Originally Posted by dstan

• What are the chances that my upgrade will clear?

The answer is plain and simple: It varies! However, if you are using 500-mile electronic upgrades, priority is based on status, then other factors (see: How does the upgrade waitlist work?), so your chances are generally better if you avoid EXP-heavy routes on weekday mornings and evenings; these upgrades may clear any time from the beginning of your upgrade window (depending on status) to the time the gate agent closes the aircraft door. If you are using an award or systemwide upgrade, you can check for upgrade inventory availability prior to making your reservation to select a flight where you can request and clear your upgrade request immediately after your reservation goes from ‘Purchased’ to ‘Ticketed’; if upgrade inventory is not available, you will be waitlisted and these upgrades may clear anytime thereafter. Upgrade inventory cannot be viewed on AA.com, but availability can be determined by calling AA Reservations (+1 800-433-7300) to inquire. First Class upgrade inventory (A) can be viewed online with any public inventory tool, such as the KVS Availability Tool, a subscription service. Business Class upgrade inventory (C) is hidden from public inventory tools, but can be viewed using ExpertFlyer, a subscription service that also offers a free 5-day trial.

Originally Posted by aafreq

Question on a pre 1986 upgrade award...
I was compelled to use my above mentioned miles to book an upgrade to J on a
(Y > J)= C. A continuing segment on JAL in Y was booked in N outbound and K on return...
I was able to get exit seating on the JAL return in K due to status, due in most part to it being a code-share, but could not get any seating on the outbound JAL in N....I was informed by AA CS that the N fare resulted from a stopover in NRT and was therefore not a AA code share, thus disabling any 'preferential status' treatment by AA/JAL. JAL also could not confirm any seating....for a 7 hour flight to BKK in Y.
Seems like a 'catch 22' I would pay for MCE seating, but JAL does not seem to offer this option on this NRT>BKK flight. Any suggestions for a LT Ruby to at least secure exit row seating on a JAL 767 ?

Originally Posted by dstan

• How are miles and points calculated?

To make things a bit easier, FlyerTalk member McFlyPHL has created a Excel spreadsheet for tracking AAdvantage miles and points, and another version includes some enhancements by member brp:FlyerTalk member bniu has also recently created an iPhone App for these calculations.

Originally Posted by cheezwhiz

These spreadsheets seem dated -- does anyone have a new tracker they could share for the FAQ or that they can DM me with?

Also, it looks like the iPhone app is no longer available, so that needs to be removed.

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, as recent computational models and experiments have indicated that randomized boarding is faster than back-to-front boarding.

1. First class cabin, Uniformed Military, EXP (on 2-class aircraft)
2. Business class cabin, EXP (on 3-class aircraft)
3. PLT
4. PriorityAAccess (GLD, AAirpass, oneworld elites) / 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.

Passengers traveling together, even on separate reservations, are usually allowed to board together under their highest priority group by presenting boarding passes together or by notifying the agent scanning boarding passes that they are traveling together.

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
FT: AA study finds randomized boarding faster (Jul 2011)
FT: (Newsstand Forum) A new twist on boarding order algorithms (Mar 2008)

Originally Posted by dstan

• What is AA's boarding procedure?

<snip>

1. First class cabin, Uniformed Military, EXP, oneworld Emerald (on 2-class aircraft)
2. Business class cabin, EXP, oneworld Emerald (on 3-class aircraft)
3. PLT, oneworld Sapphire
4. PriorityAAccess (GLD, AAirpass, oneworld Ruby) / 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. Conversely, if an inbound plane is late arriving and cleaning and catering has been completed in First but not Economy, the First Class cabin may sometimes be boarded prior to ANY coach passengers, regardless of other qualifications.

Originally Posted by dstan

• How long can I hold a reservation at a guaranteed price? / What can I do if my held reservation reprices at purchase?

Reservations made on AA.com can be held at the current price without payment for a limited time to allow passengers to verify their travel plans and/or monitor price changes. The publicized guarantee is “up to 24 hours”, however, in practice, the hold is valid until 11:59 pm local time on the following day, and this is consistent with the AA Conditions of Carriage, which state: “When you make a telephone reservation with American Airlines or when you make a reservation via AA.com, the fare quoted will be guaranteed for 24 hours or until 11:59 p.m. Central Time the following day, whichever allows you more time. If you elect to make changes to the itinerary within this time-frame, the ticket price may change.”

An important caveat is that if the fare rule expires during that time, the hold will no longer be valid and will automatically reprice. Fares are often structured with advance purchase requirements at 3, 7, 14, or 21 days prior to departure. Reservations including segments marketed by other carriers (non-AA flight number) cannot be placed on hold and must be purchased immediately, although reservations including AA codeshare flights operated by other carriers are eligible for hold.

If you find that AA.com reprices your held reservation when attempting to purchase, and you are sure that the fare rule is still valid, a telephone call to AA Web Services may resolve the problem. You may need to complete the purchase on the telephone, which technically will invoke a $25 telephone booking fee, however, some agents may waive this fee at their discretion. Also, if you hold a reservation in one currency and then try to complete the purchase with a credit card denominated in another currency, it will automatically reprice to the prevailing fare. To avoid this, ask AA Web Services to change the currency on the original held reservation to the currency you wish to use for the purchase.

Note that held reservations do remove slots from fare inventory and hold specific seats on seatmaps. The inventory and seats are released automatically when the held reservation is canceled, but do not necessarily return to the original inventory class. Thus, members who manually roll holds online often check that there is at least one inventory slot remaining in the original inventory class, and that the fare price has not changed, before cancelling and renewing a hold. It may also be possible to call AA Reservations and ask them to extend the hold for another day if the original inventory is still available.

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: Rolling / extending a 24-hour Hold / Held Reservation online
FT: Hold / Held Reservation repriced when using different currency at purchase
FT: Trial offer: Pay to hold reservation and fare for 7 days (Mar 25 – June 2011 only)

Originally Posted by dstan

• I will just miss requalifying, will AA make any exceptions or can I buy back status?

Officially, in each year since 2003, AA has offered a status buyback / repurchase program for elites who did not requalify; again, this offer is not available until after the end of the requalification (calendar) year.

Unofficially, AA previously provided automatic exceptions for elites who come close to requalifying on points or miles (24,500 GLD / 49,000 PLT / 99,000 EXP). However, this exception has apparently been discontinued for the 2013-2014 membership year according to member experiences.

Unofficially, AA also previously had a ‘soft landing’ policy, whereby elites never drop by more than one level per year, regardless of miles flown. However, this policy has officially been discontinued for the 2014-2015 membership year according to AA.

FT: 2012 AAdvantage status renewal/requalification questions/issues (consolidated)

Wiki: Elite Status: Buyback
AA.com: Elite Status Buyback: An Exclusive AAdvantage Special Offer
FT: 2012 AAdvantage status year repurchase/buyback

Wiki: Elite Status: Exception Policy
FT: Status requalification automatic exception levels (Posted 7/4/02)

Wiki: Elite Status: Soft Landing Policy
FT: 2012 Elite Status Soft Landing Experiences
FT: 2013 Elite Status Soft Landing Discontinued for 2014-2015 Membership Year

Originally Posted by _zZz

Question:

Are the elite rewards notifications for 40000 miles been sent already?

I am waiting for my notification, so I can choose the 10% discount and apply it for an upcoming trip. They said in May, but I've not received it yet.

thanks

Originally Posted by dat4life

I have an round trip award reservation on 1 PNR coming up on November. While I am absolute set on my outbound itinerary, I am not so sure about my return. Is it possible to just cancel and redeposit my return award? If so, can it be done after travel has commenced on the itinerary, i.e. if I have already flown my outbound but not yet flown the return portion.

Originally Posted by raj_cl

Just qualified for AA Gold.

Have an upcoming flight which ask to check the box for 500 mile upgrade. I did check it.

Is the upgrade complimentary (of-course if I get it) or will they charge me money of miles, to give it to me?

Asking because while in the past (United and Delta) I've enjoyed numerous complimentary upgrades, but these days you never know,e especially with the kind of website interfaces, in AA where it says upgrades remaining etc. so wondering if they can be sneaky and charge my credit card or take away miles for the upgrade?

Also why do they call it 500 mile upgrade, and say 2 are needed? FWIW the flight is from DFW to MSP.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by dstan

• Does anyone have a discount or promotion code? / Are there any AAdvantage enrollment bonuses available?

<snip>

FT: 2013 Entertainment Book