rkennedy824

Hey everyone,

First time poster, but I've got a question about the upgrade process. I'm GLD and hoping to get upgraded for a flight from BWI - MIA in June for my honeymoon. I don't know too much about booking classes so I have a couple questions. I bought my tix at aa.com and am class Q. From looking at things, it appears that those would put me at the bottom of the upgrading pyramid. Is it going to be very difficult to get an uprade with a Q? Also, since it's my honeymoon, would the gate agent possibly try to hook me up a little?

Thanks in advance.

mvoight

Are you referring to 500 mile upgrades?
I assume so, because I wouldn't recommend spending 15000 miles per perspn each way to upgrade this.
If using 500 mile upgrade "stickers" the fare class doesn't determine your standing in the upgrade queue.

videomaker

If you request an upgrade using the 500-mile "stickers," you will be behind Executive Platinum and Platinums for upgrades. Fare will not matter, but because you are gold, the upgrades will be harder to get.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding, but I wouldn't count on a sympathetic agent to give you an op-up.

CloudCoder

If it's absolutely vital to fly in first, spend 15K miles each way (30K miles per ticket) to upgrade it. That's a fairly stiff cost returning not much value, if you ask me. I'd just coach it in the exit row. After all, on a honeymoon don't you wanna be snuggly close together?
It will be difficult to get an upgrade as a GLD. But there's always hope. Most people get married on Saturday. Will you be flying on a Saturday? That's usually a slow travel day. So there's always hope for the sticker upgrade.
Not likely. Would that be fair to the PLTs and EXPs, who are guaranteed (in writing) to have higher upgrade priority than GLD?

Executive summary: Coach it -- not worth the 60K total miles. Hope for a slow travel day with sticker upgrade.

cingmot

I dunno from a place like BWI, you'll probably have OK luck with sticker upgrades as a Gold. Back in the days when I was gold, I cleared more often than not, even at "busy" times.

olimaspecto

The key here is what day of the week and time of day will the OP be traveling.

Additionally, just to clarify OP, your ticket terminates in Miami, correct? If you were to be traveling onwards to South America, Europe, etc., your fare may be non-upgradable since you purchased Q class.

Oh, btw, Welcome to FT and congrats on the first post, too!

gemac

Hi, rkennedy824. Welcome to Flyertalk.

Remarkably, the answer to this question is no. AA has no "honeymoon" exception in their upgrade policy, and employees who deviate from official AA policy do so at their own risk.

You are not alone, though. Every new FT member who is getting married (or having an anniversary or a birthday) thinks that there is or should be a special policy giving them preference. Oddly, every new FT member who is not in one of these situations wants to start a thread complaining that they were number 1 on the upgrade waitlist, and then someone leapfrogged them.

Now that you have had your question answered, stick around and do some reading and research. There are lots of interesting information tidbits here that will make your flying more enjoyable and productive. You can even learn how to maximize your chances of an upgrade without getting married just before every flight.

Thumper

I'm a little dissapointed in the "absolute" answers you have received.

Like many things with airlines, there is a wide margin of subjectivity.
First is you and your relationship with AA. You may be "only" gold, but do you have 1.4 million miles? Are you a good source of revenue for them? So that is factor number one.

Next is the route. Is it impossible to get an upgrade for anyone less than an XP regardless of time of year? And where are you coming out of? Are those initial ports always full?

And of course the AA employee themselves. As far as saying they are nice to customers "at their peril" is a bit extreme.

I'm not sure who would post here an example of the time they were upgraded for free in honor of an aniversary or wedding, as that might very well trigger an avalanche of similar requests, something not in the best interest of the average poster on this board.

Is it ever done? Yes, it certainly is, and I have benefitted from a special request personally, although I will not share with you my level of involvement with AA or the details of hte itinarary. It was exceptional and greatly appreciated! It is free to ask, and certainly you can keep right on asking up to and even past the announcement that "First Class has checked in full".

Best of luck on the wedding day and the years to come!

gemac

We have this discussion here all the time. Someone will ask what AA policy is, someone else will answer, and a third party will chime in that an AAgent violated that policy at their request. Do violations happen? Sure. Is it possible for the AAgent to get a reprimand for violating that policy? Sure, and it is more likely if the violation results in a victim as well as a beneficiary, as the victim may complain.

As the OP was asking about being "at the bottom of the upgrading pyramid", it is reasonable to conclude that he is asking about official AA policy.

In the OP's case, he is Gold, so he can upgrade himself and his new spouse if there is space available. What he is asking is if AA policy will allow or permit the gate AAgent to leapfrog him over EXPs, Plats, and/or other Golds who are higher on the list than he is, because he is on his honeymoon. The answer is no.

Lots of things could happen on his flight, but he shouldn't count on them. He could get diverted to Orlando and overnighted there, but I wouldn't buy tickets to Disney World just yet. If he feels that this is an essential part of his honeymoon experience, he should follow SquareDanceGuy's advice and upgrade with miles. If it is just frosting on his cake, he should request sticker upgrades and hope for the best.

By the way, as far as I know, the first part of your answer (everything in the paragraph that begins with the word "First") is totally wrong.

brp

Because we are attempting to answer the question in a "most probably" way. The answer to every "have they ever..."? or "have you ever..."? question is YES. It has happened to someone. So, rather than simply add to the sticky that the answer to this question is always YES, we try to be more realistic in the chances in threads like this.

So, start with the basic premise that it has surely happened to someone (before even asking). Then the thread can be tempered with the cold, hard, "absolute" answers that form the highly likely reality.

Cheers.

brp

Actually, as discussed here, "First Class has checked in full" is not definitive as people could be checked-in and not there. And that's not a rare exception thing...long security lines, missed connections..."checked in" people fail to board the ac all the time.

Cheers.

nako

I'm a little disappointed that there is some sort of expectation that FT has to be the source of every single permutation and exception to every single rule, and it frankly bothers me that people would actually be disappointed that official policy (ergo, the correct answer) is the one that is given to answer a given question. But maybe that's just me.

Mike

Thumper

I appreciate all the help in clarifying my answer.

For my 25th anniversary I was upgraded, along with my wife over others who may very well have fallen out "above" me on the upgrade list. On both segments in each direction.

I fly about 80,000 BIS (butt in seat) domestic miles each year (for more than 10 years now), and pay a reasonable price for them. I am certain that was a factor in the decision. They also gave me a bottle of champagne on my way off the plane as well.

BRP, since we are correcting each other ( in 3 seperate posts no less!, my wife would be pleased) , I would suggest you reread my comment about the GA announcement. I said to keep asking even after the announcement was made the FC was checked in full. That would seem to imply that the announcement was not, in fact, final and definitive.

Blumie

I assume you were upgraded by the gate agent. The gate agent would see your status (PLT presumably), but I do not believe would have access to any data about your BIS miles or how much you paid for them.

Thumper

Over the phone with the Platinum desk for 3 of the 4 segments, GA for the fourth.
(actually 3rd segment).