Flying for Fun

Technically, upgrades on AA for AS Elites must be marketed & operated by AA. If you book on AA you will earn EQM as a percentage of miles flown depending on fare class purchased as outlined in the AA charts in Mileage Plan. If you purchase an AS codeshare, you earn 100% EQM on all economy fare classes sold by AS. Earnings on AS codeshares follow the AS charts in Mileage Plan.

It is a tradeoff. Earn 100% EQM on an AS codeshare and hope you can be added and upgraded day of at the airport of EARN 25%‐75% EQM on an AA prime and automatically have an upgrade requested that can clear from 72 hour before departure.

EDIT:

If you want to earn 100% EQM on an AA Prime flight, you will need to purchase a higher fare class than V. Those fares will be pretty expensive and in some cases could be higher than discount J.

For flights less than 500 miles, earning will be the same on either AA or AS. There are some standalone codeshare flights sold by AS (SAN-MIA) and some will be a mix (MIA-DFW(AA)-SEA-PHX(AS) like the itinerary I booked. I am happier earning 3882 EQM with a lower likelihood of an upgrade on MIA-DFW than purchasing AA MIA-PHX direct or MIA-LAX-PHX and earning 500-1479 EQM or 1006-2257 EQM respectively with an upgrade request.

James

seacarl

What is the policy reason that AS elites should not be eligible for upgrades on AA flights marketed by AS? That kind of distinction makes this partnership more burdensome and annoying than useful

Flying for Fun

My understanding is that the policy is that AS elites are eligible for upgrades on AA marketed & AA operated flights.

If you book an AS codeshare, no upgrade request will be made. If you contact AA they will direct you back to AS. The MIA-ORD segment I flew was never considered for an upgrade. I was checking a bag & inquired. The agent was able to add me to the upgrade list but I didn't clear. That is how I knew that you can be added but the process is not automated.

James

Marschel

What if I cancel an AS flight booked with BA Avios and the inbound flight was already been flown plus the outstanding outbound flight has been rescheduled. Am I getting part of my Avios back, fare difference or nothing?

FlyerDigits

Yes, see this thread, particularly the early posts: AS-AA Partnership - Benefits, Mileage Earn/Burn and Discussion (No oneworld, Please)

I was confused in the thread but the discussion and my flight experience helped me understand everything. Short version is that my AS flight on an AA purchased itinerary shows up in my AS segment counter for AS status tracking.

tobikosan

In getting the Amex AS credit activated can I buy a ticket for wife using me wallet funds then somehow later (moments , minutes , or by phone) use Amex card to "seat select" prem class and have that amount credited back to my wallet if heaven forbid she has to cancel the flight? Time is a bit of the essence so thx in advance!

anteater

No, you cannot transform paid PC upgrade funds into Wallet credit.

Unless it is a situation in which AS is liable (eg schedule change, cancelled flight), AS doesn’t offer refunds for PC upgrades.

The full T&Cs are at the bottom: https://www.alaskaair.com/content/tr...ss/premium-faq

FlyerDigits

Double checking, I thought they would go back as a wallet credit. Clicking through to the full T&C in the link I see this:

• If a non-refundable ticket is cancelled, then both the ticket price and the seat upgrade fee will be credited to the customer's My wallet for future travel. My wallet funds may not be applied towards Premium Class purchases.

samosa

I think this question might be best suited for a BA forum (as to the refund). For what it is worth, I assume it is unlikely that BA would refund anything, but Alaska might allow you to reschedule it another way.

anteater

Ah, they may have changed things since I last used this. It looks like a change for the better too. Good catch! 🍹🍹

FlyerDigits

We had to cancel a set of partner points bookings for me, P2, and a separate PNR for P3 where we had paid for a Premium seat for P3 on the AS segment and I read through the full T&C before cancellation (AA schedule changes :/). So I thought I'd remembered reading about both scenarios of both refundable and nonrefundable tickets.

flymonthly

Yes, you can. But I'm pretty sure (but not 100%) that if you cancel under the 24 hour cancellation policy, the funds go back to the original form of payment.

Flying for Fun

If you purchase a ticket & cancel within 24 hours, the ticket will be refunded to the original form of payment. If you purchase a ticket within 24 hours of flight departure and subsequently cancel, the regular cancelation & change policy apply & would result in a wallet credit. Saver fares excluded.

Details here.

James

tobikosan

My question was on utilizing the amex credit how could I buy the base fare in wallet funds and the additional premium seat "seat selection" on the amex to be refunded back to my wallet rather that have to purchase the base and premium combined on my amex and have that larger outlay be what goes back into my wallet. Does that makes sense? Another poster seemed to imply that was possible.

FlyerDigits

Reading your posts here I think you have several separate questions so I will give it a go in breaking this down. Wish me luck!

1. Can you use YOUR wallet funds to buy a ticket for your WIFE? Yes.

2. Can you wait to purchase a Premium seat? Yes.

3. Can you use your Amex to pay for a Premium seat? Yes. Just complete the ticket purchase using your funds then after that purchase is complete go back in to the reservation to pay for a Premium seat. Just be sure to select credit card as the payment method for the seat selection.

4. Does a Premium seat selection qualify for the Amex airline credit? I don't know. Reading in to your question I also don't know if there is a cut-off date for the transaction for a 2021 credit, assuming it qualifies.

5. If your wife cancels her flight what happens to the money? I will also look for an assist here but I *think* the credits for everything go to your WIFE's WIFE's wallet.

Good luck and happy new year!
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