Originally Posted by dstan

• Will I have to pay any fees to make, change, or upgrade my reservation?

<snip>

Changes to the date or time of AAdvantage Awards can be made at no charge. Changes to the origin or destination are free for AAnytime Awards and $150 for MileSAAver Award. Changes to the type of award technically require reinstatement of miles and a $150 service charge, although older reports from 2009 indicate that this charge was not typically levied when moving from a coach to a business award in the same category (AAnytime or MileSAAver). Cancellations of AAdvantage Awards incur a $150 service charge for reinstatement of miles. As of July 29, 2010, EXP members are exempt from these change and reinstatement charges.

Originally Posted by dstan

• Where can I find more information about a specific lounge?

FT: FRA / Frankfurt Admirals Club (Closing Mar 1, 2011) & oneworld Lounges (consolidated)

FT: MIA / Miami Concourse E oneworld Premium Lounge (consolidated)

Originally Posted by dstan

• Will I have to pay any fees to make, change, or upgrade my reservation?

<snip>

AAdvantage Travel Awards incur a $25 service charge when booked by telephone, $30 when booked at the airport, or $20 when booked at a Travel Center. AAdvantage Travel Awards for AA-only itineraries can be redeemed online at AA.com with no service charge. AAdvantage Awards redeemed/requested 20 to 7 days prior to departure incur a $50 close-in ticketing fee, and awards redeemed/requested 6 days to 2 hours prior to depature incur a $100 close-in ticketing fee. The close-in fee for additional awards drawn from the same AAdvantage account is $25. All AA elites are exempt from close-in charges as of July 29, 2010 and EXP members are exempt from ticketing service charges. AAdvantage Travel Awards are subject to taxes and security fees.

<snip>

FT: AAdvantage Telephone Ticketing Fee Increased from $20 to $25 (Mar 2011)

Originally Posted by dstan

• How do I book award travel using my AAdvantage miles?

<snip>

FT: Special Procedure for Award Tickets Originating in the Philippines

Originally Posted by dstan

• Can I standby for a different flight?

AA.com: Standby Policy

Originally Posted by dstan

• How long can I hold a reservation at a guaranteed price?

<snip>

N.B.: From Mar 25, 2011 – May 5, 2011, AA is running a trial offer to extend holds up to 7 days for a fee. The offer is valid for flights within the continuous 48 U.S. (excluding Hawaii and Alaska) and reserved in the U.S. >30 days prior to departure.

AA.com: Hold Your Reservation | Extend Your Reservation Hold | Conditions of Carriage: Lowest Fare Availability/Guarantee
FT: Hold / Held Reservation Guarantee - 24 hours or midnight? (consolidated)
FT: New Trial Offer: Pay to hold reservation and fare for 7 days (Mar 25 – May 5, 2011)

Originally Posted by dstan

• How do I apply the residual value from a canceled non-refundable ticket to a new ticket?

When you cancel all or a portion of a non-refundable ticket prior to travel, the residual value is retained in the ticket number, less the appropriate change fee (usually $150 for domestic fares, $250-275 for international fares). The residual value is valid for travel commencing no more than one year from the original ticketing date and can only be applied to the purchase of a new ticket by the same passenger (formally, you are changing the original reservation rather than getting an actual refund). Be sure to record the ticket number for future reference (001 followed by ten digits; note that record locators expire several days after travel), although any agent should be able to access the information in your AAdvantage account.

To apply this residual value towards a new reservation, put the reservation on Hold on AA.com, then call AA with the record locator and ask to apply the residual value of the old ticket to the new reservation. If the residual value is less than the cost of the new ticket, then you can pay the remainder using a credit card. If the original ticket was booked on AA.com, you will not be charged any telephone booking fees for completing the purchase of the new ticket. If the residual value is greater than the cost of the new ticket, then the remaining value will be refunded in the form of a voucher, which can be applied to the purchase of a ticket in anyone’s name.

The entire rebooking process may also be done by phone or at a ticket counter.

AA.com: Refunds | Refunds FAQ
FT: Have to cancel a flight, what happens now? (Post #6)

Originally Posted by dstan

• Why is my seat Unassigned?

<snip>

FlyerTalk member paulmcgrath has created a web tool that generates bookmarkable URLs to specific AA seatmaps: http://thisispaul.com/aaseats/

<snip>

FT: Direct URLs to AA Seatmaps

Originally Posted by dstan

• Where can I find more information about a specific lounge?

FT: FRA / Frankfurt oneworld Lounges (consolidated)
FT: FRA / Frankfurt Admirals Club CLOSED (Mar 31, 2011) (consolidated)

Originally Posted by dstan

• Will my seat have a powerport and what kind of plug do I need?

<snip>

DC powerports on domestic 757-200 (752) aircraft have been disabled since September 1, 2010 due to an undisclosed problem. DC powerports are also being disabled in all cabins of 767-200 (762) aircraft and in a portion of the coach cabin of 767-300 (763) aircraft as of January 15, 2010. On April 21, 2011, AA announced that it expects 762 powerports to be reactivated in May 2011 and 763 Economy as well as domestic 752 powerports to be reactivated by yearend.

Originally Posted by dstan

• Will my flight have onboard wi-fi?

AA provides Gogo Inflight Internet service on all 767-200 (762) aircraft, select MD-80 aircraft, and select 737-800 (38D) aircraft. Additional installations on MD-80, 38D, and domestic 757-200 (752) aircraft are continuing through 2012. The AA Wi-Fi Widget can be used to determine whether or not the service is expected to be available on a given flight, but only up to 24 hours prior to departure, and subject to equipment changes. Gogo service is based on cellular towers and is only available in the continental U.S.

Pricing is listed on AA.com and varies by flight duration and wi-fi device type. 30-Day passes are also available. Note that Gogo’s 24-hour pass is NOT valid on AA flights, although this is not clearly stated on the Gogo website.

Gogo blocks VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services and AA prohibits voice calls in flight. However, the block can be circumvented using a VPN connection if one wants to listen in on a conference call.

Wiki: Inflight Wi-Fi Service
AA.com: Inflight Wifi on American Airlines | Wi-Fi Widget
FT: American’s Gogo Wi-fi Beginning July 2008 (consolidated)
FT: Gogo Inflight Wifi Rolling out on MD-80 Aircraft (May 2009-)
FT: Gogo Inflight Wifi Expanding to Domestic 752 and Additional MD-80 Aircraft (May 2011-)
FT: Gogo Inflight Wifi Discounts

Originally Posted by dstan

• What is AA's boarding procedure?

In May 2011, AA adjusted its official boarding process. Uniformed Military personnel are now officially included in the first group, and EXPs are included with the First or Business premium cabin, depending on aircraft configuration. The number of general boarding groups was reduced from six to four, and are also reportedly somewhat randomized rather than in back-to-front order.

1. First class cabin, Uniformed Military, EXP (on 2-class aircraft)
2. Business class cabin, EXP (on 3-class aircraft)
3. PLT
4. PriorityAAccess / Group 1
5. Group 2
6. Group 3
7. Group 4

In practice, however, some gate agents may call several groups on the above list at the same time. Even then, premium cabins and elites are still usually called first, and these passengers can always use the PriorityAAcess boarding line at the gate. American Eagle and American Connection flights often only have Groups 1 and 2, and may board en masse without preboarding by elites.

AA generally does not make a "preboarding" call for families traveling with small children and those needing extra time. However, passengers in wheelchairs and unaccompanied minor children are allowed to board before all other passengers, and should check with the gate agent.

AA.com: Boarding Process
FT: New AA Boarding Process (May 2011)
FT: Boarding and Flexibility Package now on sale at AA.com

Originally Posted by dstan

• How can I qualify for AA elite status?

<snip>

AA is currently running several targeted Double Elite-Qualifying Miles promotions:

• DEQSL for residents of CA and TX, on roundtrip flights between DFW-LAX and DFW-SFO from Apr 7, 2011 – Aug 31, 2011.
  
• DECSL for residents of CA and IL, on roundtrip flights between ORD-LAX and ORD-SFO from May 6, 2011 – Aug 31, 2011.
  
• LHREQ on roundtrip flights between BOS-LHR and MIA-LHR in full fare Economy Class or above on AA (F, J, A, D, R, I, Y, B, H) and BA (F, J, C, A, D, I, Y, B, H, W, E, T) flights from Mar 29, 2011 – Aug 15, 2011.

AA previously ran Double Elite-Qualifying Miles promotions for roundtrip flights between DFW-SFO or DFW-LAX from Nov 29, 2010 – Feb 28, 2011 (LASF2); and for itineraries originating and terminating at BNA, PIT, RDU, and STL from Jul 2–Dec 31, 2010 (BNATD, PITTD, RDUTD, STLTD). AA ran a Triple Elite-Qualifying Miles promotion for LGA-ORD, ORD-LGA, LGA-BOS, and BOS-LGA flight segments ONLY (NYTPL) from Jun 14 – Aug 31, 2010. AA ran systemwide Double Elite-Qualifying Miles promotions from Sep 2 – Dec 15, 2009 (DBLEQ) and Mar 18 – Jun 15, 2009 (DBEQM).

Wiki: Elite Status
AA.com: Elite Qualification Requirements
FT: DEQSL: Double EQM DFW-LAX, DFW-SFO for CA, TX residents
FT: DECSL: Double EQM ORD-LAX, ORD-SFO for CA, IL residents
FT: LHREQ: Double EQM BOS-LHR and MIA-LHR with fare restrictions

Originally Posted by dstan

• Does AA offer lifetime status?

<snip>

Currently, miles from all sources (flying and non-flying) count toward lifetime status qualification. However, that is expected to change sometime in the latter part of 2011, and it is possible that only flight miles will be counted from that point forward, as is the case with other U. S. airlines that offer lifetime status. Advance notice is expected to be given prior to the changes and the changes are not expected to be retroactive.

FT: Possible upcoming changes to AA Million Miler Program