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)
Jan 23, 2019, 9:58 pm
#136
Join Date: Oct 2015
Programs: AA: EXP, 1MM Marriott: Ambassador, LTT
Posts: 407
I’ve had a couple of trips booked where the selling class was P after the AA website showed that the ticket was “flexible”. Looking at the fare conditions, the ticket was indeed refunadable before departure (not just future credit), but had a $300 fee for doing so. I’m guessing that a W fare would be fully refundable with no fee due for doing so.
Jan 24, 2019, 12:54 am
#137
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: AY+ Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,846
First, I have successfully booked very reasonable W fares to Asia (roundtrip), so they do exist. Second, I have also run into the issue where the website shows W at a certain price but it's not actually bookable (or it actually books into P).
I'm not sure how far you will get with AA in terms of honoring the W fare on the outbound, but it seems that they did put a note in your reservation. I might try to call back to web services, ask to speak to a supervisor, and see if they can do anything. If the itinerary with W on both outbound and return reappears, I would put it on hold and see if AA will refund your original tickets without a fee, given the circumstances and the notation in your reservation.
In general with AA, I will put a reservation on hold, double check the e-mail confirmation, and then book the ticket.
I'm not sure how far you will get with AA in terms of honoring the W fare on the outbound, but it seems that they did put a note in your reservation. I might try to call back to web services, ask to speak to a supervisor, and see if they can do anything. If the itinerary with W on both outbound and return reappears, I would put it on hold and see if AA will refund your original tickets without a fee, given the circumstances and the notation in your reservation.
In general with AA, I will put a reservation on hold, double check the e-mail confirmation, and then book the ticket.
Jan 24, 2019, 7:30 am
#138
Join Date: Oct 2015
Programs: AA: EXP, 1MM Marriott: Ambassador, LTT
Posts: 407
Thanks for the advice @flyingeph12 . I will certainly do so in the future.. I wanted to put it on hold and call them (in part to apply some refunded tickets) but it wouldn't let me do a hold because of a JL segment. Live and learn I guess!
Jan 24, 2019, 12:23 pm
#139
Join Date: Oct 2015
Programs: AA: EXP, 1MM Marriott: Ambassador, LTT
Posts: 407
Just one final update, I decided to go back and call one more time to see if I could get this resolved. This time after almost 2 hours I was able to get a "web supervisor" who acknowledged the issue, apologized (!!) for AA's mistake and said that he was making notations in my record such that if I ever try to change the fare or upgrade off of it I will be treated as if I had a W fare for purposes of calculating any change fees or any upgrade mileage.
Now I have no idea what will happen when if/when I actually try to do this (especially if I split the record), but I guess it is better than nothing. The lesson here is always check the issued ticket fare classes against what the website said you were buying especially when it comes to PE tickets.
Now I have no idea what will happen when if/when I actually try to do this (especially if I split the record), but I guess it is better than nothing. The lesson here is always check the issued ticket fare classes against what the website said you were buying especially when it comes to PE tickets.
Last edited by BillBurn; Jan 24, 2019 at 12:40 pm
Jan 24, 2019, 5:17 pm
#140
Join Date: Oct 2015
Programs: AA: EXP, 1MM Marriott: Ambassador, LTT
Posts: 407
OK I lied, one final final update. AA has actually formally reissued the ticket in W and the web supervisor, Diego, called me back to confirm. I guess this is a data point that you can get AA to honor the website vs. ticket issue if you try hard enough. Shoutout to Diego for his help and professionalism.
Jan 24, 2019, 6:39 pm
#141
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: San Francisco
Programs: AA EXP; Marriott BonVoy Titanium Elite, Marriott LT Plat.
Posts: 1,717
AA193 LAX-HKG went out Friday night with the first 2 people clearing off an upgrade list 39 people deep. I was half way down the list as an EXP with bare minimum EQD. The flight had 9-11 open J seats on EF around the T-24-48 window; went down to 2 open seats the day of the departure.
Time for me to start monitoring this flight again as I'm off to HKG in a few weeks. Have set up my EF Alert for C space indeed. Not going to stress about it too much. Have an unbroken streak of luck with securing this upgrade 12 times already.
On the brighter side, my upgrade DFW-HOU came in spot on at the 100-hour mark. SFO-DFW, ugh... No biggie. Have scored it a few time after getting comfy in exit aisle seat.
Jan 24, 2019, 6:56 pm
#142
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Wesley Chapel, FL
Programs: American Airlines
Posts: 29,972
Quick advice appreciated please
I booked AA 78 to lhr on 2/15 to lhr and back on 79 on 2/20 and applied SWU waitlisted for each leg. I chose these flights because both I and J were 7 so I thought my chances of clearing are good. Well the outbound 78 only had a few open seats showing in EF but the earlier AA 50 is wide open in business.
The return 79 seems better to clear but any advice is appreciated as I have 24 to cancel and start over.
Thanks
The return 79 seems better to clear but any advice is appreciated as I have 24 to cancel and start over.
Thanks
Jan 24, 2019, 6:58 pm
#143
Join Date: Jun 2018
Programs: AA Plat, MPC Silver, IHG Platinum
Posts: 116
Time for me to start monitoring this flight again as I'm off to HKG in a few weeks. Have set up my EF Alert for C space indeed. Not going to stress about it too much. Have an unbroken streak of luck with securing this upgrade 12 times already.
On the brighter side, my upgrade DFW-HOU came in spot on at the 100-hour mark. SFO-DFW, ugh... No biggie. Have scored it a few time after getting comfy in exit aisle seat.
On the brighter side, my upgrade DFW-HOU came in spot on at the 100-hour mark. SFO-DFW, ugh... No biggie. Have scored it a few time after getting comfy in exit aisle seat.
Jan 24, 2019, 8:18 pm
#144
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: San Francisco
Programs: AA EXP; Marriott BonVoy Titanium Elite, Marriott LT Plat.
Posts: 1,717
F4 A4 J7 R7 D7 I7 W7 P6 Y7 B0 H7 K7 M7 L7 G7 V7 S7 N7 Q5 O0 E0
Good Luck with upgrading as well. And I checked for C space on the 21st too. None available at the moment.
Jan 24, 2019, 8:27 pm
#145
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,443
I booked AA 78 to lhr on 2/15 to lhr and back on 79 on 2/20 and applied SWU waitlisted for each leg. I chose these flights because both I and J were 7 so I thought my chances of clearing are good. Well the outbound 78 only had a few open seats showing in EF but the earlier AA 50 is wide open in business.
The return 79 seems better to clear but any advice is appreciated as I have 24 to cancel and start over.
Thanks
The return 79 seems better to clear but any advice is appreciated as I have 24 to cancel and start over.
Thanks
Jan 24, 2019, 8:44 pm
#146
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Wesley Chapel, FL
Programs: American Airlines
Posts: 29,972
Jan 24, 2019, 9:33 pm
#147
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: San Diego
Programs: Plat Pro AAdvantage, but defected to BAEC
Posts: 1,222
I'm actually out-bound on the 19th. Always good for me to arrive Thursday morning ready to have at least 2 days of work before the weekend while there in HKG. Below is the flight availability details for your flight on the 21st.
F4 A4 J7 R7 D7 I7 W7 P6 Y7 B0 H7 K7 M7 L7 G7 V7 S7 N7 Q5 O0 E0
Good Luck with upgrading as well. And I checked for C space on the 21st too. None available at the moment.
F4 A4 J7 R7 D7 I7 W7 P6 Y7 B0 H7 K7 M7 L7 G7 V7 S7 N7 Q5 O0 E0
Good Luck with upgrading as well. And I checked for C space on the 21st too. None available at the moment.
F4 A1 J7 R7 D7 I7 W7 P7 Y7 B0 H7 K7M7 L7 G7 V7 S7 N7 Q7 O0
so still the potential for a miles + copay upgrade to J. The puzzler is on the outbound. Just 3 J seats occupied, but EF is reporting
F5 A3 J7 R7 D7 I0 W7 P2 Y7 B0 H7 K7M7 L7 G7 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0
so given the lack of I inventory, there is much less of a chance of a J upgrade on this leg. I did think that perhaps a cruise line had booked a block of seats and therefore they were not allocated, but the only cruise ship due into the port during my stay departs the day after I arrive (which makes sense for cruise passengers), but it’s a 5 day closed loop via some Chinese ports, so you wouldn’t expect a plethora of US passengers to be aboard. PY and Y discounted seats also appear to be in short supplying this flight, even though I see only10 seats allocated in PY and 41 seats in economy, with only 1 of those in MCE/Premium seats, so not a lot of competition for any potential upgrades.
Jan 25, 2019, 12:29 pm
#148
Join Date: Jun 2018
Programs: AA Plat, MPC Silver, IHG Platinum
Posts: 116
I'm actually out-bound on the 19th. Always good for me to arrive Thursday morning ready to have at least 2 days of work before the weekend while there in HKG. Below is the flight availability details for your flight on the 21st.
F4 A4 J7 R7 D7 I7 W7 P6 Y7 B0 H7 K7 M7 L7 G7 V7 S7 N7 Q5 O0 E0
Good Luck with upgrading as well. And I checked for C space on the 21st too. None available at the moment.
F4 A4 J7 R7 D7 I7 W7 P6 Y7 B0 H7 K7 M7 L7 G7 V7 S7 N7 Q5 O0 E0
Good Luck with upgrading as well. And I checked for C space on the 21st too. None available at the moment.
Just so I understand, the C space is in Business cabin or or both Business as well as First class? I am booked in Premium Economy, so if I have to look for conformable space for an upgrade, do I look for C? I am quite new to this, so sorry for the noob questions.
thanks again.
Jan 25, 2019, 1:26 pm
#149
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 214
Thanks! Really appreciate it. And good luck to you to for the upgrades.
Just so I understand, the C space is in Business cabin or or both Business as well as First class? I am booked in Premium Economy, so if I have to look for conformable space for an upgrade, do I look for C? I am quite new to this, so sorry for the noob questions.
thanks again.
Just so I understand, the C space is in Business cabin or or both Business as well as First class? I am booked in Premium Economy, so if I have to look for conformable space for an upgrade, do I look for C? I am quite new to this, so sorry for the noob questions.
thanks again.
Jan 25, 2019, 6:05 pm
#150
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Smellington, NZ
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, UA 2P, Marriott LTPP
Posts: 1,453
Striking out (0 for 2) so far this year on my first AA flights for upgrades (I live overseas and normally fly Malaysian, Qantas, or Cathay). I was 22 of about 40 on HKG-DFW and 2 of 13 on DFW-SJC. Exp with 19k rolling EQD. I am Troy surprised I couldn’t get the SJC one, but not as surprised about the HKG flight.