MCE and exit rows come with free drinks and you board before other economy groups as well. If you are tall I think it’s worth it. You prob will feel less tired when you arrive.

ORD-SJU seems to be a 737 these days but on a randomly chosen day it seemed to be one that has not been "upgraded" to even less room everywhere (first row is numbered 3 on the old layout) so you might be OK. You might still find it worth springing for MCE and trying to get an aisle seat.

Maintaining Status level
 

I booked premium economy MSN-DFW-HKG-BKK. In the past I earned 1.5 EQMs on all segments. They mutilated my return trip. But I at least got 1.5 EQMs per mile for the new trip , even if only for the NRT-DFW segment. On the way there, gates closed early in Dallas and my 1st flight an hour late. They sent me through NRT instead of HKG, in a regular seat at rear of plane. Fine, I had a seat. But no 1.5 EQMs for the long flight where I'd paid the premium rate, and no EQM or EQD for NRT-BKK. Is there any chance customer service would help restore this? It makes the difference in maintaining Plat Pro.

Call AAdvantage support and they will give you original route credit.

“I was involuntarily rerouted and would like Original Routing Credit.”

Hello AA Forum - veteran flyer here on other OW airlines but rarely AA, so thought it best to ask my (probably stupid to some) questions in the Newbie thread :)

I am soon taking a dreadfully long journey on JL from BKK to ORD via NRT and SAN on the outbound, with the SAN-ORD on AA. I am in J and OWE but not particularly looking forward to 24hrs travel. For what it’s worth the return is ORD-NRT-BKK, so avoiding the US domestic there.

I wanted to ask the AA regulars on here what to expect from the SAN-ORD flight, being a rather long one on a 738?

Also, how is the immigration and transit experience in SAN? - not expecting much, but as I have around 3 hours on the ground I am hoping to not be too uncomfortable :D

I am traveling tomorrow from ORD to FCO (via PHL) as part of a vacation package, purchased through Orbitz. I have two questions that I'm hoping someone may be able to answer. The first regards not using the hotel portion of the package. I have done these package trips before, but I have always used the hotel. Is there any risk that not checking into the hotel would cause a problem with the return ticket? Second, I have only a 50 minute connection in PHL. I was thinking that I might try to use the "same day flight change"(I am EXP on AA) to get a slightly earlier flight to PHL. Is it possible to use this for only one leg of a trip? My app is showing "no flights available", despite Expertflyer showing E7 for all the ORD-PHL flights tomorrow. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You can throw away hotel part and there will be no problem.
stand by is not allowed on international itins but you can try at the airport. If you don’t have luggage that will help probably.

Looking change to American after many years as United 1k I'm hoping to leverage The partner miles credited as eqd to help qualify.

is there anyone else that's in the same boat as me or was in the same boat as me? I usually can get about 8,000 to 9000 eqd from business travel plans s feasible to partner credit the other 6000 or am I wasting my time?

I am based in the US midwest. Thanks for your help!

One trip to Asia in J on a partner can get you ~$5,000 EQD rather easily.

And for other suggestions you can try the HELP! I need xx EQM / EQD / EQS by date / end of year - 2019-2020 master thread

SAN is one of my home airports — happy to provide some input! It's quite interesting to me that you're transiting int'l to domestic through SAN. I've never thought of my little home airport as being a place to transit, so this is rather cool :)

Background and arrival
SAN just opened a new FIS facility in June '18 (https://www.san.org/Airport-Projects/FIS, if you're curious). It's modern and extremely convenient.
Once you deplane, you'll head up via escalator to a hallway that takes you up and over the regular gates and then down to the ground-level FIS facility. SAN's FIS is built the new style, where you claim your bag before going through inspection. I rather like it, because I can get through inspection in <5 mins if I'm traveling without checked luggage. SAN sees quite few int'l arrivals so you shouldn't expect it to be crowded. I believe NRT-SAN can sometimes arrive around the same time as FRA-SAN, but even then you should expect less of a wait than any other US int'l AA gateway (LAX, JFK, etc).

If you want to leave the airport (SAN security is fast enough, especially with PreCheck, and the terminal small enough that this is indeed an option.)
If you have 2 hours to kill, you may want to consider Ubering to Harbor Island (~5 min Uber/Lfyt one way) to take a nice walk along the promenade where you'll have spectacular harbor views.
Your transit is mid-day, so it'll be nice and sunny. There are a few upscale restaurants on Harbor Island where you could kill a couple hours chilling and enjoying the views.
If you want something a bit more urban, you could Uber/Lyft to Little Italy ( (~10 min Uber/Lfyt one way), which is young and vibrant neighborhood with many art galleries and great places to eat. Could definitely kill an hour or two here.

If you want to stay in the airport
You'll be transiting through Terminal 2. There are two parts: T2 East (Old) and T2 West (New). They are connected airside. The FIS facility is in T2W. AA operates out of T2 East. Once you exit FIS, I recommend you re-clear security in T2W. The checkpoint is far larger, and often faster. Once inside security, you can head straight for the Sunset Cove dining area. There are ample food options here, and massive floor to ceiling windows giving you great tarmac and runway views. Note that the walk from T2W to T2E can take up to 10 minutes depending on where your gate is located.

I'd recommend some time outside of the airport. You'll be in sunny San Diego - might as well enjoy it :)

JFK Flagship Lounge Access - Arriving in QR
 

DOH-JFK-DFW international segment with QR, J class. Domestic AA first.

Ticketed in two different PNRs. Do I get Flagship Lounge access during the transit?

Yes, but you’ll need to hang on to and show your QR DOH-JFK boarding pass—and assuming your JFK-DFW flight is the same day (or before 6am the following day).

Thank you for the great information!
I was a bit surprised to see the routing via SAN too, but turns out it was the only oneworld routing that could get me to ORD within one day, saving at least half of my weekend at home.

Not sure I will be venturing out of the airport though, but good ideas to keep in mind! After BKK-NRT-SAN, I am sure I’m fit to be tied already :(

I think there is an AA lounge too, right? Is that decent enough?

Would you happen to have any experiences on the SAN-ORD flight?