Jan 6, 2019, 6:09 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
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
Upgrade type
- Miles and copay award upgrades and systemwide upgrades (SWU)
- 500 mile upgrades on purchased tickets
- 500 mile upgrades on upgrade eligible awards)
Then, by
- Elite qualifying dollars in the past 12 months (rolling)
- Booking class
- Time of request
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
ARCHIVE: Chances of Upgrade Clearing and Availability (2019 master thread)
Jul 30, 2019, 4:54 pm
#751
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PHL
Programs: HH Lifetime Diamond, AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 587
I've been a long time lurker on this forum; figured it's time to contribute now that I've achieved some very minor status with AA. Attained Gold in mid-June and wanted to provide my upgrade stats for some data points; I believe this is the correct thread. In general, I have to say I am surprised by how much success I've had as a Gold after reading through so many tales of upgrade woe, even for EPs. Though to be fair, two of these I technically used a companion's platinum status being booked on their reservation, if I understand the PNR linking correctly. Overall I'm 4 of 7:
CLT - HSV on a CR7 I believe: Cleared at 24 hours
HSV - CLT, same: Cleared at 24
RDU - LGA, on an E190: Cleared at 48 hours (adopted wife's platinum status, as we booked under her account)
LGA - RDU, on an E190: Cleared at 48, same as above
My misses were PHL -RDU and RDU - CLT and the return CLT - RDU.
CLT - HSV on a CR7 I believe: Cleared at 24 hours
HSV - CLT, same: Cleared at 24
RDU - LGA, on an E190: Cleared at 48 hours (adopted wife's platinum status, as we booked under her account)
LGA - RDU, on an E190: Cleared at 48, same as above
My misses were PHL -RDU and RDU - CLT and the return CLT - RDU.
Jul 30, 2019, 4:57 pm
#752
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PHL
Programs: HH Lifetime Diamond, AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 587
A couple of recent ones for me.
7/24 PHL - DFW - #1 & 2 on list (out of 32) for me and companion - Miss
7/24 DFW - SAF - Cleared both at T-50
7/29 SAF - DFW - Cleared both of us at gate
7/29 - DFW - PHL - #2 & 3 on list (out of 28) - Miss
I have about 30K in rolling EQD - Dallas continues to be a tough get......
7/24 PHL - DFW - #1 & 2 on list (out of 32) for me and companion - Miss
7/24 DFW - SAF - Cleared both at T-50
7/29 SAF - DFW - Cleared both of us at gate
7/29 - DFW - PHL - #2 & 3 on list (out of 28) - Miss
I have about 30K in rolling EQD - Dallas continues to be a tough get......
Aug 3, 2019, 7:25 am
#753
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Phoenix/Columbus
Programs: Delta Silver Medallion, United Gold, US Airways silver
Posts: 1,717
MAD => JFK
T24 upgrade. SWU from premium economy, EXP, Sunday 8/4 AA 95.
Aug 6, 2019, 3:35 pm
#754
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: CLT
Posts: 2
CLT-LHR
Plat in CLT going to LHR 9/7-9/14. Considering flying CLT-RDU-LHR AA174 to improve my odds using miles+cash with it being a 772, 23 seats still available, booking P and EF showing J7 R7 D7 I7 W1 P1 Y7 B7 H7 K7 M7 L7 G7 V7 S7 N7 Q7 O7 E7 ~30 Days out
Direct from CLT to LHR are flown with 333 and have fewer seats. EF showing J7 with only 7 seats left on AA730
Any thoughts as to a better option or ways to improve?
Direct from CLT to LHR are flown with 333 and have fewer seats. EF showing J7 with only 7 seats left on AA730
Any thoughts as to a better option or ways to improve?
Aug 6, 2019, 5:13 pm
#755
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: AUS
Programs: AA Exec Platinum/MM, DL Gold/MM, Hilton Diamond, Accor Platinum, Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 6,977
7/28 - AUS-DFW - Miss - #4 on list
7/28 - DFW-SNA - Miss - #3 on list
7/31 - SNA-DFW - Miss - #5 on list (this one had 11 seats open in F 10 days before departure)
7/31 - DFW-AUS - Cleared - T-100
Definitely the worst performance ever on an AA trip for me. Consolation prize on the SNA flights was exit row seats with an empty middle, so I can't complain too much.
7/28 - DFW-SNA - Miss - #3 on list
7/31 - SNA-DFW - Miss - #5 on list (this one had 11 seats open in F 10 days before departure)
7/31 - DFW-AUS - Cleared - T-100
Definitely the worst performance ever on an AA trip for me. Consolation prize on the SNA flights was exit row seats with an empty middle, so I can't complain too much.
Aug 6, 2019, 5:36 pm
#756
Join Date: Jul 2019
Programs: AA Exec Plat, Marriott Bonvoy
Posts: 59
ORD-ATL round trip
Both legs cleared for upgrade at T-48, using stickers.
Not really a huge deal on the shorter flight, but sharing for reference. I was still surprised it happened and so early.
Both legs cleared for upgrade at T-48, using stickers.
Not really a huge deal on the shorter flight, but sharing for reference. I was still surprised it happened and so early.
Aug 6, 2019, 6:09 pm
#757
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: DCA/IAD/WAS
Programs: MAR AMB, WOH Explorist, AA EXP, UA 2P
Posts: 2,138
Monday AM MIA-DCA has become non-existent much to my chagrin. I blame August vacations to the Caribbean and the MAX grounding. Grr this was guaranteed for me on either the 7 or 8 am flights for most of the year until recently.
Aug 6, 2019, 6:55 pm
#758
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
Plat in CLT going to LHR 9/7-9/14. Considering flying CLT-RDU-LHR AA174 to improve my odds using miles+cash with it being a 772, 23 seats still available, booking P and EF showing J7 R7 D7 I7 W1 P1 Y7 B7 H7 K7 M7 L7 G7 V7 S7 N7 Q7 O7 E7 ~30 Days out
Direct from CLT to LHR are flown with 333 and have fewer seats. EF showing J7 with only 7 seats left on AA730
Any thoughts as to a better option or ways to improve?
Direct from CLT to LHR are flown with 333 and have fewer seats. EF showing J7 with only 7 seats left on AA730
Any thoughts as to a better option or ways to improve?
Aug 10, 2019, 5:19 pm
#759
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: AA EXP (owe), BA Silver (ows), AB Silver (owr), WN A+/CP, IHG Spire AMB, Avis First
Posts: 1,414
Something must have changed with LAX-HKG perhaps due to the protests. Business class shows completely empty, yet C space never opens up, even up until the day of. Has anyone seen C space open on this route lately?
Edit, take that back, I see C space open this Monday now
Edit, take that back, I see C space open this Monday now
Last edited by no2chem; Aug 10, 2019 at 5:42 pm
Aug 11, 2019, 3:08 pm
#760
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: LAX
Programs: AA: EXP Hilton: Gold, SPG: Gold, Hyatt: Plat
Posts: 196
C seems to open up LAX-HKG at around T-36 assuming sufficient J inventory is available.
Aug 11, 2019, 8:45 pm
#761
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
Aug 13, 2019, 2:20 pm
#762
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Denver, CO
Programs: AA EXP, IHG Spire Elite
Posts: 72
Notifications coming in often from ExpertFlyer for 3-4 upgrade seats on an 8/15 DEN-ORD flight, but here we are floating up on T-48 and no EXPs have been given upgrades. I've checked a few times since the first notification over the weekend, and figured at T-100 I'd get bumped. That time came and went with no upgrades.
Quick check now and EF still shows 3 available for upgrade on this flight. Guess they'll just hold them for airport control on day-of flight.
One day we'll figure out their algorithm for upgrade clearing!
Quick check now and EF still shows 3 available for upgrade on this flight. Guess they'll just hold them for airport control on day-of flight.
One day we'll figure out their algorithm for upgrade clearing!
Aug 14, 2019, 7:33 am
#763
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: New York
Programs: AAdvantage EP
Posts: 368
I know DFW to HKG is a hard upgrade, but I am flying on 8/20. Expertflyer shows 7 in all business classes. Looking on the seat map (yes it is not accurate) is shows 15 out of 52 seats occupied. I guess I will check at t-36 to see if that is AA algorithm.
Aug 14, 2019, 9:31 am
#764
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
You have great chances...8/20 is a Tuesday (about the best day for any long haul upgrade odds), 7's across the board, and a wide open seatmap. AA still probably won't open any space up till 24-36 hrs before, but nevertheless your odds look great.
Aug 15, 2019, 2:00 am
#765
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Programs: DL, HH, Bonvoy
Posts: 204
Currently AA Gold, I normally fly SFO or OAK to PHX, but decided to go STS > LAX > PHX on my last trip (8/13) since each leg is < 500 miles and I'm trying to get those last segments to Platinum this year. Got upgraded on both the STS > LAX and LAX > PHX legs at T-24.