AADFW

(Disclaimer: Not sure if this has already been covered somewhere else on this forum -- apologies if so.)

Last month, I purchased domestic tickets for me and my spouse as I have a work conference out of state in January. A few weeks ago, I looked at the reservation on the aa.com website and noticed an offer to upgrade to first class. It seemed like an attractive price so I went ahead and bought the upgrades for both of us. As it turns out, I am the only one who will be taking the trip due to something unexpected with my spouse's work situation. But when I called American to cancel the other ticket, I was told that the upgrade money was "use it or lose it" meaning that no credit would be issued for future travel for the upgrade portion of the purchase. While this may very well have been stated in the T&Cs on the purchase page, I certainly never noticed it, nor would I have made the purchase had I been aware of this. Now I'm out nearly $400 and American still gets to sell the other seat. This seems patently unfair.

I had purchased a promotional upgrade like this one once before and already knew that we'd only be earning the mileage credit associated with the base fare, which was totally fine. But this "use it or lose it completely" policy really seems like a bridge too far. I'd love to be able to just keep the other seat empty both ways and get no refund at all but seriously doubt that I have that option.

What do you all think of this policy? Am I the unreasonable party here, or is American wrong to do this? Also, any suggestions?

xliioper

Delta has the same rule for it's online upgrade offers. Now that airlines have waived change fees, one should always check what paying the fare difference would be before biting on these offers. If you are upgrading relatively far out and still qualify for 2/3-week advance purchase FC fares, the fare difference may be close in price to the upgrade offer if not less in some cases.
The online offers are mostly useful for people who are not allowed to purchase FC fares due to corporate policy and cannot readily perform ticket re-issues (because the ticket was purchased by someone else or purchased on a corporate credit card). If you don't fit that category, it's probably best to try to avoid them if possible unless you are willing to accept the limitations of non-refundability.

Kacee

The T&C for AA's purchased upgrade offers state that the upgrade fee will convert to a trip credit if you cancel the ticket. So while the upgrade is not refundable, it can be applied to the purchase of another ticket.
AA does not typically price upgrades based on fare differential. And IME beginning several months ago they are generally a much better deal than upfaring.

AADFW

The agent I spoke with in Central Reservations a few days ago said that this was not the case. I will call them back and reference this. Honestly, I can't thank you enough!!

platbrownguy

yes, the confusion might be that same-day upgrade offers (load factor based upgrades) are indicated here to be fully truly nonrefundable:
https://www.aa.com/i18n/fragments/me...0the%20upgrade.

Kacee

It may be important to distinguish between the concepts of "nonrefundable" and "forfeited." The purchased upgrades are indeed nonrefundable, meaning you can't get the money back on your credit card. But the value is not forfeited if the ticket is canceled; rather, it's retained as a travel credit which can be applied to a new ticket purchase.

AADFW

I agree this must have been conflated. I just called and got the trip credit issued but had to wait on hold for what felt like 20-30 minutes. The agent told me that the website upgrades are a relatively new product and the T&Cs are not yet fully known to all Central Reservations representatives, including her.

jhalapin

I have *always* gotten the value of the upgrade refunded in the same trip credit as the original fare. As recently as 2 weeks ago actually.

If this is a new policy to match Delta (which I just lost $700 on because I wasn't aware of their upgrade policy) them I'm out.

AADFW

In my case, they issued a separate "trip credit" for the upgrade cost which if I understand correctly can be used for any passenger for up to a year. The base fare can be used only for my spouse for up to the same period. The trip credit portion they told me may take up to three weeks to issue.

ghsbass0406

I cancelled a ticket that I'd paid for an upgrade on aa.com. I received a credit but only for the original price of the ticket. Is there a way to access the upgrade credit online or do I have to call AA to have them issue a trip credit?

AADFW

From what I understand (someone please correct me if I'm wrong here), you will need to call them and cite the upgrade T&Cs as mentioned above. They will probably need to look up that upgrade transaction via the cancelled ticket number. Also, you will likely be put on hold for a long time while they look into the rules, just like I was. Finally as noted via the link above, if yours was a same-day upgrade, evidently those really are completely nonrefundable.

My experience with the two AA Central Reservations agents made it abundantly clear that the trip credit issuance policy for online promotional upgrades has NOT been well communicated to the rank and file to this point. Although only speculative, this might be by design -- meaning that perhaps AA management wants passengers to request the trip credit to which they are entitled under the official rules rather than doling it out automatically upon each cancellation.

AADFW

Quick update here based on a more recent experience. Whenever you buy the promotional upsells, you should receive an email receipt that will include a "0115..." number referencing the transaction. Once you cancel or exchange the associated ticket and need to refund the upsells (or get a trip credit), you simply go to prefunds.aa.com and enter that 0115... number. After a few days the refund will process. This is much faster and easier than trying to do it through Central Reservations.

HofstraJet

Agreed. This is what I do and it works fine.

KenH_Atlanta

I purchased two upgrades to First last week (12/28) during the check-in process. The document numbers both began with 00106. Also, even though the purchase was made and receipt emailed on 12/28, the receipt indicated "Issued: Dec 29, 2021". Was this transaction something other than a promotional upsell? Also, was it a same-day upgrade or not? If considered same-day, sneaky move on AA's part.

We did fly and based on the price of the upgrade it was well worth it for a transcon flight.