Any Disadvantage to Buying Frankenstein AA Tickets from Expedia?
 

Hi,

I try to fly AA as much as possible but sometimes there last flight out isn't late enough for example.

In that situation I'm leaning towards buying a ticket from Expedia where the outbound flight is AA and the inbound flight is something like UA.

Can anyone forsee any issues with doing this?

May not be able to upgrade, depending on who issues the ticket.

For many domestic routes, there is no advantage to buying a round trip. That is, buying two one-ways would be the same price. Might be worth checking if that is the case with this itinerary

No, a ticket is a ticket. Even if you were connecting from AA to UA, that would have been fine and your luggage would be transferred if applicable since it's the same ticket.

The only disadvantage is that you'll have to fly UA.

Is that the case? I thought sticker upgrades could be requested for flights ticketed on any stock, since a cleared upgrade does not require ticket reissue...

I was thinking of instrument-supported upgrades.

Huh? I buy off of Expedia all the time, sometimes via "Frankenstein" tickets to use the OP's term, and upgrading (with 500-mile certificates, or otherwise) has never been a problem.

It has to be an AA issued ticket (001 stock) in order to upgrade though. Since its two different carriers the op needs to ensure AA issues the ticket and not UA during purchase.

The OP will get two separate ticket numbers, and two separate reference locators, for the purchase.

One will be for the AA segment(s) and will be issued by AA.

The other will be for the UA segment(s) and will be issued by UA.

This isn't a codeshare situation; it's just Expedia mixing a one-way AA ticket outbound with a one-way UA ticket inbound.

Not necessarily. I've purchased similar tickets on Expedia and gotten only one ticket issued on the stock of the first marketing carrier.

what is a frankenstein AA ticket?

Even a cursory read of the OP is recommended before asking a question like that:

If it's the same price, why not buy a one way ticket from AA and a one way ticket from UA? The only disadvantage would be double change/cancellation fees if your trip needs to be changed.

Especially if the value of the separate tickets is less than their respective change fees.

Is it possible to ask Expedia to issue on a specific airline's stock? I think they go with the stock of the first carrier on the itinerary by default, at least from what I've seen.

I used to Google Flights to price and then book a ticket ORD-SFO with outbound on AA and return on UA on UA ticket stock. I was charged $25 to get a seat assignment over the phone.