GadgetFreak

Hmm. Maybe you are right. I forgot about that.

GadgetFreak

Ah, okay. That makes sense. Thanks.

ja_user

Disclaimer.... I am not an EXP, but this applies to me as well.

I routinely do not purchase a ticket until 1-2 weeks before flying time. As a lowely PLAT, I need every advantage I can get to secure the upgrade.

I suggest this.... Allot of us frequently purchase a ticket 3-7 days out, and know what that costs, these also tend to be changeable fares....

Why not just start buying 21day + refundable/changeable fares? Assuming you have a routine city pair, just change the dates/flights as needed. Or do you have to re-request after doing flight changes?

We don't HAVE to buy the bottom of the barrel tickets, even when buying early, if we want the flexibility.

whirledtraveler

Okay, so the airport list is generated about three hours out.. are upgrades ever assigned from the list prior to 20 minutes before boarding? If so, check in time does still matter. If not, then it seems it doesn't.

GadgetFreak

They used to be on some occasions. It hasnt happened to me with the new system but I have only had a few flights. I dont think that someone can "sneak in" with the new system. It seems like you go on the list, both before and at the airport based on ticket purchase time. So if inventory cleared 8 hours before the flight, if you were first you would get it no matter if you had checked in or not. And if you had checked in or not you would transfer to the airport list with your original priority. At least that is the way I think it is working. I dont think any of us will know until we see how it works for a while. If anything, I might book some MRs to LAX in August this week

ESpen36

People, people...

If you actually care THAT much about domestic upgrades, then for the love of G*d, why don't you just USE YOUR MILES and secure the upgrade at the time of booking? A or C inventory is quite often available well in advance of most flights.

Even though I'm EXP and my e-upgrades clear most of the time, I never rely on them when it's a trip that really matters to me (i.e. Hawaii, Caribbean at peak periods, AFS transcon, etc). I ALWAYS burn miles to secure the upgrades--it's just not worth the stress of gambling with the e-upgrade system.

Call me crazy, but I just don't think it's worth all this craziness over a slightly bigger seat and a glass of your favorite beverage, instead of a cup of the same. For crying out loud, it's DOMESTIC service!

joshuaw2

All I have to say is that I bought a 'L' fare ticket yesterday for a flight today for my fiancee. Tonight at the kiosk it asked would you like an upgrade. She declined this time because after doing soo many, they cut into the budget a little :-)

I haven't seen how this upgrade thing affects us. Yet.

Oh yeah.. we both did STL to DFW a few days ago. Kiosk asked us again for a mid-afternoon flight to upgrade.

GadgetFreak

Duh, I didnt think of using miles. I have never done it on domestic. Switched to AA 4 years ago and didnt even realize you could do that. Thanks.

ESpen36

Yup. A Domestic/Caribbean/Canada/Mexico/Bermuda/Bahamas upgrade is 15,000 miles each way (plus $150 if Hawaii), up to three segments.

It's my biggest use of miles. I almost never claim flight awards (free tickets) because I need every flown mile for requalification, so I must fly on paid (mileage-earning) tickets.

whirledtraveler

Actually, most of my travel has shifted international and I'm reserving miles for upgrades on those trips. I rue the day that my stash runs out.

millions

The kiosk asking if you'd like to request an upgrade does not mean seats are available.

pistonsdc

This is very poor use of miles, IMHO. Burning 30K miles round trip for a 2 or 3 hour flight, for example, is just not worth it. If I did this every week for the 45 or so weeks I travel each year on business, it would cost me 1,350,000 miles!

My strategy is to purchase all domestic flights in coach, try to get the free upgrade, and save my miles for something of real value, such as Oneworld or F awards. Traveling overseas, I try to book coach and use an EVIP.

This way, I maximize my miles earning for qualification, and minimize costs. Considering the dollar value of miles (debated in other threads) your proposal is quite expensive.

GadgetFreak

I probably wouldnt use it for myself much but on transcons it would be nice to use for my wife. Im more robust about getting stuck in coach than is she. I also have, between AA and UA about 1.5 million miles, roughly half on each so a few 30K rt upgrades would go more or less unnoticed. Thanks again for the reminder/suggestion on that.

abk

i have been overseas for awhile and have not kept up with this thread. having just read it i would like to point out that my ticket for this trip was 16,000 miles in full business class and 3800 or so in discounted economy. this is only relevant because i am a long time exp who has the luxury of purchasing my tickets weeks and yes sometimes months in advance. in all the years i have made exp i have always qualified first on points and then later on miles. those of you who buy your tickets at the last minute are not necessarily aa's best customers. there are others of us out there who may out spend you because we buy higher fare international tickets, regular economy as well as discounted economy, and yes can plan in advance.

yes, i like the new system. having read the comments i am struck by several things:

you can no longer take advantage of the 4 hour loophole ( which i have never done). this is clearly a software glitch that aa needed to fix as it was completely unfair to everybody but those who took advantage of it.

you can no longer game the system by checking in at the 24 hour point. the use of the term "game the system" says it all. now it is fair and cannot be gamed. i have to much to do to worry about checking in on line 24 hours out so that i can request my upgrade for the SECOND TIME. shouldn't once be enough? if i wanted to check in at the 24 hour mark i could fly southwest.

i think that those of you who are trying to decide which exps are better than others and deserve to jump the queue are really over thinking things. at some point we have all paid our dues.

deac83

Since I have a more regular schedule I take advantage of buying my tickets early. Based on when my Amex billed (i.e. I have to pay it and get reimbursed) I'd book 4 weeks out and have 8 weeks of tickets booked. On a cost basis my average ticket prices dropped to around $220.

For UG's I'll clear 90% at the 100 hr mark. When I booked my seats if the exit row aisle were empty I knew I was probably #1 or 2 on the reservation list.

At the same time, for the routes I'm flying, I know that at the 100 hr mark they will UG until 6 seats are taken (paid or UGs).

So while the 24 hr OLCI helped getting that last available seat in F at the gate, the automated UG list cleared by res date anyway.