Mar 6, 2022, 1:17 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
Chances of Upgrade Request Clearing (Be aware of possible upgrade priority changes as of Loyalty Points becoming the qualifier for rewards)
(Upgrades were prioritized by elite status and then time of request until 20 May 2017)
Elite status
Upgrade type
Then, by
Link to 2020-2021 archived thread.
For previous changes, 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
(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
- EQD earned, possibly changing to Loyalty Points earned, in the past 12 months (rolling) as far as we know today
- Booking class
- Time of request
Link to 2020-2021 archived thread.
For previous changes, 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
Chances of Upgrade Clearing and Availability (2022 master thread)
Jul 4, 2022, 1:22 pm
#406
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: PDX
Programs: AS 75K, BW Plat, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 10,724
Thought I’d share a success story.
CK with wife and 3 kids and no status.
LHR to BOS - Purchased Basic Economy tickets
First call AA told me you can’t use SWU on basic economy. Second call applied the certs but they had to reference some strange rule.
Months pass with no availability. Which is normal these days. Day before the flight they are no longer selling J and economy is overbooked and asking for volunteers. Oy. Economy seats.
LHR is a nightmare this weekend. BA won’t allow us in their lounge. Kind AA rep at closed AA lounge says we are #s 1-5 on upgrade list.
We board late and at the gate all 5 of us are upgraded with SWU to J — none of the PE nonsense I’ve been hearing. I should have landed and bought lottery tickets.
CK with wife and 3 kids and no status.
LHR to BOS - Purchased Basic Economy tickets
First call AA told me you can’t use SWU on basic economy. Second call applied the certs but they had to reference some strange rule.
Months pass with no availability. Which is normal these days. Day before the flight they are no longer selling J and economy is overbooked and asking for volunteers. Oy. Economy seats.
LHR is a nightmare this weekend. BA won’t allow us in their lounge. Kind AA rep at closed AA lounge says we are #s 1-5 on upgrade list.
We board late and at the gate all 5 of us are upgraded with SWU to J — none of the PE nonsense I’ve been hearing. I should have landed and bought lottery tickets.
Jul 4, 2022, 2:45 pm
#407
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Long Island, NY
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Gold
Posts: 732
AA 66 (JFK-BCN): partner & I cleared 24h before boarding 
AA 67 (BCN-JFK): we were 1&2 on upgrade list, EF had only 1 J seat available in the morning of the flight. We boarded in Y then asked about the upgrade.
Gave the upgrade to my partner and sat in the back of the plane.
QQ: partner said seat 1A remained empty during the flight, assume it is for reserved for Pilot. Can anyone confirmed?
AA 67 (BCN-JFK): we were 1&2 on upgrade list, EF had only 1 J seat available in the morning of the flight. We boarded in Y then asked about the upgrade.
Gave the upgrade to my partner and sat in the back of the plane.
QQ: partner said seat 1A remained empty during the flight, assume it is for reserved for Pilot. Can anyone confirmed?
Last edited by zip10001; Jul 4, 2022 at 3:25 pm
Jul 4, 2022, 3:03 pm
#408
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 552
just to confirm, ACV is the small regional humboldt airport right? i assume the upgrade was for 2 cabin F on CRJ700? thats still nice but i bet that route had nobody in F. i have been reluctant to use my certs from barclays because the T&Cs were very clear, no upgrades allowed like a basic Y fare. but did you do anything special? were they on the upgrade request list? i guess its not hardcoded and anything is possible.
also, were you upgraded before checking in online? im wondering if check in time matters for AA in terms of upgrade priority. do many upgrades clear without checking in online?
also, were you upgraded before checking in online? im wondering if check in time matters for AA in terms of upgrade priority. do many upgrades clear without checking in online?
Jul 4, 2022, 3:25 pm
#409
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: SFO/LAX/SAN/LAS/DFW/JFK/LGA/EWR/MIA
Posts: 1,073
Yes, Humboldt regional (Arcata/Eureka) 2 cabin F on a CRJ200. We were all listed as "upgrade requested." F cabin was empty before we were upgraded. It was 120 hours out when all three of us were upgraded and I have still yet to check in. Did nothing special after booking the flight. Had been previously advised to split the record from my companions in order for myself to get upgraded, but had elected not to. What is very strange is that it appears my two companions who have platinum status inherited my status for the upgrade. My wife, who is also platinum, is on a separate PNR and has yet to be upgraded. She should have had priority as a platinum over my companions has she has flown more in the last 12 months than they have. But I'm sure she will get the upgrade with all of the empty F seats that remain.
Last edited by GundamWing01; Jul 4, 2022 at 3:30 pm
Jul 6, 2022, 2:45 am
#410
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: AA EXP; 1W Emerald; HHonors Diamond; Marriott Gold; UA dirt
Posts: 7,816
JFK-MAD cleared with 15,000 point upgrade from W class to C class. Biz went out with two empty. Coach was 100% full.
Jul 6, 2022, 2:48 am
#411
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: AA EXP; 1W Emerald; HHonors Diamond; Marriott Gold; UA dirt
Posts: 7,816
Oh forgot: DCA-CHS-DCA cleared at ~ T-72 (maybe T-70 on one), including on a A319. First A319 upgrade in a while...
Jul 6, 2022, 8:03 am
#412
Join Date: May 2019
Location: California
Posts: 19
Just found c spaces available from lax to Europe for my wife and I and round trips were confirmed. Had great luck this year and last
Jul 6, 2022, 11:20 am
#413
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: AA 1MM EXP, DL Diamond, Hilton Diamond, Bonvoy Ambassador (RIP SPG), Aeroplan 75K
Posts: 1,156
What was also a “small world” moment was someone coming up to me at a clothing store in the middle of Dublin asking if I was on the inbound ORD flight (which I was).
Jul 6, 2022, 1:53 pm
#414
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: AA PlatPro (LTG), Marriott Titanium (LTG), HH Diamond
Posts: 254
A couple questions on mileage upgrades, which I don't use that often. Would appreciate the help from those who understand the system a little better.
1) I called to place one of my wife's itineraries on the mileage upgrade waitlist, using miles from my account. In the past, when I have waitlisted myself for a mileage upgrade, viewing the reservation normally shows an "Upgrades" section where the status is "Waitlisted". Her PNR does not show that. Is this a quirk of the system? Others have noted that the option to buy-up to First disappears when you're waitlisted, and in fact that did happen, so maybe everything is fine.
2) If I upgrade her economy seats to MCE using miles and then the mileage upgrade clears, will the system automatically redeposit the miles used for MCE before deducting the miles used for the upgrade? The T&Cs around seat upgrade purchases say you get a refund if "You pay to upgrade to First or Business" but I don't know if miles+copay counts as "pay to upgrade" in terms of refund eligibility.
3) Does the waitlist system use my status (PlatPro) or hers (none) in determining priority for processing the upgrade?
1) I called to place one of my wife's itineraries on the mileage upgrade waitlist, using miles from my account. In the past, when I have waitlisted myself for a mileage upgrade, viewing the reservation normally shows an "Upgrades" section where the status is "Waitlisted". Her PNR does not show that. Is this a quirk of the system? Others have noted that the option to buy-up to First disappears when you're waitlisted, and in fact that did happen, so maybe everything is fine.
2) If I upgrade her economy seats to MCE using miles and then the mileage upgrade clears, will the system automatically redeposit the miles used for MCE before deducting the miles used for the upgrade? The T&Cs around seat upgrade purchases say you get a refund if "You pay to upgrade to First or Business" but I don't know if miles+copay counts as "pay to upgrade" in terms of refund eligibility.
3) Does the waitlist system use my status (PlatPro) or hers (none) in determining priority for processing the upgrade?
Last edited by chriseng; Jul 6, 2022 at 3:21 pm
Jul 8, 2022, 12:46 pm
#415
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: EK Gold, A3 *G, AB Gold, Jetblue Mosaic
Posts: 1,386
AA2923 BOS-LAX for Monday and I cleared into J this morning as a PPro about 90min into the window. So chuffed about this one for a 6+hour flight, Im quite pleased to be in a lie-flat. Really thought this one might be a T-40 upgrade if at all
Jul 9, 2022, 12:21 am
#416
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: AUS
Programs: AA Exec Platinum/MM, DL Gold/MM, Hilton Diamond, Accor Platinum, Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 6,975
My wife and I are booked on a flight Saturday evening, same PNR. I am EXP, she is PP. We were both upgraded at the same time to two of the last three open F seats. One remains open. I think we were the first upgrades within the complimentary window. I need to drop from the trip, so she will fly alone. When I call to have AA split the PNR and then cancel me will she get booted back to coach? Or do companion upgrades stick even when the higher ranked elite cancels?
Jul 9, 2022, 6:35 am
#417
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,470
My wife and I are booked on a flight Saturday evening, same PNR. I am EXP, she is PP. We were both upgraded at the same time to two of the last three open F seats. One remains open. I think we were the first upgrades within the complimentary window. I need to drop from the trip, so she will fly alone. When I call to have AA split the PNR and then cancel me will she get booted back to coach? Or do companion upgrades stick even when the higher ranked elite cancels?
If she didn't have status then she would (most likely) lose it, however in some cases like this you never know with AA's IT.
Jul 9, 2022, 1:30 pm
#418
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: AA 1MM EXP, DL Diamond, Hilton Diamond, Bonvoy Ambassador (RIP SPG), Aeroplan 75K
Posts: 1,156
JFK-BOS 7/9 Evening flight (321T) — cleared at the EP window. Needed to cancel it due to a change in plans, but J was booked 4 of 10 with no one on the waitlist. J was a $210 fare difference at booking about six weeks ago, and was being offered $106 -> $76 on the app.
Jul 9, 2022, 6:09 pm
#419
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: AUS
Programs: AA Exec Platinum/MM, DL Gold/MM, Hilton Diamond, Accor Platinum, Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 6,975
Reservation split. I then cancelled within an hour of first flight. Her seats did not change on either flight.
Jul 10, 2022, 4:13 pm
#420
Join Date: May 2005
Programs: AA Exec Plat, UA Silver, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium, IHG Plat, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 77
7/9 AA151 CDG-ORD: a minor miracle! After getting the dreaded SSSS on my boarding pass, my 2 SWU’s for me and my spouse cleared at the very last minute (departure scheduled at 16:05, upgrade cleared at 15:36). Went from MCE to row 1.