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

Old 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:
  1. Elite status
    1. Concierge Key
    2. Executive Platinum
    3. Platinum Pro
    4. Platinum
    5. Gold
  2. 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)
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Upgrade Priority: Status, Upgrade Type, Rolling 12 Month EQD Spend

Old Apr 15, 2019, 1:46 pm
  #421  
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Join Date: Aug 2012
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Originally Posted by newyorkgeorge
No Cash/Miles upgrades and SWUs come before complimentary/sticker upgrades for domestic flights.
this is also not definitive. There have been reported cases of R opening up before C.

logically, it makes zero sense to release R before C, but AA's systems are an exercise in mental gymnastics.
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Old Apr 15, 2019, 3:13 pm
  #422  
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: TX
Programs: AA: EXP MR: Ti
Posts: 495
Originally Posted by Antarius
DFW-NRT is also getting the 77W with F.

I haven't seen this info - only that LAX is getting it. Do you know when it is supposed to start? Related somehow to the new Tokyo slots at HND maybe?
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Old Apr 16, 2019, 9:29 am
  #423  
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Originally Posted by Antarius
IMO, AA F isnt worth the SWU, especially given how nice the 77W seats are. I'd use them for vacations or Y/W to J upgrades. Now, if you never fly Y and they would go to waste then definitely (DFW-HKG or LAX-HKG are the most bang for your buck), but that's the only case in my opinion.
Yup, that's my situation. I rarely fly in Y now, and when I do, it's only domestic U.S.
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Old Apr 16, 2019, 12:10 pm
  #424  
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: DEN
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Originally Posted by Antarius
DFW-NRT is also getting the 77W with F.

IMO, AA F isnt worth the SWU, especially given how nice the 77W seats are. I'd use them for vacations or Y/W to J upgrades. Now, if you never fly Y and they would go to waste then definitely (DFW-HKG or LAX-HKG are the most bang for your buck), but that's the only case in my opinion.
I agree, although the swivel seat is great for when I need to work on a flight and I enjoy facing the windows while eating dinner.
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Old Apr 16, 2019, 12:22 pm
  #425  
 
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Originally Posted by zpaul
I agree, although the swivel seat is great for when I need to work on a flight and I enjoy facing the windows while eating dinner.
It's really the only reason why the F cabin is superior over the J 77W cabin for me. I swivel to follow the sun.
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Old Apr 16, 2019, 12:25 pm
  #426  
 
Join Date: May 2011
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Originally Posted by zpaul
I agree, although the swivel seat is great for when I need to work on a flight and I enjoy facing the windows while eating dinner.
Originally Posted by enpremiere
It's really the only reason why the F cabin is superior over the J 77W cabin for me. I swivel to follow the sun.
+3 on this. I will usually only burn a SWU for F on the 77W on the LHR-DFW part of my R/T for this very reason. It's about an hour longer than the DFW-LHR, and I'm not sleeping, I'm working. This feature of the F seat is very nice.

Also, I find I don't sleep in the F seat that well. Something about the more confined nature of the J seat suits me better for sleeping. YMMV.
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Old Jul 15, 2019, 7:04 am
  #427  
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Programs: Alaska Gold 75K, AA EXP, United 1K
Posts: 472
Seeing weird behavior on upgrade priority. Have a flight later today where I was waitlisted for UDU EXP upgrade (UPG2). Was 4th on the list behind one Mileage and two UDU all of whom are EXPs. With only one seat left I figured I should switch to an instrument supported upgrade so I applied a Business Extra certificate expecting to be either 1 or 2 since Mileage, SWU and BXP are supposed to share priority above UDU. After applying the certificate it correctly shows it as a BXP upgrade waiting for C class not R but I remained 4th on the list behind two complimentary upgrades waiting for R class. I was already checked in and sometimes when thats the case they need to remove you from the list and put you back on. I asked two agents to do that but I ended up in the same place both times. Not sure whats going on, anyone have ideas? Im tempted to switch to a Mileage upgrade which could confirm if for some reason BXP upgrades fall behind UDU ones now.
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Old Jul 16, 2019, 4:25 pm
  #428  
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Lightbulb Business Extra Upgrade Segment Priority

I have been making use of the BE upgrade segment awards. However, I have had a strange experience of getting upgraded using them. Sometimes the awards clear well in advance. However, on my last flight, I had the experience of my PHX-GEG segment not clearing and being about 8th on the upgrade list. I am a EXP and so very rarely show up below 3rd on the list. I have been told by BE that the BE upgrade trumps the complimentary upgrade queue---and falls behind system-wide upgrades. In this case, that would mean that on my PHX-GEG flight, 7 others were trying to upgrade with something else besides a complimentary upgrade. I find this hard to believe. I asked at the airport and the agents said that the BE upgrade is simply like having a complimentary upgrade--they process together. I also got the following message from the Twitter desk. The agents and twitter desk are saying the complete opposite as the BE folks. If the BE upgrade processes the same as a complimentary upgrade, then it is a waste for me to use it, as my status would get the upgrade. Thoughts?

Last edited by jpsj; Jul 17, 2019 at 7:00 am Reason: I had meant to put EXP--not PE!!!!
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Old Jul 16, 2019, 4:53 pm
  #429  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
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Originally Posted by jpsj
I have been making use of the BE upgrade segment awards. However, I have had a strange experience of getting upgraded using them. Sometimes the awards clear well in advance. However, on my last flight, I had the experience of my PHX-GEG segment not clearing and being about 8th on the upgrade list. I am a PE and so very rarely show up below 3rd on the list. I have been told by BE that the BE upgrade trumps the complimentary upgrade queue---and falls behind system-wide upgrades. In this case, that would mean that on my PHX-GEG flight, 7 others were trying to upgrade with something else besides a complimentary upgrade. I find this hard to believe. I asked at the airport and the agents said that the BE upgrade is simply like having a complimentary upgrade--they process together. I also got the following message from the Twitter desk. The agents and twitter desk are saying the complete opposite as the BE folks. If the BE upgrade processes the same as a complimentary upgrade, then it is a waste for me to use it, as my status would get the upgrade. Thoughts?
My understanding is that BE upgrades use A or C space for upgrades, same as SWU and Miles and Copay. It could be that AA releases X or R before A or C. Your priority on the list also has to do with your status before type of upgrade instrument. You mention you are PE on your post but I'm not sure what this means. CKs are ahead of EXPs which are ahead of Platinum Pro and so on, regardless of instrument used.
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Old Jul 16, 2019, 8:30 pm
  #430  
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Philadephia, PA
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Originally Posted by FAA1996
You mention you are PE on your post but I'm not sure what this means. CKs are ahead of EXPs which are ahead of Platinum Pro and so on, regardless of instrument used.
I'd assume it's a typo of EP for Executive Platinum, especially since AA ExPlat is in his Programs list.
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Old Jul 16, 2019, 9:07 pm
  #431  
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 550
I've found the key to using the Business Extra upgrades is to monitor expert flyer for C availability and call in as soon as it opens up. Only redeem the BE points for upgrades until the time you can confirm the upgrade will go through. Also, if you have to upfare, there is no sense in doing so until you can confirm the space is available.

Otherwise, if you go the waitlist route, you have to redeem your BE points for the upgrade certificate with no guarantee that you will be able to use it before it expires.
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Old Jul 16, 2019, 9:17 pm
  #432  
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
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Originally Posted by jpsj
In this case, that would mean that on my PHX-GEG flight, 7 others were trying to upgrade with something else besides a complimentary upgrade.
As FAA1996 noted, status is the first criterion, so the 7 could be a combination of CKs on any upgrade type and EXPs on certs. However, it's still possible that your upgrade was wrongly prioritized.
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Old Jul 16, 2019, 11:36 pm
  #433  
 
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Originally Posted by FlyingEgghead
As FAA1996 noted, status is the first criterion, so the 7 could be a combination of CKs on any upgrade type and EXPs on certs. However, it's still possible that your upgrade was wrongly prioritized.
I had a similar experience this week where I verified with my own eyes that an instrument supported BXP upgrade fell behind a complimentary upgrade on the PALL of passengers with the same status. That is not supposed to happened if I understand the rules correctly and think it is possible something has changed recently.
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Old Jul 17, 2019, 7:01 am
  #434  
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Originally Posted by FlyingEgghead
As FAA1996 noted, status is the first criterion, so the 7 could be a combination of CKs on any upgrade type and EXPs on certs. However, it's still possible that your upgrade was wrongly prioritized.
Thanks for your response. However, I understand that CK would be prioritized below a BE upgrade if they are traveling on a complimentary upgrade. If they are using an instrument then they would be ahead of me as I am only a EXP. This is the confusion.
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Old Jul 17, 2019, 7:02 am
  #435  
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Yes, edited above. Thanks!
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