bse118

Really. More the concept than the actual mechanics of doing it.

An upgrade not clearing is an inconvenience. Its not a trip ending event.

10s of thousands of people fly long haul economy daily. It's not nearly as terrible as it is made out to be.

And I'd wager "weekend trips to London" are a small share of leisure trips involving a overseas longhair flight. Many such leisure trips are going to much more complicated...

VegasGambler

I usually travel alone, mostly on a whim (oh, there's a cheap fare and I have nothing else to do). I honestly don't care when I travel. Moving a trip out a week or a month, or going somewhere else instead this time, is mostly inconsequential to me.

I am not willing to fly long haul economy because it's uncomfortable. I only travel for fun so if it's not an enjoyable experience there's no point. Usually for my longhaul travel I go whenever there's cheap premium cabin award space, or occasionally when there are extremely cheap premium cabin fares. SWUs throw a new wrinkle into it, because I don't necessarily know at booking whether that "cheap" premium cabin space is available.

I guess the point is, I'm not using the SWUs to make my a trip that I have to take anyway more comfortable. Just like I would not go if there was no J award space, I would not go if the SWUs won't clear. The difference is, I know at booking whether there is J award space (so there's nothing to cancel; I just don't book if the space is not there) but I don't know until later whether the SWUs will clear.

Ty Vil

Have two PNRs on the same day on AA50 in June in J. The app is offering upgrade to F for $600. Once I requested to use SWUs (waitlisted) - that offer went away. I had the SWUs pulled off the res and the $600 J>F option is back.

Thoughts on using the SWUs vs just paying the difference (no LPs gained)?

tomtaylor23

Hoping someone can clarify the waitlist order priority for SWU/Mileage upgrades. If you're waitlisted with a SWU as an EXP @ 9:30pm, but someone else were also added to the waitlist before you, let's say an PPRO @ 9:29pm. Would the PPRO be above the EXP until the upgrade goes to the gate? Or is it as stated, Status, then upgrade type and then LP's?

golfer20

No, time of request only matters if, e.g., you are both EXP and somehow have exactly the same LPs.

tomtaylor23

Thanks. So essentially, the SWU waitlist priority is the same as the waitlist priority at the gate which also include complimentary upgrades.

mlebean

Are there any routes from LAX that I can pre confirm a good international systemwide upgrade on? I have 4 that will expire end of July and I'd love to just find anywhere cool to travel (completely flexible work schedule), even if the travel is not til January but the upgrades can clear from my account now! I don't mind a connecting flight as long as the long international leg gets confirmed.

Is there any way to search for ALL systemwide availability other than just clicking through every City/Every day of the year?

Thanks!!!

355F1

Tokyo.

I just confirmed 4 SWUs (that were set to expire in July, too) yesterday for LAX-HND RT next March for me and my gf.

This is the best route AA offers for confirming SWUs at booking.

enviroian

They’re available because no one wants to quarantine for 7 days upon arriving in Japan.

IggySD

Which may or may not be required next March when OP flies. Japan is certainly more conservative in dropping COVID restrictions than other countries but doubtful the requirements today will be the same 10 months from now. Seems like a great use of SWU to me.

JJeffrey

No, there is no easy button to hit that will show you all SWU availability at any given time. You just have to hunt and peck.

Get an ExpertFlyer subscription, set the dates to +/- 3 days and you can cover a lot of ground quickly with the searches.

For example I just searched a random week around the beginning of October and on the first date I picked (a Wednesday) there's C space on DFW-LHR & MIA-LHR and space returning a week later on LHR-JFK.

enviroian

I agree you have a point. It's a gamble and I might just bite too. I'd just hate to cancel a Tokyo trip because the quarantine is still in place. Then again it's easier to bank the ticket in a flight coupon then find empty C space.

VegasGambler

So what? Just book main cabin (not basic economy) and you can always cancel and rebook to somewhere else. If nothing else, it preserved the validity of your upgrade past the expiration date.

355F1

I booked this in hopes Japan will be open in 9 months from now.

Did the same thing last Oct for a trip to Bali this summer...which re-opened last month.

355F1

Exactly.