Jul 28, 2015, 12:06 pm
Last edit by: Prospero
Mileage and copayment upgrades on American Airlines
As of May 20, 2017 upgrade prioritization is:
Enjoy a higher cabin of service Link.
Use your AAdvantage miles to upgrade on flights marketed and operated by American Airlines or American Eagle for yourself or anyone you designate.
Upgrades are valid to the next cabin of service* and are valid for a single one-way trip with a maximum of three segments. Upgrades are subject to capacity controls. Excluding award tickets, the following eligible fare types can be upgraded:
*E.g. Economy to Business, Business to three class First. At this time Premium Economy is treated as Economy for upgrade purposes.
See the chart here for cost in miles and dollars.
NOTE: The most expensive fare classes, full fare Economy Y, full fare Premium Economy W, and full fare Business J, may be upgraded without copay and at a lower cost in miles. See here.
Taxes and carrier-imposed fees:
Co-payment is non-refundable and inclusive of U.S. excise tax where applicable.
Mileage upgrade award tickets are subject to applicable taxes and security fees and may incur additional taxes as a result of upgrading to a higher class cabin (includes higher U.K. Air Passenger Duty If Flight originates in the UK or is a connecting flight with a connection time of 24:00 or more)..)
NOTE:
Miles and copay upgrades are to the next available cabin of service, are based on inventory being available, usable on AA marketed and operated flights (not codeshares operated by other airlines, not on other airlines' prime flights - BA and IB allow miles upgrades with AA miles but are very different and therefore not treated here).
See AA Participating Airline Upgrade Award - BA, IB, including codeshares (master thd), and note “one class of service” means Y to PE, PE to J, J to F where available on BA.
If the required inventory exists, they can be booked positively (i.e. upgraded immediately); if not, the request is wait listed. Wait list clearance is by status (EXP highest, no status lowest), and within status priority is by rolling 12 month EQD spend. Elites can have one traveling companion on the same PNR "borrow" their status for upgrade wait list purposes, until the request goes to the airport list, where you may want to assure your travel companion continues to hold your “borrowed” status for upgrade purposes.
Copays are waived for CK on all flights.
Frequently Asked Questions / FAQ:
Q. It says the upgrade fees are nonrefundable. Do I lose my miles and money if I'm not upgraded?
If your upgrade request does not go through, miles and copay are in fact refunded.
Q. If I am waitlisted, in what priority order are upgrades processed?
Upgrades are processed first by AAdvantage status tier, secondarily by type of upgrade, thirdly by the previous rolling 12 month EQD spend.
Q. Which has higher priority if all other preceding factors are the same? An upgraded with miles + copay, or an upgraded with SWU?
They have equal priority. A few reports state copay + upgrade have been given priority at some overseas stations.
Q. How soon will I know if my upgrade came through?
It can happen anytime inventory opens, from the time you book until the time you board. (Your request, including date and time of request, should carry over automatically to the airport list.)
Q. How soon will I know if my upgrade came through?
It can happen anytime inventory opens, from the time you book until the time you board. (Your request, including date and time of request, should carry over automatically to the airport list.)
Q. What happens to my booked seat whilst I'm waitlisted? If my upgrade doesn't come through, do I lose my reserved seat?
You normally retain your booked seat until (if) your upgrade comes through.
Q. How many flights can I upgrade with a single miles plus copay upgrade?
You may (assuming available inventory) upgrade up to three segments on the same ticketed itinerary (e.g. LHR-ORD-MIA-EZE, as long as they are on the same PNR).
Q. Can I look at AAnytime or MileSAAver award space to determine upgrade availability?
No. MileSAAver availability may be a good indication upgrade space may become available, but SAAver and upgrade inventories are separate.
Q. What fare inventory do I need to upgrade?
You need available "C" inventory to upgrade to two class domestic First and three class Business, "A" to three class First. These are not shown on aa.com, but some services (e.g. ExpertFlyer) do show them. The only way to reliably search for upgrade space on Expertflyer or other services is segment by segment. The reason for this is that by rule if C is available on the stand alone segment then the upgrade is allowed.
Q. I'm Executive Platinum. If I purchase an upgrade for someone without status, will they "borrow" my status for upgrade purposes?
They will if they are flying as your single traveling companion on the same flights. Otherwise, their status will determine their position on the upgrade wait list. This "borrowed" status was previously lost once the flight has gone to airport control; it doesn’t now, but it pays to check and see if it has been mismanaged by software - it can be restored when it has passed to airport control.
Q. Which miles earning and fare conditions will apply to my upgraded flights?
You will earn miles (award miles -- RDM -- and EQM) and EQ Dollars credit as determined by your originally purchased fare, and the applicable fare rules will also be determined by your originally purchased fare.
Older posts can be read in ARCHIVE: FAQ: Miles + Copay Upgrade / Upgrades (consolidated)
As of May 20, 2017 upgrade prioritization is:
- Elite status
- Concierge Key
- Executive Platinum
- Platinum Pro
- Platinum
- Gold
- Platinum
- Platinum Pro
- Executive Platinum
- Upgrade type
- Miles and copay award upgrades and systemwide upgrades (SWU)
- 500 mile upgrades on purchased tickets (including EXP complimentary UDU)
- 500 mile upgrades on upgrade eligible awards (including EXP complimentary UDU)
- 500 mile upgrades on purchased tickets (including EXP complimentary UDU)
- Elite qualifying dollars* in the past 12 months
- Booking class (in order, J, D, I, W, P, Y, H, K, M, L, V, G, S, N, Q, O, T)
- Time of request
- Booking class (in order, J, D, I, W, P, Y, H, K, M, L, V, G, S, N, Q, O, T)
- Miles and copay award upgrades and systemwide upgrades (SWU)
- Concierge Key
Enjoy a higher cabin of service Link.
Use your AAdvantage miles to upgrade on flights marketed and operated by American Airlines or American Eagle for yourself or anyone you designate.
Upgrades are valid to the next cabin of service* and are valid for a single one-way trip with a maximum of three segments. Upgrades are subject to capacity controls. Excluding award tickets, the following eligible fare types can be upgraded:
- Discount Economy with published fares booked in H,K,M,L,W,V,G,Q,N,O,S and
- Military or Government fares booked in Y
- Full-Fare Economy with published fares booked in Y
- Discount Premium Economy with published fares booked in P
- Full-Fare Premium Economy with published fares booked in W
- Discount Business with published fares booked in I
- Full-Fare Business with published fares booked in J, D or R
- Basic Economy fares booked in B are not upgradable
- Full-Fare Business with published fares booked in J, D or R
- Discount Business with published fares booked in I
- Full-Fare Premium Economy with published fares booked in W
- Discount Premium Economy with published fares booked in P
- Full-Fare Economy with published fares booked in Y
- Military or Government fares booked in Y
*E.g. Economy to Business, Business to three class First. At this time Premium Economy is treated as Economy for upgrade purposes.
See the chart here for cost in miles and dollars.
NOTE: The most expensive fare classes, full fare Economy Y, full fare Premium Economy W, and full fare Business J, may be upgraded without copay and at a lower cost in miles. See here.
Taxes and carrier-imposed fees:
Co-payment is non-refundable and inclusive of U.S. excise tax where applicable.
Mileage upgrade award tickets are subject to applicable taxes and security fees and may incur additional taxes as a result of upgrading to a higher class cabin (includes higher U.K. Air Passenger Duty If Flight originates in the UK or is a connecting flight with a connection time of 24:00 or more)..)
- Upgrading from Economy Class to Business Class or First Class may result in additional premium cabin taxes and carrier-imposed fees, including but not limited to flights originating in Great Britain and France.
- If the ticket is priced in USD, the additional taxes and carrier-imposed fees will be converted to USD at the time of ticketing.
- Please contact American Airlines Reservations to obtain applicable taxes and carrier-imposed fees for specific itineraries.
- If the ticket is priced in USD, the additional taxes and carrier-imposed fees will be converted to USD at the time of ticketing.
NOTE:
Miles and copay upgrades are to the next available cabin of service, are based on inventory being available, usable on AA marketed and operated flights (not codeshares operated by other airlines, not on other airlines' prime flights - BA and IB allow miles upgrades with AA miles but are very different and therefore not treated here).
See AA Participating Airline Upgrade Award - BA, IB, including codeshares (master thd), and note “one class of service” means Y to PE, PE to J, J to F where available on BA.
If the required inventory exists, they can be booked positively (i.e. upgraded immediately); if not, the request is wait listed. Wait list clearance is by status (EXP highest, no status lowest), and within status priority is by rolling 12 month EQD spend. Elites can have one traveling companion on the same PNR "borrow" their status for upgrade wait list purposes, until the request goes to the airport list, where you may want to assure your travel companion continues to hold your “borrowed” status for upgrade purposes.
Copays are waived for CK on all flights.
Frequently Asked Questions / FAQ:
Q. It says the upgrade fees are nonrefundable. Do I lose my miles and money if I'm not upgraded?
If your upgrade request does not go through, miles and copay are in fact refunded.
Q. If I am waitlisted, in what priority order are upgrades processed?
Upgrades are processed first by AAdvantage status tier, secondarily by type of upgrade, thirdly by the previous rolling 12 month EQD spend.
Q. Which has higher priority if all other preceding factors are the same? An upgraded with miles + copay, or an upgraded with SWU?
They have equal priority. A few reports state copay + upgrade have been given priority at some overseas stations.
Q. How soon will I know if my upgrade came through?
It can happen anytime inventory opens, from the time you book until the time you board. (Your request, including date and time of request, should carry over automatically to the airport list.)
Q. How soon will I know if my upgrade came through?
It can happen anytime inventory opens, from the time you book until the time you board. (Your request, including date and time of request, should carry over automatically to the airport list.)
Q. What happens to my booked seat whilst I'm waitlisted? If my upgrade doesn't come through, do I lose my reserved seat?
You normally retain your booked seat until (if) your upgrade comes through.
Q. How many flights can I upgrade with a single miles plus copay upgrade?
You may (assuming available inventory) upgrade up to three segments on the same ticketed itinerary (e.g. LHR-ORD-MIA-EZE, as long as they are on the same PNR).
Q. Can I look at AAnytime or MileSAAver award space to determine upgrade availability?
No. MileSAAver availability may be a good indication upgrade space may become available, but SAAver and upgrade inventories are separate.
Q. What fare inventory do I need to upgrade?
You need available "C" inventory to upgrade to two class domestic First and three class Business, "A" to three class First. These are not shown on aa.com, but some services (e.g. ExpertFlyer) do show them. The only way to reliably search for upgrade space on Expertflyer or other services is segment by segment. The reason for this is that by rule if C is available on the stand alone segment then the upgrade is allowed.
Q. I'm Executive Platinum. If I purchase an upgrade for someone without status, will they "borrow" my status for upgrade purposes?
They will if they are flying as your single traveling companion on the same flights. Otherwise, their status will determine their position on the upgrade wait list. This "borrowed" status was previously lost once the flight has gone to airport control; it doesn’t now, but it pays to check and see if it has been mismanaged by software - it can be restored when it has passed to airport control.
Q. Which miles earning and fare conditions will apply to my upgraded flights?
You will earn miles (award miles -- RDM -- and EQM) and EQ Dollars credit as determined by your originally purchased fare, and the applicable fare rules will also be determined by your originally purchased fare.
Older posts can be read in ARCHIVE: FAQ: Miles + Copay Upgrade / Upgrades (consolidated)
FAQ: Miles + Copay Upgrade / Upgrades (master thread)
Oct 18, 2019, 10:49 am
#751
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,285
You will clear if j loads are light. No one can tell you in advance.
Oct 20, 2019, 9:30 pm
#752
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Manhattan Beach, California
Programs: BMI Diamond Club Gold forever
Posts: 6,367
I wanted to share that I was able to do something that I had asked a year or so about and been told here or in the SWU thread that it could not (at least easily) be done if at all. I booked 5 KTM-HKG-LAX-SEA tickets, booked in R class so the upgrade to F on HKG-LAX didnt require a co-pay. At the time of booking I thought I would use all my SWUs and so used 25k miles for 3 of the upgrades. But in the end I am now sitting with 4 extra SWUs and a lot of F and J travel booked between now and Jan 31 and so thought I should see if I can "swap" the SWUs in and get the miles back. I called in and asked and bingo, got it done. While it is a multi-step process and took some time on hold, it worked. I got 75k miles back and redeemed 3 of 4 expiring SWUs.
Oct 25, 2019, 12:27 pm
#753
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Washington DC
Programs: American Airlines
Posts: 66
I had a confirmed upgrade 2 months ago and I had to cancel my trip due to some
circumstances. Twitter team provided me ticket number and told me to call back when I’m ready to reschedule.
I called a week earlier and booked a new flight with the credit left minus $275 dollars. One of the flights I rebooked into had C space available and I was confirmed in J. If C space not available they will waitlist you, if you don’t clear at the gate I think you will still have 1 year since credit was issued to apply that upgrade for a future flight
circumstances. Twitter team provided me ticket number and told me to call back when I’m ready to reschedule.
I called a week earlier and booked a new flight with the credit left minus $275 dollars. One of the flights I rebooked into had C space available and I was confirmed in J. If C space not available they will waitlist you, if you don’t clear at the gate I think you will still have 1 year since credit was issued to apply that upgrade for a future flight
Oct 25, 2019, 5:23 pm
#754
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,285
Also you can use your upgrade in either direction as long as it’s in the same region. I originally had upgrade on ORD-BCN but when I rebooked, I used it for BCN-ORD.
Nov 25, 2019, 12:37 pm
#756
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 377
Should I cancel miles and copay upgrade
I have a flight from MIA to BCN on 4/30/20, in premium economy. I ordered a miles copay award for two passengers to Business. Currently there are 9 out of 37 seats booked in business. I found out I might have to move the dates forward or cancel the booking. Is there any chance they would award a business seat this early. I will know next week whether I have to change the flight. The $350 pp and 25000 miles pp would be lost. I can redeposit the miles for a fee, but the 350 pp is nonrefundable. Any thoughts. I really don't think they would upgrade an award to business this early.
Nov 25, 2019, 12:50 pm
#757
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: AA LT Gold
Posts: 3,646
I have a flight from MIA to BCN on 4/30/20, in premium economy. I ordered a miles copay award for two passengers to Business. Currently there are 9 out of 37 seats booked in business. I found out I might have to move the dates forward or cancel the booking. Is there any chance they would award a business seat this early. I will know next week whether I have to change the flight. The $350 pp and 25000 miles pp would be lost. I can redeposit the miles for a fee, but the 350 pp is nonrefundable. Any thoughts. I really don't think they would upgrade an award to business this early.
If any seat opens up, it will go to those EXP on waitlist. Since you are talking about redeposit fees, I assume you are not EXP.
Having said that, why don't you just cancel your upgrade request?
It won't make any difference if you re-apply it later as upgrade priority is based on status and EQD, not time of booking.
Nov 25, 2019, 1:17 pm
#758
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 377
I find it very unlikely that any upgrade inventory will open up between now and next week.
If any seat opens up, it will go to those EXP on waitlist. Since you are talking about redeposit fees, I assume you are not EXP.
Having said that, why don't you just cancel your upgrade request?
It won't make any difference if you re-apply it later as upgrade priority is based on status and EQD, not time of booking.
If any seat opens up, it will go to those EXP on waitlist. Since you are talking about redeposit fees, I assume you are not EXP.
Having said that, why don't you just cancel your upgrade request?
It won't make any difference if you re-apply it later as upgrade priority is based on status and EQD, not time of booking.
Last edited by JDiver; Nov 25, 2019 at 2:41 pm Reason: Merging posts
Nov 25, 2019, 1:42 pm
#759
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: SAN
Programs: AA CK, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 839
I have a flight from MIA to BCN on 4/30/20, in premium economy. I ordered a miles copay award for two passengers to Business. Currently there are 9 out of 37 seats booked in business. I found out I might have to move the dates forward or cancel the booking. Is there any chance they would award a business seat this early. I will know next week whether I have to change the flight. The $350 pp and 25000 miles pp would be lost. I can redeposit the miles for a fee, but the 350 pp is nonrefundable. Any thoughts. I really don't think they would upgrade an award to business this early.
Nov 25, 2019, 1:56 pm
#760
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 377
Nov 25, 2019, 2:53 pm
#761
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,481
I have a flight from MIA to BCN on 4/30/20, in premium economy. I ordered a miles copay award for two passengers to Business. Currently there are 9 out of 37 seats booked in business. I found out I might have to move the dates forward or cancel the booking. Is there any chance they would award a business seat this early. I will know next week whether I have to change the flight. The $350 pp and 25000 miles pp would be lost. I can redeposit the miles for a fee, but the 350 pp is nonrefundable. Any thoughts. I really don't think they would upgrade an award to business this early.
Also, the time of the upgrade request has no bearing on your waitlist position, it is sorted by status first then rolling 12 mo EQD.
If you need to cancel or change the dates of your trip then just cancel or change the dates, and have the agent transfer your upgrade request to the new flights. For a flight not till April 2020 it's highly unlikely you will see any kind of upgrade space open in the next week.
Nov 25, 2019, 3:12 pm
#762
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: AA LT Gold
Posts: 3,646
What are the chances of his upgrade clearing in the upcoming days? Because if the upgrade clears, then miles and copay will be applied AND he is at risk of losing the copay and paying a reinstatement fee if he decides to cancel/change the trip after the upgrade clears.
OP: No, time of booking used to be a criteria for upgrade priority order, not the case for quite some time now already.
Nov 25, 2019, 3:31 pm
#763
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,481
The OP's question was:
What are the chances of his upgrade clearing in the upcoming days? Because if the upgrade clears, then miles and copay will be applied AND he is at risk of losing the copay and paying a reinstatement fee if he decides to cancel/change the trip after the upgrade clears.
What are the chances of his upgrade clearing in the upcoming days? Because if the upgrade clears, then miles and copay will be applied AND he is at risk of losing the copay and paying a reinstatement fee if he decides to cancel/change the trip after the upgrade clears.
Nov 25, 2019, 6:18 pm
#764
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,234
That’s short for “I have no idea.” Reservations agents have no idea when revenue management may release upgrade inventory. It largely depends on the difference between the current level of bookings and expected level of bookings at any given time, and it’s all highly dynamic.
Nov 25, 2019, 8:55 pm
#765
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948