britenbsas

I read on FT that it was possible to apply eVIPs to reservations on hold, grab the C inventory and then complete the purchase on aa.com.

I just tried to do this for an upcoming trip (after making sure there was C availability for all segments....thanks EF!) then called the EXP desk. I was told that it was impossible to apply eVIPs to the reservation until it was ticketed as the originating city was outside the US (I'm flying from EZE).

So, I've had to purchase the reservation and now have to wait several hours or until tomorrow morning when the status changes to ticketed before I can call back. Hopefully the C inventory will still be there.

Anyone else experienced this? Any way to secure the inventory before purchase in this instance? Any insights would be appreciated. Thanks.

brp

I've purchases tickets online and called to get eVIPs applied, but it is not possible until ticketed. In these cases the origin city was within the US, and they are not able to do it. In both cases, they called the ticketing folks while I waited and pushed it through so they could apply them.

In these cases I was using Entertainment Book discounts, so I could not hold. I think I've been able to apply them to held reservations in the past, but that has not consistently been the case.

Cheers.

Dave Noble

I have come across this ; if there has been availability in the upgrade class, I have managed to get them to ticket it immediately and then apply the upgrade whilst still on the phone

Dave

brp

What I was recounting was something akin to this. Since the EXP agents don't actually have the power to do the ticketing, they had to call the ticketing folks. They did get it done, but it took several minutes while they worked with the other group.

Cheers.

britenbsas

Thank you both for the advice. I'll call back and see if they can push through the ticketing tonight. I'd hate to wake up tomorrow to find C0

MIKESILV

Not sure if the the originating city has anything to do with it but I have got the EXP deck to put a hold on the available C inventory (was given 48 hours ) while I went to aa.com and purchased a ticket I had on hold.

Immediately after ticket was purchased I called, the E-vip was then applied and the process completed. Personally I see no real difference between what I was able to do and what the OP had requested above.

mike

ESpen36

The EXP Desk is able to grab C inventory and upgrade segments of a PNR that is currently on hold. The upgrade can be with miles or eVIP. However, once the upgrade segment(s) clear(s), the PNR must be queued up immediately into TDS (Ticket Delivery Service) for issuance. For the customer, that means that you must purchase the PNR at the time you request the upgrade, assuming the appropriate inventory is available at the time.

In other words, you CANNOT leave a PNR on hold if you call to upgrade and the inventory is available (allowing the segments to be processed into C or A on the spot). Once the upgrade has been processed, you must purchase immediately.

By contrast, if you waitlist segments for upgrades, you still can have the PNR on hold until it expires or you call back to queue it up in TDS.

justforfun

That's funny this thread comes up right now.

Just today I placed a reservation on hold NYC-PVG. The EXP agent INSISTED that I apply eVIPs to it as the seats were available. Sure enough, when I checked online the appropriate segments were upgraded. I did not ticket the reservation until 8 hours later.

So, looks like reservations on hold can be upgraded. Now, that may not be policy and I just stumbled upon a rogue agent(she was phenomenal, by the way), but it is most definitely possible.

Gandhi90s

I believe these statements to be 100% incorrect.

britenbsas

^ Got the itinerary ticketed and made good use of my first 4 eVIPs for me and the SO: EZE-MIA-JFK-LHR and LHR-MIA-EZE.

My initial calls with the EXP desk have been great - really friendly and knowledgeable and going out of their way to help. I feel I have crossed a dangerous line - going back to PLT seems unthinkable right now

Blumie

Where do you come up with this stuff?

ESpen36

...from being told so by EXP Desk folks. And in my experience, it's always automatic--if the upgrade is available, the agent gets my credit card # right then and there. No discussion about leaving it on hold.

If my information incorrect, please set me straight. But please give me a sense that your source is somehow more authoritative.

Gandhi90s

Have you ever tried telling (not asking) the agent that you would like to keep the upgraded rez on hold???

Blumie

The problem is that you take snippets of information -- some of it from unreliable sources -- and snippets of experience -- some of which you clearly don't understand -- and translate them into "this is the way it is" facts. You never qualify these "facts" in words such as "I read somewhere" or "an EXP agent told me" or "in my experience," and consequently you litter this board with untold amounts of misinformation couched in authoritative-sounding language. It's great that you want to be helpful, but it's helpful to post what you actually know, not what you think you know.

nsr

I was able more than once to hold Y tickets WITH C upgrades using evip for a few days, without ticketing it, for itineraries originating OUTSIDE of the US. Not all EXP agents know how to do it and as brp stated it does take a few to a lot of minutes on hold on the phone while the agent sort this out with rate desk. Since the reservation is not considered ticketed yet, the evips will be pulled only after the reservation is ticketed.