Jackyl9000

Recently I have been very low on the Upgrade standby list even though I try and check-in 24 hours prior. When asking about this I was told that the 100 hour upgrade was still the same as it was based on the Flyer status and the time and date of the original upgrade request. However the GA said that the Upgrade standby list for the last 24 hours was no longer based on time of check-in.

Instead he said that it was based on either Miles for the year or Lifetime miles(he was not sure). He said that checking in early no longer matters as I could check in 24 hours prior of 3 hours prior and would still end up in the same spot on the list.

Can anyone confirm or deny this information?

It appears to me that if you do not have many many miles and are on a heavilly travelled route for FF, the best way to ensure an upgrade is to book far in advance and request upgrades then.

HNL

Partly correct. The airport upgrade list no longer uses check-in time as a sorting factor.

The airport list sorting is based upon status and original request time within status.

farrish11

This is the way the upgrades are handed out. See this post.

dmsdfw

Although this is the way it is done at the moment (ordered by request date), I would love to see it modified to factor in ticket cost too. I typically book domestic travel no more than ten days out and therefore, although I (OK - my employer) pay much more than many other EXPs on the flight, I often lose out on upgrades. The really bad flights are the Monday morning commutes. I was on DFW->PHL a couple of months ago along with over 50 other EXPs. I never even made it to the first screen of the upgrade list.

Time traveller

As the upgrade list for domestic vs. international flights are different, does it make sense and are you even allowed to check-in at the airport close to 24 hours in advance prior to an international flight or can you only check in at the airport the same day as your international flight?

wildaboutmovies

Your profile doesn't say much about you, so no one on FT knows your status. If you're EXP, yes, your upgrade can process 100 hours in advance. If it doesn't don't just wait for the computer to try to upgrade you, call the EXP desk, as a majority of times they can push an upgrade through manually. If you're PLT or GOLD, your chances are reduced very much for an upgrade if there are a lot of EXPs on the flight.

card1953

Upgrade priority is not based on "miles for the year or lifetime miles." Within each elite level, priority is based on date and time of original request.

tegelad

only as a tie breaker .... as for me I love AA's methods .... clear/transparent easy to understand .... unlike CO's byzantine methods ....

Though life isn't as bad for me since I am always traveling through a hub so my priority gets bumped

MGW2000

It's worth reminding that through/connection passengers take priority over non-connecting customers. So the full upgrade priority is:

-Status
-Within status levels, connecting customers are processed first, followed by non-connecting customers
-And within status level and either the pool of connecting or non-connecting customers, date/time of original request.

Thus being a connecting passenger ALWAYS trumps date/time of original request.

Jackyl9000

Ok well I suppose then the GA was incorrect. I agree that going off the Time of booking only is not right as I normally book 1-2 weeks in advance only and giving all the upgrades to those who book on the deep discount fares.

Well I suppose I will have to wait until all the EXPs that qualified via the double promotions expire next March...

Jackyl9000

How does this work? I fly from PIT -> DFW -> AUS and there are plenty of people sitting up front that end in Dallas while i'm in the back. If i'm connecting where is the priority come in?

miamigrad

You would be a "through" passenger with priority on the DFW-AUS leg, not on the PIT-DFW leg.

Jackyl9000

Well on that flight I was 10th on the list of 25 waiting for upgrades... didn't feel much priority there either.

Gamecock

True.
Flew DFW-EWR last Monday. I made reservations back in September. There were only six seats showing available on the seat map 24 hours out and I still had not cleared. (I know, I know, but I didn't check on EF)

I cleared with one daughter about 2 hours out. My wife and other daughter, both PLTs, never cleared. All 4 of us cleared on the EWR-DFW seg on the previous Friday. Ya just never know.

hillrider

I think everything is very well spelled out here: http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index...rade_Waitlists

If not, then please edit that article! ^