May 16, 2017, 12:53 pm

FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides

Last edit by: Prospero

As of May 20, 2017 upgrade prioritization is:

Elite status
1. Concierge Key
2. Executive Platinum
3. Platinum Pro
4. Platinum
5. Gold
Upgrade type
1. Miles and copay award upgrades and systemwide upgrades, Business Extra? (SWU)
2. 500 mile upgrades on purchased tickets (including EXP complimentary UDU)
3. 500 mile upgrades on upgrade eligible awards (including EXP complimentary UDU)
4. BXP Business Extra upgrades

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
*Your 12-month Rolling EQD value is different from your Year-to-Date (YTD) EQDs, which is used to track your progress toward elite status. It includes your EQD earned from reaching qualifying spend thresholds on eligible AAdvantage® AviatorTM MasterCard® cards.

Link to EQD earning Help Desk thread on FlyerTalk.

No- or lower status companion and effect on upgrade position

WAIT LIST, SAME PNR: Prior to upgrade request going to airport list
- SWU, Miles & Copay, Business Extra: lower status passenger "borrows" higher status. (BX is unsure, stated as least of priorities, likely to up D-24 only)
  - 500 mile / UDU: lower status passenger "borrows" higher status
    - Award travel: lower status passenger "borrows" higher status
WAIT LIST, SEPARATE PNR: Prior to upgrade request going to airport list
- SWU, Miles & Copay: lower status passenger DOES NOT "borrow" higher status under any circumstance
  - 500 mile / UDU: lower status passenger "borrows" higher status IF PNRs "linked"
    - Business Extra upgrade instruments
      - Award travel: lower status passenger "borrows" higher status IF PNRs "linked"
AIRPORT LIST, SAME PNR:
- SWU, Miles & Copay: lower status passenger "borrows" higher status. (BX is unsure, but is least of priorities, likely to up D-24 only)
  - 500 mile / UDU: lower status passenger "borrows" higher status
    - Business Extra upgrade instruments
      - Award travel: lower status passenger "borrows" higher status
AIRPORT LIST, SEPARATE PNR:
- SWU, Miles & Copay: lower status passenger DOES NOT "borrow" higher status under any circumstance
  - 500 mile / UDU: lower status passenger "borrows" higher status IF PNRs "linked"
    - Business Extra upgrade instruments
      - Award travel: lower status passenger "borrows" higher status IF PNRs "linked"
NOTES:
1. Traveling companion 500 mile upgrades (even for those pax using UDU) "stickers" must pull from higher status passenger's account.
  - Lower status passenger previously "borrowing" higher status may require human processing at the airport to re-establish "borrowed status" linkage
(Companion information thanks to DW)

Upgrade Priority: Status, Upgrade Type, Rolling 12 Month EQD Spend

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Jun 5, 2017, 8:30 am

#211

jcatman

Join Date: Apr 2009

Programs: American EXP; British Airways Gold

Posts: 1,896

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonwoo

True but if 3000 EQD wont make a huge inpact, I'd rather put the 10k spend on a higher yield credit card like the freedom or reserve

It's your decision.

If you are satisfied reaching the minimum requirements to make EXP, then continue your spend on an alternate credit card that you believe provides a higher yield.

Your upgrade experience throughout 2018 will provide you some feedback as to the wisdom of that decision.

Jun 5, 2017, 2:15 pm

#212

spinksflights

Join Date: May 2017

Programs: BA Silver / OWS

Posts: 21

Quote:

Originally Posted by oysterhead43

New perk for upgrades on award tickets applies to domestic only.

So, what's the story on international? Do AA not upgrade those flights, or do they use a different prioritisation?

Jun 5, 2017, 7:51 pm

#213

chicagoflyer1976

Join Date: Aug 2004

Location: Chicago

Programs: AA- EXP UA - Silver SPG- PLT Marriott- PLT

Posts: 760

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcatman

I wonder how many "would be" EXPs there will be now that the spend requirement is in place. I was talking to a colleague last year who going from ORD>SFO every week for about 6 months. He was flying United, and I asked how he was coming on status, and he said not good, since the flights were cheap. I don't know how many miles he had, but he wasn't anywhere close to the EQD requirements. How many people will this happen to?

Jun 6, 2017, 4:06 pm

#214

moonwoo

Join Date: Jan 2016

Location: STL

Programs: AA

Posts: 167

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcatman

Yeah, I guess we won't know until next year. Thanks for the input.

Jun 8, 2017, 10:24 am

#215

JDiver

Moderator: American AAdvantage

Original Poster

Join Date: May 2000

Location: NorCal - SMF area

Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis

Posts: 62,948

Quote:

Originally Posted by spinksflights

So, what's the story on international? Do AA not upgrade those flights, or do they use a different prioritisation?

AA offer upgrades on those flights one can use UDU / 500 milers, iirc.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...rd-ticket.html

Jun 8, 2017, 10:26 am

#216

JDiver

Moderator: American AAdvantage

Original Poster

Join Date: May 2000

Location: NorCal - SMF area

Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis

Posts: 62,948

NOTE: Traveling companion status "borrowing" or "inheriting" chart for upgrades Policy has been added to the Wikipost.

Jun 8, 2017, 1:58 pm

#217

spinksflights

Join Date: May 2017

Programs: BA Silver / OWS

Posts: 21

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDiver

AA offer upgrades on those flights one can use UDU / 500 milers, iirc.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...rd-ticket.html

My apologies if I am being REALLY stupid (!) but reading that thread seems to state the opposite, that they can't be used for international?

Jun 8, 2017, 3:26 pm

#218

JDiver

Moderator: American AAdvantage

Original Poster

Join Date: May 2000

Location: NorCal - SMF area

Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis

Posts: 62,948

Quote:

Originally Posted by spinksflights

My apologies if I am being REALLY stupid (!) but reading that thread seems to state the opposite, that they can't be used for international?

Awards may be upgraded within the restrictions of UDU / 500 mile upgrades.

AA allows 500 miles for use for flights within North America, Caribbean, Central America (AA version of "domestic" for UDU / 500 milers). If it's not upgradeable using 500 miles / UDU, there's no upgrade path for awards other than buying up, AFAIK.

"Upgrades are valid on American Airlines or American Eagle marketed and operated flights offering a First or Business Class cabin within and between the 50 United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Bermuda as well as between the United States and Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua or Panama)."

See AA.com here for full information.

For full Terms and Conditions for 500 mile upgrades, see here.

Jun 8, 2017, 6:48 pm

#219

prw555

Join Date: Jan 2011

Location: San Jose, CA

Programs: CX Diamond, AA CK (quit 2018), Starwood Platinum, National EXC Elite

Posts: 283

Weighting?

Is there a weighting applied to each of the various "priority" classifications? E.g. Does a higher 12 month rolling spend PAX get ahead of someone that booked 6 months out and used a SWU, but had lower spend ? Is there any transparency to this ?

Jun 8, 2017, 10:08 pm

#220

JDiver

Moderator: American AAdvantage

Original Poster

Join Date: May 2000

Location: NorCal - SMF area

Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis

Posts: 62,948

Quote:

Originally Posted by prw555

The weighting and order of weighting is presented in the Wikipost.

There's no actual transparency insofar as our ability to determine whether someone who takes the upgrade actually did so within the upgrade criteria; the prioritization is set by programmed screening.

Yet I am sure we will have posters who feel there were shenanigans played when they miss their upgrade.

Jun 9, 2017, 6:12 am

#221

pa3lsvt

Join Date: Nov 2013

Location: PHL

Programs: AA - Plat, HHonors - Diamond, IHG - Plat, Marriott - Gold, National - Exec, Amtrak - Select, NEXUS

Posts: 1,075

It isn't like there was transparency when the priority was date of request (how do I know if the PLAT ahead of me booked before or after me?), so how is the transparency level any different with the EQD prioritization (how do I know the PLAT ahead of me has a higher EQD over the last 12 months)?

Jun 9, 2017, 7:11 am

#222

JDiver

Moderator: American AAdvantage

Original Poster

Join Date: May 2000

Location: NorCal - SMF area

Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis

Posts: 62,948

Quote:

Originally Posted by pa3lsvt

This. It hasn't been transparent, it won't be any more transparent.

Jun 9, 2017, 1:07 pm

#223

Antarius

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Aug 2012

Location: KHOU/KIAH

Programs: AA EXP | Marriott Bonvoy Titanium| Hyatt Globalist

Posts: 11,268

Quote:

Originally Posted by pa3lsvt

You simply ask everyone on the list

Jun 9, 2017, 2:27 pm

#224

JDiver

Moderator: American AAdvantage

Original Poster

Join Date: May 2000

Location: NorCal - SMF area

Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis

Posts: 62,948

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antarius

You simply ask everyone on the list

Of course I do!

"Hey, dude, what was YOUR EQD spend the last twelve?"

Jun 9, 2017, 3:29 pm

#225

controller1

Join Date: Jan 2009

Location: TUL

Programs: AA EXP 2MM; Marriott Titanium; Hilton Diamond; Hyatt Explorist; Vistana 5* Elite; Nat'l Exec Elite

Posts: 6,177

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDiver

Of course I do!

"Hey, dude, what was YOUR EQD spend the last twelve?"

I'm hoping the question was tongue-in-cheek, but if not I already know what my answer would be. "None of your business!"