SFO_FT

Expanding further, it's valid for all 500 mile upgrade eligible markets.

On American marketed and operated flights:

• Upgrades from Main Cabin to the next class of service on flights within/between the U.S. (including Hawaii), Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean and Central America

SJC AA

It might be something about your travel pattern. I am 16/18 for comp upgrades this year (as EXP). Last year was 19/23.

rasheed

Let me phrase it this way. If AA felt that the FA would offer the food and drink to EXP or CK consistently, they would not need to publish this information in both the onboard magazine and menu card. They could "surprise and delight" customers.

I just order the food and beverage and when they look to their tablet to take payment, they will see your seat with the color indicator and can mark the payment with a status that will zero out the payment cost. There is nothing DYKWIA about it as you will be told no amount due. I think of it as a coupon at checkout rather than items priced as zero.

Rasheed

Time traveller

I hear you. If a drink or a snack was really that important, I would have asked for them and showed the FA my BP and/or EXP card. I didn't really bother as it's really small stuff and they were shorter 2-3 hour mid-con flights. However a few years ago when I was flying TATL J on AA, the FA never asked for my meal order and skipped over me during a meal service. I certainly spoke up and asked to speak to the purser. Although I fly TATL J several times a year, I remember I was dressed very casually in a T-shirt and jeans on that flight, but that was a very unusual experience in my many years of being a EXP.

It's just that I feel more and more FAs are barely doing their jobs these days and I can tell they are not really happy to be working. I am not saying UA or DL is any better. And it is true that many of us are also guilty of not always looking forward to going to work everyday either. But flying is definitely a different experience nowadays with all the media bashing of the airlines and a greater exposure of unruly passengers and airline workers on the news.

Oakshadow

I keep getting "Get Platinum Status Now" emails offering it for $1479. One came today. Obviously those like me getting these offers aren't spending a lot with AA currently or they'd already be of that status so taking up such an offer will mean they we'll be at or near bottom of the upgrade pecking order. Beside this being the same price that was offered late last year so it being a lower value now, this new pecking-order policy effectively devalues that Platinum status price no matter when it was purchased.

If I had taken AA up on that $1500-ish offer for Plat and then learned of this new policy, I would be fuming. I feel really bad for those who were duped.

lostfly

Is this for the upgrade priority only at the airport, or as soon as the window opens?

If the latter, I don't understand how a higher status 500-mile upgrade can take priority over a lower status miles upgrade award, when they come from different inventories, don't they?

nk15

The only saving grace for this I see for lower spending EXPs who book in advance is that upgrades may clear up to 4 days ahead of the flight. This could protect from loosing upgrades to EXPs booking within the 4-day window...However, that probably assumes a pretty empty F, which you may clear anyway...

I also feel that EXPs will be fine in leasurely routes regardless...I often clear at the T-100 mark and the F cabin is still half open...

phazedowt

I've noticed a downturn in e500 upgrades this year too but I've yet to not be offered a snack/beverage when sitting in Y. Where they mainline flights where you weren't offered one?

rens

Does the hew upgrade perk apply to the domestic segments of an award ticket that has an international destination?

rasheed

I don't want to get hit by going off topic, but I know you are asking about if it is worth to upgrade and/or the remaining experience as an elite or frequent flyer.

On this topic, I believe AA agrees with you about the lack of consistency of in-flight service. I can't think of another major reason why they would offer a voluntary raise in April. 5 percent to FAs. I am not sure I agree that this will help the issue though. I feel good FAs will continue doing a good job and mediocre ones will be the same.

I personally feel DL has done the best even beyond SWA in this area. UA has so much to recover after years of issues. Perhaps the recent viral media will put more attention to staff attitudes, but I don't know. My read is if flyers put up with a bad miles program, surly staff is no big deal. We can see AA is making an effort, but I think it is not the right solution.

On this issue, this policy had been known to be coming since the renewal offers (before them). If anyone bought up and did not read the fine print on all the 2017 Elite changes and plans, I see that as a personal responsibility. So no one should have been "duped".

I will say further that this upgrade method change is not beneficial to Plats and Golds (as I have already indicated). However, the biggest downgrade for Plats in particular is the Plat Pro status addition, not this order change. Because even the smallest EQD Plat Pro will be rated above the highest EQD Plat member. Now, this is not a big issue today because few Plat Pros likely are in the system (in fact, if we have a lot, I suspect they are good candidates for getting to EXP). The 2017 buy offer was not attractive offer even if one had surpassed the EQM in 2016. However, closer to the end of the year, aside from the usual new elites, the four level effect on upgrades will be more obvious to the lower levels I think.

Rasheed

shd9

Quick question... how to view my 365 days rolling EQD? I didn't see it anywhere on the website, maybe I need to give AAdv a call?

rbAA

They have. Been there and done that.

javabytes

Interesting. So the upgrade lists for every single flight would have to get re-sorted literally every single day. I really can't imagine how the value in doing this remotely justifies the IT effort, compared to other criteria which are much more static.

ijgordon

I'd imagine elites with identical EQD's is more common than you'd think. There are only a finite number of digits between, say, 3000 and 5999 (though of course that's not the only qualification for an elite level), and there are certainly more than 3000 platinums. Of course the odds that two are on the same flight drops, and the odds that those two specifically are next up for the last available F seat drops further. Still, if it happened once a day across the system, I wouldn't be surprised at all. Putting aside the zero EQD scenario.

PS, I am not a statistician, but I took a statistics course once in college.

chicagoflyer1976

You're right, this will be quite the effort. Currently, Shirley in Dallas comes in every morning and pulls out her stack of index cards listing the upgrades for each flight, and adds the previous day's reservations to the bottom of the pile, since they are sorted by date of request. Now she's going to have sort through the cards and reorder them each time based on rolling spend, which will be constantly changing. Maybe this will create more jobs?