Has your upgrade cleared before transaction completed?
 

Has this ever happened to anyone else. You are booking a flight for travel in the next few days and request upgrades as an EXP. Once you have booked the flight and then the page shows with the system assigned seats you are already upgraded?

Yes, always on the same route and often enough on that route that when it doesn't clear while booking I find it somewhat odd.

It's happened for me quite a few times over the last couple of years (since mid-2008). In the years before that, not quite as often.

Also yes -- most notably on short hops (LAX-LAS, LAX-SFO) but occasionally on JFK-LAX and LGA-ORD.

Yup - I believe I've also been able to hold flights (pre-purchase/ticketing) where the X upgrade has already cleared. (Don't remember if I requested the upgrade online or whether I worked through an AAgent.)

Yup, ditto here. Though not nearly as good as the DL system which shows "Upgrade Available" within the window for your status, so you can select without guessing.

Yup, it has happened for late bookings, although I usually book months in advance.

yes it has

Yes. I go so far as to look for reasonably priced transcons for MR's and put them on a 24 hour hold. If the upgrade clears, I book the flight, if they don't I let it expire and move on.

But to answer your question, I've also had it happen the way you describe.

I rarely buy my tickets inside my window but six years ago on July 2nd I found a good mileage run fare ($104 for LGA-ORD-STL-LGA) for travel on July 4th so I grabbed it. I cleared on LGA-ORD and STL-LGA while booking and was happy to see my e-ticket reciept printed with "First Cl" on it.

Probably 25% of the time when I book a flight within the 100-hour window. Unlike FWAAA's experience, for me it's less frequent now than it was a few years ago.

On a related topic, here's an old favorite which some of our newer members may not have had the privilege of reading:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...thanks-aa.html

Yes it happens often when I book within the 100 hour mark but worse is the flights I book within 4 hours of departure. Since they are already under airport control only way to request an upgrade on those is by checking in at the airport.

Yes... happens all the time. ^

Happened to me a few minutes ago for both flights I booked for tomorrow. STL-ORD-STL. I'm just a lowly platinum, but it happens all the time.

By the way, the available inventory is the reason that I picked the planes that I picked. No sense booking a flight for the next day with just one seat open in first when there is a flight the next hour with 8 available seats in F.

Happens a lot. It seems to really screw up the airport staff when it happens on unticketed reservations since it won't auto-price anymore once it's booked into X. Gotta call the rate desk.