oh thank you very much! that's very useful information and has started to clear the fog over my head a bit, haha

i've logged on to AA.com and found the 'instant upgrade' column you were referring to, sadly the fares are still at the 1Kpp range.

darn, i was hoping it'll be closer to Coach fares, like $300 range. do you think i'm doing something wrong still or inventory just isn't that good on my days of travel? one more thing that can make this more interesting is that i am also willing to make and overnight stop if needs be. that'll rest the pooch more too so that he doesn't have to hold his bladder too long for a long flight.

thank you!