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Airbus A321T / 321T “32B” Transcon JFK <--> LAX / SFO Upgrade Success / Help

Old Mar 5, 2015, 10:12 pm
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Last edit by: Prospero
A321T / 321T / Transcontinental JFK to/from LAX & SFO: Upgrade Success & Assistance

American flies the transcontinental A321T with three classes including solo First and Business pairs that fully recline horizontally. (Note the "32B" designation applies to all Airbus A321-100 and -200 - aircraft with "Sharklets" blended winglets in accord with ICAO standards, including two and three class A321s used by AA.)

It appears demand in J is high, supply less so, making this a tricky upgrade from coach to business. First sometimes looks like there’s good availability until close to departure, and it’s common that this cabin is filled deadheading.

Upgrading is challenging, and Y to J SWU or miles + copay always trumps 500 mile or DODU / courtesy upgrades within an elite tier. (500 mile and courtesy upgrades from Business to First is not allowed).

Remember, upgrade priority for these flights is:
  • Elite status tier
  • SWU & miles and copay
  • Business Extra and “special corporate agency upgrade certificates”
  • 500 mile (“stickers”) and complimentary / DODU upgrades*
  • Award upgrades (CK, EXP, PRO)*
  • Last 12 months’ rolling EQD spend
  • Etc.

*Y to C/J only; C to F not allowed


Cabins will generally not be “rolled” forward (e.g. J to F) to accommodate upgrades.

Those confirmed in Flagship First on these (between JFK and LAX or SFO) can access Flagship Lounges as well as Flagship First Dining at JFK or LAX, or the Admirals Club at SFO (or the LAX TBIT Qantas First lounge).

Related threads:

Aircraft guide: Which Airbus A321? (including “321”, “32B”, A321neo)

A321 Transcon / A321T / "32B" 3 class began service Jan 2014 (consolidated)

Best Business / First seat on AA transcon Airbus A321 / A321T / "32B" (consolidated)

Best Economy / MCE seat on AA transcon Airbus A321 / A321T / 32B (consolidated)

Posts from 2014 through 2016 have been archived, and may be read here.

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Airbus A321T / 321T “32B” Transcon JFK <--> LAX / SFO Upgrade Success / Help

Old Apr 15, 2017, 10:08 am
  #76  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,766
1. If upgrade is cleared, can I change my frequent flyer number to Alaska mileageplan number without losing AA complimentary upgrade (I am AA platinum member)?

2. I have a companion in the same reservation who does not have any AA status. Will my (our) order of clearance drop below my status (platinum)? And do I have to call AA to request upgrade for companion? (I have 12 500-miles stickers, so enough for two people to upgrade LAX-JFK).

3. Does the companion have to have AAdvantage number to be upgraded in my reservation (i.e. can the companion use Alaska number (to earn AS miles because the companion has status with AS) in the reservation without affecting our upgrade chance)??
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Old Apr 15, 2017, 2:20 pm
  #77  
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: DCA/IAD/WAS
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Posts: 2,133
Originally Posted by jordyn
Seems like a pretty tautological response.
I guess I don't understand your response. The OP appeared to be confused as to why they were not auto-upgraded. The reason I stated is the reason for it, 500 mile stickers are not applicable to J->F upgrades - end of discussion.

If the question was why that is the case, then who knows, but that doesn't change the fact that they aren't and that is why the OP was not auto-upgraded.
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Old Apr 15, 2017, 5:56 pm
  #78  
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 1,485
Originally Posted by uclacolumbiaunc
1. If upgrade is cleared, can I change my frequent flyer number to Alaska mileageplan number without losing AA complimentary upgrade (I am AA platinum member)?

2. I have a companion in the same reservation who does not have any AA status. Will my (our) order of clearance drop below my status (platinum)? And do I have to call AA to request upgrade for companion? (I have 12 500-miles stickers, so enough for two people to upgrade LAX-JFK).

3. Does the companion have to have AAdvantage number to be upgraded in my reservation (i.e. can the companion use Alaska number (to earn AS miles because the companion has status with AS) in the reservation without affecting our upgrade chance)??
I can't imagine how you can still keep your upgrade if you change it to Alaska. I believe your status determines your companion's status also. And I think your companion can use Alaska number.
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Old Apr 16, 2017, 3:18 am
  #79  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,766
How does clearing upgrade at gate work?

Assuming I check in with a boarding pass in Y, does the gate agent call my name to exchange a new boarding pass with me if my upgrade is cleared at gate? Or do I have to proactively check with GAs to make sure they know I am on the upgrade list waiting to be cleared for upgrade?
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Old Apr 16, 2017, 10:32 pm
  #80  
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Programs: Alaska Gold 75K, AA EXP, United 1K
Posts: 472
More often than not, if a seat clears the gate agent will come reseat you before the boarding door closes. I imagine this doesn't happen 100% of the time so normally if I know I am next in the list I'll ask the gate agent if I should go ahead and board (they will usually say go ahead and board and they'll come get you). If the flight might be delayed sometimes I'll just wait to board since that is probably the highest risk situation where they might leave a seat unoccupied in the event that there are no shows to get the flight out on time.
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Old Apr 17, 2017, 8:38 am
  #81  
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Originally Posted by uclacolumbiaunc
How does clearing upgrade at gate work?

Assuming I check in with a boarding pass in Y, does the gate agent call my name to exchange a new boarding pass with me if my upgrade is cleared at gate? Or do I have to proactively check with GAs to make sure they know I am on the upgrade list waiting to be cleared for upgrade?
You can view the list on the AA mobile app, or on the screen at the gate. When they clear upgrades, they'll usually call the name over the speaker, although with the upgrade lists, there's no need to wait for that, either refresh your electronic boarding pass, or proactively approach the counter when you see on the list that you've cleared.

Originally Posted by lightbulbs
More often than not, if a seat clears the gate agent will come reseat you before the boarding door closes. I imagine this doesn't happen 100% of the time
[emphasis added] Oooh, I don't know if it's even 51% of the time. If you're near the top of the list, definitely check with the gate agent before boarding. Many will just skip over you if you've already boarded.
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Old Apr 27, 2017, 10:25 am
  #82  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Programs: AA EXP, UA Gold, SPG Plat
Posts: 383
I flew SFO-JFK-SFO for a couple times in the past 2 month and luckily my upgrade cleared everytime which was awesome. One trend I noticed was the F cabin was 50% filled with AA non-rev (Position flights for flight attendants). This might have been discussed on here before, but why doesn't AA just upgrade EXP or elites from J to F so it opens up more J for EXP to upgrade from Y or allow others to use miles and coupons.
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Old May 10, 2017, 8:30 am
  #83  
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 117
Only 6 seats left a little more than 72 hours out... not looking too promising for Platinum

C "0" with J "5" means I won't clear until at airport (if at all)? In other words no 48 hour window?

Last edited by Pinser555; May 10, 2017 at 1:20 pm
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Old May 10, 2017, 8:36 am
  #84  
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Originally Posted by caimaster
I flew SFO-JFK-SFO for a couple times in the past 2 month and luckily my upgrade cleared everytime which was awesome. One trend I noticed was the F cabin was 50% filled with AA non-rev (Position flights for flight attendants). This might have been discussed on here before, but why doesn't AA just upgrade EXP or elites from J to F so it opens up more J for EXP to upgrade from Y or allow others to use miles and coupons.
Because I guess they need to balance the needs of their employees and their customers. But I don't think there's a real good, underlying reason why free/sticker upgrades are limited to Y->J only. There are pros and cons, and in the end I guess it was just a business decision.
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Old May 10, 2017, 8:10 pm
  #85  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,766
LAX-JFK redeye: two seats in C bucket opened up (indicated by expertflyer) about 6 hour prior to departure, called AA immediately, and snatched both upgrade using miles!

First agent couldn't find C bucket (while saying she's been doing this for 10 years, and knows what she's doing), so HUCA, and the second agent is much more pleasant, but upgraded us both using my miles. YYEEAAAAA!!!
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Old May 13, 2017, 2:01 am
  #86  
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: San Francisco
Programs: AA EXP; Marriott BonVoy Titanium Elite, Marriott LT Plat.
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Unfortunately my last two flights on my six aircraft trip will be on the A321T (BOS-JFK-SFO) and applying a SWU isn't available.

Hoping my upgrade trend holds true as I've gotten all upgrades possible thus far. At the moment, the AA seat map, when I'm not logged in, shows J sold out for both legs. But when I log in, and since I selected a seat in J for BOS-JFK (which is Y on this flight), there are seats available. Clearly AA is blocking what's viewable.

Regardless of what the outcome is, I still look forward to being on this aircraft as it would be a first for me. I tend to make my entrances/exits on the east cost scene via PHL, BOS or CTL. This time around, I opted to try something different.
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Old May 14, 2017, 11:39 am
  #87  
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
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Biz elite credit for miles/cash upgrade

I purchased JFK-LAX discounted business class and want to use points/cash to upgrade to first since I'm AA platinum and can't use 500-mile upgrades. If I do, will I still get EQM/EQD credit for the paid business fare? Thanks.
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Old May 14, 2017, 11:47 am
  #88  
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Originally Posted by Satforlegroom
I purchased JFK-LAX discounted business class and want to use points/cash to upgrade to first since I'm AA platinum and can't use 500-mile upgrades. If I do, will I still get EQM/EQD credit for the paid business fare? Thanks.
Yes, you will!
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Old May 25, 2017, 10:07 am
  #89  
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 35
@beachfan Post#535

Curious which red-eye you ended up booking. I'm faced with the same choices at end of June.

Last edited by BA Baracus; May 25, 2017 at 10:09 am Reason: needed context
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Old May 25, 2017, 10:15 am
  #90  
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Thousand Oaks, Ca., USA
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Originally Posted by BA Baracus
@beachfan Post#535

Curious which red-eye you ended up booking. I'm faced with the same choices at end of June.
I gambled on the last flight even though the one prior had more room now.

I'm using 500mile plus copay since my EQD is low (and headed lower).
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