seattletraveller

My wife will make AS MVP Gold (40k) this year and I am already regular MVP (20k). We will be going from Phoenix to Edinburgh with a 3 day stopover in London, May 2024 using miles. This will leave us on BA as it will be by far the most convenient. As a MVP Gold, will my wife be able to book us in the main cabin but get an automatic upgrade to premium economy at booking? For BA I believe they call it World Traveller+. I looked up the dollar cost difference for the May flights and the difference between the main cabin and World Traveller+ is huge.

eponymous_coward

LOL, no. You will get to pick seats in WT, access to exit row, but not a cabin upgrade. BA doesn't give free upgrades to a different cabin of service to OW elites.

VegasGambler

No. If you pay for economy you sit in economy.

There is a tiny chance of an op up but you don't even have any status with BA, so realistically that tiny chance is zero.

Even on AA (which has a closer relationship with AS) you would not get upgraded on an international flight. This is just not something that's done.

A little known exception is that AA will seat their own status (EXP+) members in PE at the gate if space is available. Unfortunately it's not a published benefit and some GAs may not even know about it. But no one is doing this for people with status on a different airline.

QT31415

100K can't even select the bulkhead in economy without paying...

TravelingZoomer

Op-ups do happen! I recently got upgraded from Y+ -> on a full Cathay flight, was extremely pleasantly surprised

AKLifetimeFlyer

The price difference is huge because it's an entirely separate cabin, better meals and alcohol options, and even a different seating configuration. For example, on the 777-200, World Traveller Class is 3-4-3 while World Traveller Plus is 2-4-2. The ability to select a seat in a better cabin for free, just because of status on another airline makes no sense. This isn't even possible on most domestic airlines.

Xrayman

What are the benefits for an MVPG on this route other than being able to select your seat.

VegasGambler

Lounge access? Priority boarding? Maybe an extra free checked bag if you did not buy basic economy?

This is pretty much the extent of the value of status when traveling internationally. Complimentary space-available upgrades are not really a thing on international routes (or even really on domestic routes for airlines outside the US), never mind if you only have mid-level status on a partner airline.

What were you expecting? When flying internationally, SOP is to buy a ticket for the class of service you want to sit in, or be ready to pay for an upgrade (either with cash, miles, cash+miles, or an upgrade instrument)

By the way, a huge portion of PHX-LHR will be OWE, due to it being a flight between an AA hub and BA's hub. Even if they did give complimentary upgrades to OW elites, OP would be lucky to be 50th on the list as MVPG.

jerry a. laska

Select sapphire to see the general Oneworld benefits when flying other Oneworld members:
https://www.oneworld.com/travel-benefits

guv1976

I would try very hard to travel on a date when you can get the AA nonstop with AS miles: your wife, as a oneworld Sapphire, would then be able to select AA MCE seats for both of you, free of charge. Not as good as Premium Economy, but the few extra inches of seat pitch would be a great improvement over a regular World Traveler seat on BA.

True, you would not get the LON-EDI flight for no additional miles if you use AA for the TATL flight; but with the savings you'd realize by avoiding the BA carrier surcharges on the PHX-LHR flight, you should be able to easily afford a cash ticket for LON-EDI. Here's one example, for travel on a Sunday in late May:



(Quoted fare includes checked baggage.)

Or, you could get yourself some BA Avios, and redeem for Reward Flight Saver awards on BA for LON-EDI.

williwaw

In defense of OP, if one is newer to the international status options - Alaska’s use of “Premium” in Y can be a source of false hope. That said sadly the international benefits for status are limited as others have noted.

guv1976

Choosing AA over BA for the PHX-LHR flight would not only result in substantial cash savings and the ability to sit in MCE seats, but would also cost fewer AS miles:

worldwidedreamer

And remember, even if you book a business class ticket with BA they probably won’t sit you next to your wife unless you are 75k.

guv1976

Oneworld Sapphires get free seat selection with BA at time of booking for everyone on the same PNR.

AKLifetimeFlyer

Some would consider this a benefit, not a drawback...