International Upgrade Help (how does it work?)
 

I usually fly BA business DFW to LHR, however prices for a January trip are very high right now. I am Platinum with AA but never have tried to upgrade with them international wise. Can someone give me an idea in how this works? I have heard it is some kind of combination of miles and dollars?

Thanks

Unless you have (or someone wants to give you) SWUs/eVIPs, AA lets you upgrade from Y to J or J to F (if 777) using miles + copay. Here is the link to the chart, but from US to Europe it is 25k miles + $350. If booked in B or Y (Full Fare Economy), it is only 15k miles and no copay.

http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/re...radeAwards.jsp

From the FAQ at the top of the page (where it says "Please check here first")

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/11822043-post30.html

Cheers.

Be advised that from a practical stand point its difficult to upgrade into J from Y short of using SWUs. The inventory is very low and so many people don't realize how hard it is to upgrade to many international destinations because of how much demand there is for the seats so AA keeps C inventory low (or any upgrade inventory for that matter).

I have seen JetNet showing 1 seats sold out of 30 on a 777, yet when you call for an upgrade they say there is no availability.

Cheers,
AA777

call aa....i've had help there.....if they find 1 let them book it....pay the fee...

Just as with UA or DL, AA doesn't always have upgrade seats available. However if you request a miles+copay upgrade, they will add you to the "waitlist" and take your credit card info. Anytime between now and the date of departure, you can get upgraded, though within 24 hours of the flight, things get a bit more complicated when the upgrade list goes to airport control.

For upgarding from Y to j on AA, the upgrade list is ranked by status first and then by time of upgrade request. As a AA PLT, you will be after all the EXP upgarders and other PLT upgarde requestors who were added to the list before you.

Ultimately your upgrade will be determined by the demand for J seats. In the winter, there is usually better chances of an upgrade than in the busier spring/summer/fall.

Seems a strange post. "Usually fly BA J "yet complaining about high prices. Bottom line for the OP on this route, dont have the cash, your flying probably in economy.

You can use a tool like Expertflyer to check for C inventory that is available, and then confirm the upgrade on booking.

I won't speculate on how likely there will be available C inventory.

DFW-LHR direct flights, the OP will be on a wait-list unless booking very far out, almost impossible to confirm on this route at time of booking.

Just a note for those who say international cash and miles never happens for a Plat, well it happened 3X for me in 2012, though always on the way back from Europe to US, though I was allegedly next in line once or twice on the way to Europe. Day of week and time of year would be key variables.

Not sure what's so special about using SWU vs. miles + co-pay; they come from the same inventory and there's even been mild anecdotal evidence on this board that on flight day the mileage upgrades will have priority.

Or book the Y ticket online and call back to have the upgrade applied. I've pretty much always gotten the fee waived for this. YMMV.

If you have some flexibility then status really won't matter (other than the "hidden" EXP-only inventory). If it's available it's available. Now, if you're waitlisted then it could be a different story, but with some diligence (and an EF subscription) you'll probably do alright. I've never not gotten an int'l mileage upgrade and have traveled int'l as both no status and GLD, though I find days/flights with availability before booking.

As soon as I am ticketed I call and ask for an upgrade and am told I will be on a waitlist and I only pay the cash fee if upgraded (no additional fee).

The poster was referring to the telephone booking fee.

That's totally incorrect. It doesn't matter how you upgrade.
That's totally incorrect. AA (and UA/DL for that matter) will release every single seat in business class that doesn't sell to an upgrade, though it may not happen until shortly before departure. That's what the waitlist is for (of course this also ends up favoring higher-level elites). There's a potentially huge opportunity cost of upgrading someone in advance if they could have instead sold that seat for thousands of dollars, so they MAY be a bit little tighter on releasing inventory ahead of time, but it's not because of "how much demand there is for the seats." The seats are priced to reflect their desirability, whether a cash ticket that costs $2-10k round-trip, or whether a mileage upgrade with a $350 cash co-pay.

Separate from the fact that no AA 777s have 30 business class seats, this comment isn't particularly meaningful. I can virtually guarantee you that if only 1 seat out of 30 (or 37) was sold a week before departure, there would be upgrade and award availability. If it was 10 months before departure, then there very likely wouldn't be.