Does upgrade chance increase or decrease if you check in online?
 

I tried to search the forum to find related posts but didn't find anything. If there is something, please direct me.

I am flying STL-DFW (AA #1329)and then DFW-TPA (AA #304)on Thursday. I booked the flight January 7 and requested upgrades at that time. (I became EXP for the first time a few days before booking the flight.) The upgrades have not come through. Seat maps (which I know may not be reliable) show available seats in F.

My question is will my chances of getting the upgrade change if I check in online when the 24 hour window opens up for checkin? If I do that does my name stay on the upgrade list?

Thanks for any help on understanding the upgrade process.

Upgrades are by time of request, not by time of check-in
If checking in 24 hours in advance, this doesn't stop an upgrade from clearing with less than 24 hours remaining.

OLCI does not affect upgrade clearing. Nor does it affect your priority on the airport upgrade list. These days, only a few things matter with regard to e-upgrade lists:

1) status - the biggie
2) original timestamp of the upgrade request
3) thru vs. O/D
4) "travel disruptions" - sometimes could matter, but is more common for standby lists

I am also a newly minted ExPlat and I have found that calling regularly the phone agents can push the upgrade through before they would automatically clear.

Getting a service like Expertflyer and calling intelligently can save time (both yours and theirs) as these availabilities are generally not random, but can actually be seen (within 24 hours, anyway).

Cheers.

Don't forget that using a eVIP or using miles+copay will trump complimentary upgrades. However, I would never burn an eVIP or use miles+copay on the flights that the OP has listed...

That is not correct. These come from different inventories, and the inventory for SWU/miles is available before that for stickers. In that sense, there is a better chance. Within the 100-hour window, though, it depends upon which inventory is available first.

Cheers.

Have you made sure your EXP was recognized since you bought the flight a few days before you obtained your new status. It is not automatically recognized by AA.

Guess I could be wrong but IME I have switched to an eVIP or miles+copay on a few occasions when I had to purchase a last minute ticket to improve my odds. Most recently I flew SBA-LAX-JFK and my LAX-JFK complimentary UG cleared immediately when I booked it (~48hrs out) and my return JFK-LAX wasn't clearing. I was 4th on the upgrade list at the airport behind 3 EXP's and I asked the GA if I could burn a eVIP and it moved me to 1st on the list and it cleared 15 mins later.

I was under the impression that on a 3-class plane, C will open before R and on a 2-class plane, A will open before X. Not necessarily true?

Sometimes, yes, A/C inventory might become available before X/R inventory. But not always. Not guaranteed at all.

Nope, not necessarily. Sometimes sticker inventory becomes available before eVIP/miles+copay inventory.

I would say that, more likely than not, this is what happens. However, it's not because one "trumps" the other. It's just about which inventory opens first, and that's not guaranteed. Striving for accuracy.

Cheers.

If we are only speaking in terms of an EXP trying to upgrade, the "stickers" are technically the complimentary UG and this is the class that the ticket will fall into?

Yes, and sorry, I should have been more clear.

That is a very good point! If the OP booked and the PNR / trip record hasn't updated to EXP status it would be treated with the same restrictions as Platinum or whatever the OP's previous status was. Some flyers have had to call AA and have the record updated.

I have a slightly contrarian position, and I've posted this multiple times, but so far, I seem to be the only one that has experienced this.

I have found, that if A) your upgrade has not cleared within 24 hours of departure, and B) you check in online, your UG request will get transferred to the airport list, and the priority to clear follows the list that others describe above.

However, if A) your upgrade has not cleared within 24 hours of departure, and B) you check in via an airport kiosk and manually select for your name to be transferred to the airport list, I have found that your name will mysteriously disappear, and not get transferred - effectively reducing your UG chances to 0%.

Several gate/ticket agents have shared with me anecdotally that they've heard this many times, and something is wonky with the functionality in the kiosks, under certain unknown/undisclosed conditions.

So, in my experience, checking in online will not increase/decrease your chances, whereas checking in at the airport cannot increase your chances, but can potentially decrease.

ymmv

I will add that this has never happened to me as EXP, as all upgrades cleared >24 hours in advance, so I (fortunately) haven't replicated the situation in quite some time....So this applies to X using stickers, not VIPs, etc...

knirbed, please be sure to check out our FAQ, wiki, and existing threads on this subject. The FAQ is the best place to start:

• How does the upgrade waitlist work?

dstan,

Thanks for the link. I'll try to remember....still getting used to where things are on the site.

By the way, I did check to see if my reservation record has my status as EXP and it does. I'm still waiting for the upgrade.

Those flights are nearly sold out. I am not surprised that the upgrades have not cleared. (1329 is F3/Y0, 302 is F2/Y1).

I've found that when the booking is that tight that AA won't clear the upgrades until the last minute or nearly the last minute. For example, I changed flights (originally scheduled on 144 tomorrow, moved to Thursday). The upgrade had already cleared for tomorrow, I'm currently in requested status for Thursday (F3/A1, was F4/A2 when I changed). In my experience, when it's F3 or below that upgrades don't clear until 3-6 hours out (often after the previous flight departed). Not always true, but more often than not on the LAX-IAD route.

I'd say there's a reasonable chance the upgrade will clear, but it may clear at the gate. AA has all the incentive in the world to try and get someone to buy those seats, especially since there's no/almost no inventory in back.

Actually, that's not surprising at all. The flights are in high demand, so AA is holding some F seats in the hopes that someone really needs to be on those flights so badly that they'll pony up the doe for the F seat. Happens all the time with XNA-DFW on a Thursday.

weinskkb, you read his post wrong. He booked the flights after he became EXP.

I got upgraded on both flights. The first one cleared sometime around 2 AM and the second around 5 AM. I wasn't checking all night---I have AA send me an e-mail when the upgrades clear.

Ironically, the first leg of my return (TPA to DFW on Monday) cleared today!

Has this worked for others? Not for me - I have called the EXP desk a few times while awaiting/hoping for a complimentary upgrade, to ask about my chances/postion in the queue, and we chat but there hasn't been any action they can take that would "push my upgrade through" before an automatic clearing. If I am misunderstanding the post, sorry - any clarification would help.

I generally agree - but it depends on timing, route, equipment and the availability of better alternatives. Case in point: traveling in mid-Feb, 6 SWU's about to expire, used one, (twice) for the ORD-DFW 777.

I was on the 777 LAX-MIA flight a few weeks ago, and upgrade didn't clear on the day of departure, so I resigned myself to a battlefield upgrade. Did OLCI ~6 hours before departure time, went to the airport in SFO, picked up my BPs for both flights, was noted as being #1 on the upgrade list with ~6 seats left in J on the 777. Like 30 minutes later I got an email from AA stating my upgrade had cleared. Went to the gate and got a re-printed Bo for J.

So, OLCI doesn't hurt you at all, if X (or R as in my case) becomes available after you check-in and are on the list, you will still get auto-upgraded.

One problem that I have had is that when I have printed boarding passes for a flight within 24 hours of departure and my uppie has not cleared, is that I have overlooked checking the box that I still want an uppie. One of the GAs pointed this out when I was not on the uppie list. After reinstating me, I went right to the top.

So make sure if you don't get your uppie and you print up the boarding pass, check the box that you still want one.

When I become ruler of the universe, anyone who refers to it as an uppie will never receive another. :)

+1...uppie:rolleyes:

At least twice, I have called the EXP desk to ask about my upgrade, and the agent was able to upgrade me immediately. So the agent can definitely upgrade you between the time the inventory becomes available and the time the batch automated process runs.

It is unclear whether I happened to be at the top of the list (as an EXP who booked well in advance), or if calling actually moved me ahead on the list.