change to FC award. They only charge the difference in miles (i.e. they don't charge any processing fee for upgrading to a higher class on the same exact routing).