Paid P, waitlisted for J, C becomes available, why not downgrade to S?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: FL400
Programs: AA 5MM EXP, UA 2MM 1K, HH LT DIA, MR Plat, NRAC EEV, AMEX Plat
Posts: 682
Paid P, waitlisted for J, C becomes available, why not downgrade to S?
I have a reservation on a LHR-LAX in paid Prem Econ with a waitlisted upgrade to Business. My EF alert for C just fired and I see that my reservation is now in ticketing limbo. Is there a good reason why I can't call before it is reticketed and downgrade to the lowest available Economy fare (currently S and $800 less than I paid)?
#2
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Beantown! (BOS)
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Posts: 3,434
Likely you were ahead of upgrade list because you purchased Pre Econ. If you had S fare to begin with then probably you would not got this J seat when C inventory became available, likely went to somebody higher on upgrade list who purchased Pre Econ. From that prospective, likely answer will be no because if such is allowed then this will become a trick to be on the top of the upgrade list.
#4
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 214
Likely you were ahead of upgrade list because you purchased Pre Econ. If you had S fare to begin with then probably you would not got this J seat when C inventory became available, likely went to somebody higher on upgrade list who purchased Pre Econ. From that prospective, likely answer will be no because if such is allowed then this will become a trick to be on the top of the upgrade list.
#5
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Likely you were ahead of upgrade list because you purchased Pre Econ. If you had S fare to begin with then probably you would not got this J seat when C inventory became available, likely went to somebody higher on upgrade list who purchased Pre Econ. From that prospective, likely answer will be no because if such is allowed then this will become a trick to be on the top of the upgrade list.
*the only time fare class matters is in the unlikely event that 2 people are on the same upgrade list with the same status and exact same rolling EQD.
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Theoretically it should be possible. Keep in mind you'd have to pay the change fee associated with your PE fare. I would think you would need to call in, change your ticket to economy, then wait for it to re-ticket before calling back to grab the upgrade space. So there could be some risk that the C space disappears in that time. However it's also possible that a good agent could take care of everything in one swoop. Give AA a call and see what they say.
#7
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Austin
Programs: AA EXP +2MM- LT PLT! HH Diamond
Posts: 6,084
I suppose technically this could be done, but there are several considerations, which some have already been mentioned.
1) By the time you are through the changes, the C inventory could be gone. Now you are stuck in Y instead of PE, unless you want to pay yet another change fare and fare difference to get back into PE
2) If the change is successful, then you will only earn the EQD and lowered EQM of the new ticket for that flight
3) Your rolling EQD qill be lower, affecting you future upgrade order and chances
4) If, at the end of the year, you have not yet met a tier qualification threshold, you might need to make a MR to meet this threshold, thus wiping our any savings you earned on the PE->Y downgraded ticket trip
1) By the time you are through the changes, the C inventory could be gone. Now you are stuck in Y instead of PE, unless you want to pay yet another change fare and fare difference to get back into PE
2) If the change is successful, then you will only earn the EQD and lowered EQM of the new ticket for that flight
3) Your rolling EQD qill be lower, affecting you future upgrade order and chances
4) If, at the end of the year, you have not yet met a tier qualification threshold, you might need to make a MR to meet this threshold, thus wiping our any savings you earned on the PE->Y downgraded ticket trip
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2005
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EXP agent was doubtful that this could be done, but checked with the tariff desk who didn't have a problem with it. They did charge a change fee - net result is a $600 voucher, booked in C and ticketed in S. I would guess that since the upgrade had already started processing it was already mine, but I don't know for sure. After all was said and done the agent said "Well it looks like you found a loophole."
I'm not concerned about EQM or spend; last year I nearly tripled both.
I'm not concerned about EQM or spend; last year I nearly tripled both.
#9
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: American EXP; British Airways Gold
Posts: 1,896
EXP agent was doubtful that this could be done, but checked with the tariff desk who didn't have a problem with it. They did charge a change fee - net result is a $600 voucher, booked in C and ticketed in S. I would guess that since the upgrade had already started processing it was already mine, but I don't know for sure. After all was said and done the agent said "Well it looks like you found a loophole."
I'm not concerned about EQM or spend; last year I nearly tripled both.
I'm not concerned about EQM or spend; last year I nearly tripled both.
#10
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Austin
Programs: AA EXP +2MM- LT PLT! HH Diamond
Posts: 6,084
EXP agent was doubtful that this could be done, but checked with the tariff desk who didn't have a problem with it. They did charge a change fee - net result is a $600 voucher, booked in C and ticketed in S. I would guess that since the upgrade had already started processing it was already mine, but I don't know for sure. After all was said and done the agent said "Well it looks like you found a loophole."
I'm not concerned about EQM or spend; last year I nearly tripled both.
I'm not concerned about EQM or spend; last year I nearly tripled both.
#11
Join Date: Feb 2016
Programs: DL DM, SPG Plat 100/LT Gold, Marriott Plat, National Executive Elite
Posts: 2,988
EXP agent was doubtful that this could be done, but checked with the tariff desk who didn't have a problem with it. They did charge a change fee - net result is a $600 voucher, booked in C and ticketed in S. I would guess that since the upgrade had already started processing it was already mine, but I don't know for sure. After all was said and done the agent said "Well it looks like you found a loophole."
I'm not concerned about EQM or spend; last year I nearly tripled both.
I'm not concerned about EQM or spend; last year I nearly tripled both.
They collected a change fee they love for a few clicks. And kept your cash and gave you a voucher that expires and that you might not use.
Big win for AA. Glad you are happy too.
#12
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Nice work OP!!
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Location: NYC
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Well I obviously wasn't on the call, but I could certainly see the agent saying "you found a loophole" in a jovial, congratulatory way (unsarcastically). Or they could have been bitter about it, who knows.
Of course the way to close this loophole is to only allow one-class upgrades...
Or charge more miles/co-pay for Y->J than PE->J, that never really made sense to me.
Of course the way to close this loophole is to only allow one-class upgrades...
Or charge more miles/co-pay for Y->J than PE->J, that never really made sense to me.
#14
Join Date: Oct 2005
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If the OP is exceeding 300k EQM & killing the EQD, he probably has a nice eagle rating. AA may be less generous to a more average member.