HNL

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Ime if you OLCI first, then the companion can olci

pjoalfa

They further screwed it up at the airport putting Mom's EXP# on Jr.'s BP. When I asked them to fix it, they said that since the stickers came from the mother's account her number had to go on it. (Hogwash, of course). Next day fixing it with the EXP desk they confirmed that of course SDQ was nuts and his own number should have been there, that they would fix it, and both their records were annotated to the effect that no, the mother isn't trying to pull a fast one and collect miles from another's flying.

Additionally they confirmed that since stickers were to be used that that could only be done at the airport and not even at an AA ticket office.

Why can't that just be automated when there are no additional complications?

popfly

I understand the complexity of the upgrade list when flying solo but not so much when trying to upgrade a companion with stickers.

I am flying SBA-LAX-JFK next month with Mrs. Popfly (no status) for our anniversary. I've already submitted the upgrade request online and the stickers for her upgrade will be pulled from my account.

Does anyone have a strategy to try increase the likelihood of both upgrades clearing or do we just have to hope that 2+ seats become available if we are both high enough on the list? Has anyone ever tried using a eVIP for their companion thereby splitting the inventory the upgrades are pulled from and possibly increasing the chances that both (complimentary and eVIP) upgrades clear? Any speculation as to whether they offer C inventory before R? I'm not too well-versed on using eVIP's for 3-class transcons since I normally only use them for long-haul flights.

I'm not too concerned about getting split between Y & J as I'd want Mrs. Popfly to enjoy the J seat...

yuchung5

This is a newbie question.
I will fly ORD-HNL with my wife. I am an EXP and she is a PLT.
We booked together. I requested for upgrade and it said that it will cost me 9 500 miles upgrade per person.
1) Is that also apply to me?
2) For my wife, is that going to come out from my wife's account or my account?

Thanks

oklAAhoma

1. No.
2. Hers (unless you request otherwise at the airport.)

Dedicated

Question on the use of 500 mile upgrades for companions.

My girlfriend (EXP) called AA to link our PNRs and requested an upgrade for me for ORD-LAX. I had 4 500-mile upgrade credits in my account. We both got upgraded, and AA deducted the credits from my account instead of hers. Is there a rule that if I have sufficient credits, it would come from mine instead of the person's account who requested it? I wanted to use my own credits for another flight, not flying with her, but now the account is drained.

Edit: She requested it on the phone and not at the airport, as oklAAhoma suggested is required. Is there any recourse to get my credits back?

dstan

I'm not sure if you can split the sticker upgrade request, as your wife has no status, so you'll have to hope that 2 slots become available at the same time to clear. I do think that requesting the eVIP upgrade for her is a good idea, as it may clear earlier than T-100. Whether C or R becomes available first within that window is a perennial question with no solid answer.

popfly

Thanks, I assumed that would be the case. One would assume that they would offer C before R but then again, both are free upgrades for only paying coach so I can't complain! I'm going to waitlist my wife using an eVIP and keep myself on the complimentary upgrade list. It's worth a shot to see what happens.

dstan

Thinking about it some more, this is really the best approach - if your R upgrade clears before/without the C upgrade, you can always give her your seat at the gate.

brp

Even on linked requests, each person is supposed to be viewed on their own with regard to stickers. Status is linked; stickers are not. This changed maybe a year ago removing other problems where the status of the companion was not taken into account. So, this is the way it's currently supposed to happen. You can try calling to get them to reverse it, but going in knowing that it was handled correctly could be valuable.

Cheers.

JAAbercrombie

With the upgrade "stickers", do you get 4 per 10k actual BIS miles or if you are Plat and you get 5K plus another 5K RDM to tal 10K miles?

Thanks.

videomaker

Four per 10k base miles, which does not include bonuses.

As others have suggested, it would be to your "AAdvantage" to check the FAQ at the top of this page to get a better feel for how the program works.

oklAAhoma

The miles-toward-elite-upgrades counter tracks only EQMs. It starts ticking upon earning status.

Dedicated

Good news. Apparently my girlfriend did request twice to use her upgrades when she phoned in, even though she didn't at the airport. After a call to the ExPlat line, they corrected it and credited me back the upgrades. ^

VickiSoCal

We got screwed yesterday. Flying HNL-LAX on seprate but linked PNR's, husband (EXP). plenty of stickers in his account, requested an upgrade for both of us about a month ago. He was upgraded at 100 hours out. At that point there appeared to be five empty seats in FC. Checked yesterday morning, still five empty seats. Called EXP line, no problem, you are next. Got to airport- sorry ma'am first class is checked in full. We asked- how is that possible, did 5 people buy FC tickets in the last 2 hours? Well ma'am, that must be what happenned. We are incredulous, but resigned. On the plane my husband asks the guy next to him his status- Plat. When was he upgraded? A couple of hours ago. Grrr.

Edited to add response to email from Customer Service:

Dear Mr. ************

Thank you for contacting AAdvantage Customer Service. I made an attempt to reach you by phone this afternoon, Mr. ********; I'm sorry I missed you.

I'm also sorry that Mrs. ********* was not upgraded on the Honolulu to Los Angeles flight. Prior to calling, I talked to representatives at the AAdvantage Executive Platinum Service Desk, to get a better idea of why Mrs. ******** didn't get upgraded.

Because your reservations were booked on separate records, the upgrade requests were cross-referenced. Ideally, if there are two upgrade seats available when the threshold window opens, the automated system will confirm the upgrade in both records. Apparently, there was only one seat available at that time, and that seat went to you. The automated system searches the passenger records for the elite status of the
passenger(s) - so in this case, a the software program didn't "see" the request to upgrade Mrs. ******, later, when the next seat became
available. I think in instances like this, Mr. **********, a live
person would have had to manually check for the upgrade availability.
Nonetheless, Mr. *******, I am sorry for the oversight.

We currently use a few different data systems for this type of work, Mr.
********. We are now in the process of replacing these systems with one integrated system that will better coordinate these types of actions.
It is a very extensive and large capital project, so it is not scheduled for full implementation for another 3 years or so, but the project is well underway.

Again, I am sorry that Mrs. *********** was not upgraded on this flight with you, Mr. *********. I do thank you making us aware of this situation. And as always, we thank you for your business.

Regards,

**************
AAdvantage Customer Service
American Airlines

In THREE YEARS they will have a system that can properly handle companion upgrades wihtout manual intervention. Color me unimpressed.