Last edit by: aztimm
Chances of Upgrade Request Clearing
NOTE: Be aware of recent (20 May 2017) upgrade priority changes."New Upgrade Priority as of 20 May 2017
(Upgrades were prioritized by elite status and then time of request until 20 May 2017)
- Elite status
- Concierge Key
- Executive Platinum
- Platinum Pro
- Platinum
- Gold
- Platinum
- Platinum Pro
- Executive Platinum
- Upgrade type
- Miles and copay award upgrades and systemwide upgrades (SWU)
- 500 mile upgrades on purchased tickets
- 500 mile upgrades on upgrade eligible awards)
- 500 mile upgrades on purchased tickets
- Elite qualifying dollars in the past 12 months
- Booking class
- Time of request"
- Booking class
- Miles and copay award upgrades and systemwide upgrades (SWU)
- Concierge Key
See Upgrade Priority Changes to Status, Rolling 365 Day EQD Spend May 20 2017
Link to Gary Leff, View From the Wing 16 May 2017
Updated 17 Dec 2017 by aztimm
Chances of Upgrade Clearing and Availability (2018 master thread)
#138
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: HND
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1K
Posts: 1,230
NRT-MIA upgrade strategy
deleted
Last edited by tylerdurden4543; Mar 7, 2018 at 6:09 pm
#139
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 7
Anyone know the chances of an SWU clearing on 3/9 LAX - LHR on AA 108?
#142
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 204
Upgrade cleared yesterday morning for Mar 22 flight DFW to PEK. Still waiting on the March 26 return leg.
#143
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 16
Potentially flying this exact route (roundtrip) in May or June. Does "not terribly hard" mean that a plain Gold AA member, on an inexpensive economy ticket, could get upgraded to Premium Economy or even Business class? Or is this highly unlikely? Asking for a friend...
#144
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: PHL, NYC
Programs: AA PLT, DL SLV, UA SLV, MR LTT, HH DIA
Posts: 10,072
Some of you might hate me for this, but my experience as a Gold on domestic flights to/from PHL hasn't been terrible. I'm batting probably 30%, which sounds like a better average than some other FT'ers on elite heavy routes. Thanks to EF, if I see my flight is pretty heavy in J a few days before the flight, then I lose any hope for the T minus 24 upgrade. If it's light, then I'll make sure there are enough E-certs in my account if I want the upgrade. Otherwise, if I see my flight is heavy in Y, then I will pay the fee to bump up to a guaranteed MCE seat and be totally content - especially in a month or two when MCE gets some additional perks. My trips are usually around 3 hours so I'm not even thinking about the transcons. I know those are a battlefield for even the ExP's. If I have the flexibility, I would probably just pay ahead for an MCE seat in those cases too.
#145
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: PHL, NYC
Programs: AA PLT, DL SLV, UA SLV, MR LTT, HH DIA
Posts: 10,072
Potentially flying this exact route (roundtrip) in May or June. Does "not terribly hard" mean that a plain Gold AA member, on an inexpensive economy ticket, could get upgraded to Premium Economy or even Business class? Or is this highly unlikely? Asking for a friend...
1.) There are more coach pax booked than there are seats
*AND*
2.) There are available PEY and J seats that haven't been booked so that *ELITE* coach passengers can be moved up, starting with the highest levels
In that scenario, the gate agent may start to roll elites forward to make room for the overbooked coach passengers. In the meantime, I suggest your friend find the best coach seat and expect to sit in it. Especially if he/she is a Gold....
#146
Join Date: Dec 2015
Programs: AA
Posts: 10
For an international flight, does a SWU and a BXP3 award have the same priority on the upgrade list? or does a SWU come first?
#148
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,494
Potentially flying this exact route (roundtrip) in May or June. Does "not terribly hard" mean that a plain Gold AA member, on an inexpensive economy ticket, could get upgraded to Premium Economy or even Business class? Or is this highly unlikely? Asking for a friend...
However, if your friend is willing to use miles/copay (25k + $350 each way) then the chances are decent. There are scattered dates from now through the summer with C space, so your friend could get upgraded immediately, no waitlist.
#149
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 16
Tell your "friend" that it's highly unlikely unless the plane is in an oversell situation where:
1.) There are more coach pax booked than there are seats
*AND*
2.) There are available PEY and J seats that haven't been booked so that *ELITE* coach passengers can be moved up, starting with the highest levels
In that scenario, the gate agent may start to roll elites forward to make room for the overbooked coach passengers. In the meantime, I suggest your friend find the best coach seat and expect to sit in it. Especially if he/she is a Gold....
1.) There are more coach pax booked than there are seats
*AND*
2.) There are available PEY and J seats that haven't been booked so that *ELITE* coach passengers can be moved up, starting with the highest levels
In that scenario, the gate agent may start to roll elites forward to make room for the overbooked coach passengers. In the meantime, I suggest your friend find the best coach seat and expect to sit in it. Especially if he/she is a Gold....
If your friend is just hoping for a free upgrade, then there's virtually no chance, as PHL mentioned above.
However, if your friend is willing to use miles/copay (25k + $350 each way) then the chances are decent. There are scattered dates from now through the summer with C space, so your friend could get upgraded immediately, no waitlist.
However, if your friend is willing to use miles/copay (25k + $350 each way) then the chances are decent. There are scattered dates from now through the summer with C space, so your friend could get upgraded immediately, no waitlist.
Last edited by JY1024; Mar 13, 2018 at 4:46 pm Reason: Merged consecutive posts
#150
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: DEN
Programs: AA EXP, AA Million Miles, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,586
On LAX/HKG AA's MCE coach seats are, IMO, likely to the best "hard product" regular coach seat available - unless you fly JAL and connect in Tokyo, which provide a better than average Y seat.