andersonCooper

or miles award. Some rare times there might be op-ups.

Also, AA's international definition is slightly different. For example, DFW - MEX does not need SWU, despite an international flight and not subject to the no access to FL/AC rule.

Antarius

To clarify, SWU or miles + copay. The possibility of an op-up is rare enough to be considered zero.

Also as andersonCooper says, international is South America, Europe, Asia. Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean are considered domestic.

JBG89

Thanks!!

Can i do same day flight changes to Mex as well? I was considering one next week however the phone rep said it was out of scope

Antarius

Unfortunately no. It is limited to Canada, the Caribbean and JFK-LHR only. Would be nice if they expanded it.

https://www.aa.com/i18n/plan-travel/...day-travel.jsp

potus18

Huh. On a HND/LAX flight last month I had the option to SDFC to NRT/LAX, but Tokyo isn't listed on that page.

Antarius

I'm even more confused given that SDFC typically does not allow routing or co-terminal changes.

beachfan

redtop43

I'm going for Plat Pro next year. FC is kind of a big deal to me (please no "If you need to fly F, buy F).

I could pad my EQD by getting the Barclay's biz card. I'm a MSer so I can put as much on the card as I like, but there's a cost, since the AA miles I get for spending aren't worth as much to me as the points I would get other ways.

Without getting into all the ancillary issues - does anyone have a guess how much difference an extra $3K EQD would make? The routes I fly are mostly PHL-LAS and PHL-PDX.

FlightNurse

Out of PHL, I would say a lot. I have both the Silver and Citi Executive card so I get 6K EQM without stepping on a plane. Yeah, the Exc card has $450 fee, but we fly enough to use the lounge. Now, have you thought about just doing Co-pay + miles ?

redtop43

I don't think co-pay plus miles is really worth it to me, at least not for domestic.

I have the Amex Plat card so I don't want the Citi Exec, especially now that there's a Centurion Lounge at PHL. (It was better back when the card allowed you into the USAirways Club, but oh well.)

I have the silver aviator, but I'll hit the $50K spend and get 6K EQD. It's just a question of whether to get the biz card and make it 9K. I have a legit business. Maybe I'll do it because the worst that can happen is I get the signup bonus for the $95 annual fee.

FlightNurse

6K is the max you can earn from a CC, so getting the Biz card won't help you with that. We have flights to LGA, I used expert flyer and found RT flights that had upgrade space, total out of pocket was $490 PP and 15K miles each for an upgrade to FC. Pretty good deal.

redtop43

Ah, you're right about the 6K. I forgot that.

The price difference between Y and F on the routes I fly isn't that great. Vegas is about 625 vs. 240, and Portland is 565 vs. 180-250.

LAX is very different, $1000 vs. 220.

I don't care that much on redeyes. There's more legroom in exit rows than F, and I'm not that enamored of the snack basket!

tasty_chicken

Quick question, I'm Executive Plat. I'm taking a flight today from PHX-LAX-HKG. This ticket was purchased on CX so the leg from PHX-LAX is a CX codeshare operated by AA and the LAX-HKG is CX . I noticed that I am not on the upgrade list for the PHX-LAX flight. It's not a big deal because its such a short flight but is this typical behavior because I purchased this with CX?

lds89

You're spot on. Very rarely (1-2 times) I've been able to convince an agent in the AC or FL on routes back from Asia through LAX usually on JL stock to somehow get me into first (usually by pushing through a flight change to an earlier flight) but they're not supposed to do this. Usually I don't care because I'll still get MCE, it's a an hour in the air type of flight, and I'll have already had plenty to drink in QF F or the FL (and never take anything from the snack basket). I also get the comp drink in Y if they do the full drink service. For you to get upgraded using a comp or 500 mile upgrade you have to be on a flight both operated AND marketed by AA

Be careful when buying CX tickets though - most economy fares do not earn miles. You can credit them after the fact to another OW program though.

tasty_chicken

Thanks for confirming what I was suspecting.

Fully aware of the fare codes earning 0 miles. I mostly book PE but for these short flights they are usually just in economy (H) fare.