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)
#556
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: AY+ Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,846
If you’re talking about an award ticket, same thing. Non-elites have always had to pay the $75 close-in ticketing fee when upgrading an award within 21 days of departure (even though the $150 change fee is waived).
#557
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: DEN
Programs: AA EXP, AA Million Miles, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,586
Huh? All AA mileage upgrades - unless you are starting from a full-fare - have a copay. For continental US/Mexico/Canada/Caribbean/Central America this copay is $75. It's not new, it's not an "enhancement", it's not a close-in fee.
#558
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: IND/MEX
Programs: AA PPro BA Bronze SPG Gold HH GLD Hyatt Exp
Posts: 1,134
Aware of both of those points...the agent made it sound like it was $75 for the copay + $75 close in fee for the upgrade.
From the aa website: "$75 for mileage upgrades requested less than 21 days prior to departure" Is it referencing a pure award?
From the aa website: "$75 for mileage upgrades requested less than 21 days prior to departure" Is it referencing a pure award?
#559
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Thousand Oaks, Ca., USA
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat; Bonvoy Titanium Lifetime Elite;Hyatt Globalist; HHonors Diamond; United Silver
Posts: 8,315
$75 plus $75 if close in miles plus copay and miles not coming from elite account.
when I use my miles it’s $75 no matter when but if coming from my wife’s account for me it’s an additional $75 if close in.
when I use my miles it’s $75 no matter when but if coming from my wife’s account for me it’s an additional $75 if close in.
#560
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,701
#561
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: IND/MEX
Programs: AA PPro BA Bronze SPG Gold HH GLD Hyatt Exp
Posts: 1,134
#562
Join Date: May 2009
Location: DFW
Programs: AA 1MM
Posts: 185
What are my chances DFW- EZE/SCL- DFW for miles + copay upgrade? February 15-23.
I can connect from DFW to either JFK/MIA
My final destination is Balmaceda, Chile. Need to be there the afternoon of Feb 16th.
I can connect from DFW to either JFK/MIA
My final destination is Balmaceda, Chile. Need to be there the afternoon of Feb 16th.
#563
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: MSP/ORD
Programs: UA 1MM/GS, Marriott Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 318
A dumb question... Later this month I am flying AA for the first time in over 2 years - I had been an AA elite at some point in the distant past but I no longer have any AA status. When I logged into my AA account, it said that I still possessed 30 500-mile upgrade certs. These are completely useless to me until such time in the future as I regain some sort of non-kettle status on AA, right? In particular, there’s absolutely nothing I could do to try and apply some of those certain or my upcoming (domestic) flight, right?
Thanks.
Thanks.
#564
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: AY+ Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,846
A dumb question... Later this month I am flying AA for the first time in over 2 years - I had been an AA elite at some point in the distant past but I no longer have any AA status. When I logged into my AA account, it said that I still possessed 30 500-mile upgrade certs. These are completely useless to me until such time in the future as I regain some sort of non-kettle status on AA, right? In particular, there’s absolutely nothing I could do to try and apply some of those certain or my upcoming (domestic) flight, right?
Thanks.
Thanks.
#565
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: AA Exec Plat, DL Plat (but not for long)
Posts: 175
Question on upgrades....
I'm sure this is covered somewhere but I couldn't find it.
I was just searching an international itinerary and found the following prices:
Coach $1,134
Premium Economy $5,300
Business Class $8,350
I want to use miles to upgrade to Business from Coach. Is this possible anymore? I don't see the value of upgrading to Premium Economy.
I was just searching an international itinerary and found the following prices:
Coach $1,134
Premium Economy $5,300
Business Class $8,350
I want to use miles to upgrade to Business from Coach. Is this possible anymore? I don't see the value of upgrading to Premium Economy.
#567
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: PHL, NYC
Programs: AA PLT, DL SLV, UA SLV, MR LTT, HH DIA
Posts: 10,067
I'm sure this is covered somewhere but I couldn't find it.
I was just searching an international itinerary and found the following prices:
Coach $1,134
Premium Economy $5,300
Business Class $8,350
I want to use miles to upgrade to Business from Coach. Is this possible anymore? I don't see the value of upgrading to Premium Economy.
I was just searching an international itinerary and found the following prices:
Coach $1,134
Premium Economy $5,300
Business Class $8,350
I want to use miles to upgrade to Business from Coach. Is this possible anymore? I don't see the value of upgrading to Premium Economy.
#568
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: AA Exec Plat, DL Plat (but not for long)
Posts: 175
OK Thanks for the response. I was confused by the wording on their website which said the upgrade is only available to the next class of service. I was under the assumption that Premium Economy was the next class of service. The seat map shows the seating as 2-3-2 on a 787-9.
#569
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Dallas, Texas
Programs: AA Exp. Bonvoy Gold, Hilton Gold, IHG Platinum.
Posts: 1,186
OK Thanks for the response. I was confused by the wording on their website which said the upgrade is only available to the next class of service. I was under the assumption that Premium Economy was the next class of service. The seat map shows the seating as 2-3-2 on a 787-9.
#570
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: LAX
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold but PlatPro thanks to LPs
Posts: 4,439
Check it out on Expert Flyer. You can put in various dates and see what fare buckets are available.