pegoode

Newbie lurking here, learning but have so many questions. My situation - my husband and I have a free place to stay in Prague if we can get ourselves there. We have little experience traveling internationally and no experience trying to use miles to upgrade. We don't have any AA status but do have some AA miles - I have 127K and he has 86K. Our hostess would like us to visit during her vacation from work, arriving on 6/28 and departing on 7/9 or 10. I've been trying to figure out if there's any possibility we can buy coach tickets and use miles to upgrade to business. We can't face the transatlantic flights without being able to stretch out. It looks like I can book Q tickets on a BOS-LHR-PRG, departing BOS on 6/27 and the reverse route departing PRG on 7/10 for around $930. It's not clear to me that these can be upgraded to business and, if so, how many miles would be required.
Hopefully I've provided enough information for the experts to weigh in. Thanks in advance for your help.

pauleeepaul

It is a little complicated. BOS-LHR is operated by BA not AA, even though AA is selling the flight. AA miles can be used to upgrade service on BA but 1) it would only be a one class upgrade to premium economy, 2) such upgrades are only valid on full fare tickets, and 3) I believe the booking to be upgraded needs to be on a BA ticket not AA. If you are set on upgrading i suggest you route BOS-JFK-LHR-PRG with the long flight on a service sold and operated by AA. Then you could use 25,000 miles and a $350 co-pay to upgrade the AA flights (not LHR-PRG.) You will likely need to waitlist the upgrade until 1-2 weeks before the flight to see if it clears.

JJeffrey

AA offers a miles/co-pay upgrade to business from most coach fares for 25k miles + $350 per person, each way. But you need to be flying on AA metal for this, and BOS-LHR is operated by BA. So you'll need to add a connection, say BOS-JFK-LHR-PRG in order to get an AA flight across the pond.

The other caveat is that there must be upgrade space available on any given flight in order to use the miles/co-pay upgrades. AA is generally pretty stingy with this, and typically opens up space in the week before the flight, although sometimes you can luck out and find space at the time of booking.

If the upgrade space isn't there (usual scenario), then you can be added to the waitlist. The waitlist is sorted by status, so without status you'll be towards the back, however flying over on a Wed. and back on a Tues your chances are still pretty good.

AANYC1981

Or try, BOS-PHL-PRG and you can be on AA metal the whole way and get more sleep on the longer overseas flight. PHL-PRG is a new route for next summer.

bridge29

Just FYI if you are on a BA operated flight from LHR-PRG you are not going to have an actual business class seat. It'll be a coach seat with very little seat pitch and the middle blocked. You might consider BOS-PHL-PRG if you want a real business class seat the whole way across the Atlantic.

pauleeepaul

BOS-PHL-PRG is a great idea. And i don't see PRG having as much demand for paid J as other AA desitnation in Europe, so the upgrade chances could be good.

pegoode

This is very helpful. I see the BOS PHL PRG combinations, also opportunities out of PWM which is closest to me. So I'm clear - since not being able to upgrade to lie flat seats would be a deal breaker for this trip, my next step would be to call AA to see if the itinerary I'm looking for is currently available for an upgrade. If it's not, can the CSA check for other options on that route on AA metal that would be upgradable? Or should I call back once in awhile to see if there's any change? Don't want to be annoying but do want to make this happen if I can.

Then I'm understanding that I would buy the economy ticket and pay an additional $700 & 50K miles per person round trip to move to the next cabin, which appears to be Business on the PRG leg. Correct?

Your guidance is greatly appreciated.

JDiver

To get a better understanding of miles and Copay Upgrades, read the Wikipost at the top of this thread (where this is likely to be merged):

FAQ: Miles + Copay Upgrade / Upgrades (master thread)

C17PSGR

It seems to me the suggestion by others to route through Philadelphia on the new nonstop to Prague is a good idea. However, while the business class section on that flight is currently very open, American is trying to sell business class before upgrades. As such, there is not currently any upgrade space available and I suspect they will not release any upgrade space for several weeks.

Your only option ( other than buying a business class ticket), is to purchase economy tickets and call to request an upgrade. You'll then be on the waitlist for upgrades but the waitlist is prioritized by status. Sometimes, you don't find out whether your upgrade will clear until the time of departure.

For example, I'm thinking of traveling to Hong Kong next week and can see there are many business class seats for sale but American has not released any upgrade inventory yet even though the flight is next week. If I book an economy ticket and call to be put on the waitlist, I will go higher on the list than anyone without status even if they went on the waitlist several weeks ago. So, if sitting in economy is a deal-breaker, there are no guarantees short of purchasing a ticket. On the other hand, American is good about making sure the business class section is full and clearing upgrades in order of priority. Since this is a new route for American, they won't have a track record of how much business class will sell until they get closer to the flight. They wouldn't have started this route if they didn't think they could sell business class space.

Some of us who travel frequently subscribe to a service known as expert flyer. It has a variety of features including the ability to get an alert for different types of space on flights, including upgrade space. You might want to consider subscribing to expert flyer to watch for space opening.

pegoode

Thank you all so much.

no1cub17

I guess I'll just say it's unfortunate that you'd pass on a trip to such an amazing city like Prague - just because you're not in business. It's not that long a flight. Prague IMO is really truly one of the world's most beautiful cities. Who cares if you're in economy? Just my two cents.

Rather than call AA, get an EF subscription. It's much easier if you know ahead of time on the off chance there is confirmable upgrade space.

wetrat0

Agreed with this. You have a free place to stay? Just go for it. Business class to Europe is fun to do but it should hardly be a deal breaker if you don't get the upgrade.

taxicabnumber

+1000. Also, if you (OP) can't deal with overnight flights in coach you can take the daytime BOS-LHR, spend a night in London, then fly LHR-PRG the next day. You can even have a full day in London at no extra airfare as long as LHR-PRG leaves less than 24 hours after BOS-LHR lands. Your total costs for your time in London could easily be way less than just the copay for upgrading to business with miles.

worldiswide

I have to agree with all of these posts. It is not that long a flight especially from the east coast of the US. The London idea is a great one too, especially at the time of year you are looking to travel. It is busy season for leisure and business travel and without any status, I do think your expectations to get an upgrade are a tad optimistic. What are the business class fares if that is a deal breaker.. you indicated that you have no lodging cost, so maybe figure that into the equation as well.

Dave Noble

I would agree that taking the morning flight to London in economy class seems a good choice. The flight time seems to be between 5.25 and 6.25 hours , so not too bad ; $700 plus 50k miles seems a lot for such a short flight

The flight time for BOS-LHR is about the same as BOS-LAX but the latter costs 15,000 points + $75 each way

Even if hoping to upgrade if availability opens , the daytime service is far more civilised