AAExpDFW

I buy F or J 100% of the time. I won't play the silly upgrade game. I use my SWUs on family when I fly them to me or when they fly with me.

Col Ronson

yeah funny same here the majority of my miles and SWUs i've spent this year were for friends/family.

Penguinmoon

I'm based in SE Asia, and buy four to five TPAC per year in J out of pocket. Can USUALLY get sub 3K USD out of BKK or ICN. Try to use my SWUs to go from J to F.

Rock Harders

I almost always buy domestic F and/or intercon J. Within the past 18-24 months AA/LATAM have almost always had $2000-$3000 "I" fares on the EZE-MIA and EZE-JFK routes I frequent so it's a no brainer for me. If a cheap "I" fare isn't available on dates I need to travel I'll buy a coach fare and use a SWU, which are virtually a guaranteed upgrade IME. Domestically I'll pay $1000 +\- $100 for non stop MIA-SAN in F. If it's not during a peak travel time I'll risk buying a coach fare on MIA-EWR as its a short flight and the free EXP upgrades always clear; during peak times (EWR-MIA) after xmas I'll just buy the discount F ticket for $450 or so. All my travel is out of pocket.

ElmhurstNick

I would buy them for leisure travel in certain markets when I was PLT, especially those with generous hub stopover rules. Once I became EXP I haven't bothered on AA, although at times when I'm stuck flying DL because of schedule I will try to spring for it (TPA-ATL comes to mind).

Now that A fares will count for 2x EQM, I'll be looking for them. For leisure travel, I sit down on Christmas morning over breakfast and make a list of the destinations I'd like to visit "if the price is right" which for me is $0.07/EQM out of ORD, and $0.04 out of MKE as I need to spend 5k Hyatt on a hotel on the return. 14 cpqem for A is tough to find out of ORD on AA as an origin or destination - most places are at least 17, but not impossible and not if it's a stopover.

What I'm more likely to buy later in the year is WT+ fares between North America and Western Europe on BA at 150% EQM and 100% RDM, especially if I can get the BA 787 which has a very pleasant window seat for a 6-7 hour flight.

fly747first

Same here. With proper planning, AA's F and J fares are quite affordable, even to HKG depending on your origin.

LaserSailor

Company policy is anything over four hours travel time is paid first. Managers discretion for shorter trips.

Railtester

My company policy is anything over four hours in air travel time is paid business, which I can usually book in F for domestic.

LMB01

All personal travel this year has been on paid first. If the cost is 2x Y or less, I will just buy first to take the guessing game out of the potential upgrade. As others have noted, the upgrade lists recently have seemed very lengthy.

zpaul

Domestic flights are in paid discount first (WAUP) for me - I can't believe the size the upgrade lists have grown to, and even though EXP, with UGs going to the gate or even onboard, if sitting up front is important to me I'll just pay for it. International I still have to rely on SWUs...

jmr50

I buy essentially anything with a premium cabin in that cabin. I don't buy int'l F unless it's an especially good deal, J is usually good enough.

tusphotog

I almost always buy F on AA (or DL) on anything over two hours. If it's sub-two hours and AA is down to middles only or charges something outrageous for F, I just book WN.

Superguy

My company will generally only pay for economy tickets, mostly refundable but varies by customer contract. I'll often buy one way tickets as then as it gets closer to the day of travel, I'll upfare into F on my own dime if it's a reasonable price. Also, if I usually end up changing a flight, I'll buy up to F as well.

Internationally, I'm usually on Y or B fares so it depends on the price if I'll upfare or not.

shgroamer

International Long Haul:
-Company pays; yes
-I pay; typically not, unless it's reasonable (within 500-1000 of economy, which is extremely rare/nonexistant). Also SWU's.

Domestic:
-Company pays; no
-I pay; depends on situation/price. For example, recently had a wedding to attend on a Saturday afternoon(was traveling with my SO, but we had something to do Fri night. I paid for an F ticket (about $150 more, I think) since we landed within 1 hr of wedding time. Worth it to sit up front/have coats hung. On the return, I bought a regular old economy ticket.

prw555

I do. I gift my SWU's to friends. I don't play the upgrade lottery game, particularly in today's climate and my routes. Making EXP this year became a whole lot easier with the new program. If 137 / 138 becomes more reliable, less of my spend will go to CX J than in 2015.