FreqTrav27

HI,

I am GOld status right now on AA and my status will expire at the end of Feb. and I have not requalified.

I have 4 500 mile upgrades in my account-can I use them even if I am not Gold?

DaDaDan

On Y or B fares.

AAir_head

Yes, though your success in using them may vary depending on when and where you try it.

See the AA FT Wiki page or aa.com upgrades page for complete details.

cheers!

swag

Also worth noting that they never expire, as long as your account is active. So if/when you get back to GLD, you'll be able to use them then as before.

malcolmkettering

Could they be used to upgrade a travel companion who is PLT and flying in discounted Economy? Or do BOTH passengers have to be upgrading for them to be used for a companion?

c_stanley

I've posted on it a few times as I've been trying to get to the bottom of this broader question -- specifically how and when and under what circumstances can stickers be used for traveling companions with various combinations of status.

What I've come to understand, and I'm still not certain it's clear, is something like this:

* The default is that the upgrades will clear in order based on the highest status passenger flying, and that passenger's stickers will be pulled for the companion upgrade too. So if you have a PLT and a GLD together or a PLT and a no-status, the stickers will all come from the PLT's account if you don't intervene.

* If the companion has status but a lower status, you can ask that the stickers be pulled from their account instead. So if you have a PLT and a GLD flying together, wait for the upgrades to clear, and then when you check in or at an AC or gate ask that the GLD's stickers be used for the GLD's flight.

* I don't know if this is explicit policy, but in my experience if multiple elites are flying together, you can pull the stickers from any of the accounts for the other flyers. So in that above scenario with a PLT and a GLD together, if the GLD member had extra stickers they could be used for the PLT member if you ask at check in. Note I *think* this is somewhat of an exception, in that it's not supposed to work this way, but it seems easy to do if you ask for it.

* In the situation where you have a non-elite passenger eligible for an upgrade as they are flying with an elite passenger, then they can NOT use their stickers to upgrade unless on a Y or B fare. I've been around and around on this and talked to supervisors and was told that there is a clear policy that any non-elite with residual stickers can use them ONLY for a Y or B upgrade. Even if they are eligible because they are with an elite member the stickers HAVE to come from that elite member's account. I still don't know if that's really a rule but I've worked hard to find out and that was a clear answer from a person who seemed to be senior when I called about it. I have been able to get this waived (my situation was that my wife had tons of extra stickers because they kept pulling from my account as the PLT when she had been GLD, and when she dropped to no-status we were trying to use them for her upgrades). I have been successful in getting agents to waive this but it appears quite hard and takes a lot of typing and one of them told me he would do it but don't tell anyone it was him as he was circumventing the rules for me.

* So that brings me to your situation. As I understand from the above the same rule applies to you. If you are non-elite you can NOT use your stickers for anything or anyone except yourself, and only on a Y or B fare. But as I said you could certainly ask and may get it done for you, as I have in the past.

But to answer your question the hard rule as I understand it is no. If a non-elite has stickers, they can only be used for themselves and only on a Y or B fare. That's pretty much verbatim from when I asked an AA supervisor to clearly state the policy. As always if you don't like that answer try asking someone else, but you'll likely find it tough.

zipadee

Thanks C_Stanley for a boatload of helpful information.

I'll post later this year on my own first hand experiences.

Mr. Zipadee and I are heading down to NOLA next month for Mardi Gras. (OT, but I find FTers to be so helpful on this forum. I'm open to dining suggestions for NOLA restaurants on opentable.com. K-Pauls is a definite and maybe Commander's Palace)

With these four segments, Mr. Zipadee clears a 10,000 milestone and will get the 4 stickers. A day or two later, he's status-less (poor baby). So for future travel together this year, I'll put on a big smile, a nice attitude and hope for a "force" but realize it's unlikely and not be disappointed if it doesn't work. (is there an ADC type code you can recommend they type) And realize if it doesn't work the first time ask again on another trip LOL. Still I have no expectations, only dreams and pretend ponies.

Is there a particular airport in which the "force" is more likely to be with you? I would think DFW?

c_stanley

1. Jacques Imo's. Look it up. Couldn't recommend it more highly.

2. I believe the agents have to "force" the FF# of the non-status passenger into the field that determines where the sticker is pulled from. Apparently there's some function where you type in the FF# where the stickers come from. The computer says no you can't do that. Then they override the warning somehow. That's what an AC agent said but I didn't catch all the detail. It clearly takes someone who knows the system well and how to get around some kind of warning that the computer spits back.

BarkinJ

My boss is not an AA elite.

A few years ago, she bought 15 upgrade "stickers." She wasn't an elite then, and never has been between then and now. She bought the stickers as a mistake -- she was under the impression that she could use them as a non-elite. She now knows that this was her mistake, and that she didn't read the rules. (And she has not complained or asked for a refund.)

We know that she can only really use the stickers on Y and B fares. Of course for the flying she does, it pretty much never makes sense to book Y or B fares. I have also explained to her that she cannot transfer the stickers to someone else. (We both would have been happy to have her gift them to me.)

So the question is: Is there any way she can use the stickers? She's currently just sitting on 15 of them, and can only use them if (A) she buys heavily overpriced economy tickets, or (B) flies enough this year to get GLD status (fat chance).

If she and I are booked on the same PNR (I'm PLT, on my way to EXP), and I request for us both to be upgraded, and that upgrade clears, is there any way we can get AA to take the stickers from her account?

Several months ago, we were flying together, EWR-LAX on the same PNR. I requested a sticker upgrade for both of us, and the upgrade cleared. I didn't have any stickers in my account. At the check in counter, the agent explained that he could not use my boss' upgrades. We ended up paying the $300 for the 10 stickers we needed. (Even though there were 15 stickers sitting there in her account!)

Was the agent correct in not allowing us to use the stickers in my boss' account? Could we have had more success had we asked an agent at the gate or in the AC? We're flying together again in July, LAX-ORD, so any advice would be useful.

Also, later in the year, she's flying LAX-EWR (and back) on an I-fare "instant upgrade" ticket (a client is paying). It's a three-class 762, so she's booked into business class. Any chance she can use those stickers to upgrade to F?

AAce

The agent in Newark was right about the stickers.

The 762 flight from Los Angeles to Newark is currenlty being listed as a three class flight, but past history and reports from flight attendants regarding staffing indicate the flight will really be sold as a two class flight, with 39 premium seats.

Regardless, in answer to your question, No it is not possible to use stickers to upgrade from business class to first class.

bdemaria

Would removing the ADC code (after the upgrades clear) work or is that only applicable when both pax have elite status?

BarkinJ

I just booked her ticket and selected her seat. The seating map for J showed only rows 7-11. In other words, they're currently selling it as a three class flight.

(I imagine that it if someone were to buy a full-fare ticket in F, s/he would be pretty pissed if AA decided to switch it to a two-class flight.)

Either way, I understand AA's policies about sticker upgrades. I'm wondering if anyone has had any luck with (or if anyone has a trick for) using stickers in a non-elite's account.

metsfan1962

Several years ago, my non-elite spouse had UPGs in her account from when she was GLD. I recall her getting an upgrade using my status and the ticket counter agent actually used her stickers at our request. Supposedly, that's against the rules but the agent (who perhaps didn't know any better) got the system to use her stickers. Maybe there are ways to manually override the system to get it to use the non-elites UPGs or maybe the agent can transfer the non-elite's stickers to your account? Dunno, but I do know she got FC using her stickers as a non-elite. If you're AC member, perhaps AC agents can find ways to bend the rules in the name of customer service (or do GAs have full control in those matters when it's within 3 hrs of departure?).

bdemaria

Is it a paid business class ticket? If so, then sign her up for a GLD challenge - if it is a round trip, the points earned for this trip alone would get her GLD status thru Feb 2011 and then should could use her stickers on her own flights or at least use them when traveling w/you (or another elite).

dstan

BarkinJ's thread has now been merged into a previous thread on this topic. Regarding the ADC issue, see especially c_stanley's post upthread.

/Moderator