Probably a plant by AA to get you to think twice before declining the instant upgrade next time :D

Was she attractive at least?

Will any AA phone agent tell me my position on the upgrade list before the 12 or 24 hour mark? I've tried asking that question before but the agent says she couldn't tell me even though this data is critical in my decision on whether or not I will buy up to first class.

I've been getting very attractive buy-up offers lately, but the offer always seems to disappear at the 24 hour mark. I've been getting pretty good at estimating whether or not my upgrade will clear through studying ExpertFlyer (I count empty J seats and occupied MCE seats), but there are edge cases where I'm tempted to buy-up but don't want to risk losing money on an upgrade that will clear anyways. Basically, I feel like some of these buy-up offers are a no-brainer for me if I didn't have status, but it's like gambling when I do have status, so I'd like to have the upgrade data available well before the 12 hour mark like what UA does.

No they don’t have that information and thus can’t tell you. As a platinum (per your profile), you should have a good sense of the situation between the 24 and 48 hour windows. Is UA similar to DL where it says “seats available”? If so, that is generally the same as looking at the flight availability on EF.

There's no way to tell how many are ahead of you. I think you need to be strategic. Is this flight worth really sitting in F? What kind of Y seat do I have (for example if I have row 11 on the 321ceo I'm fine)? The thing is that if AA made that information available ahead of time many EXPs/PPs wouldn't take up the upgrade offer. Also, that list might shift from T-24 to T-12 as people make flight changes.

I’m in economy to Europe this evening with AA with open space in PE but nothing in C.

is there any chance of an upgrade to PE? Or is it C or bust?

1 and 2 on the upgrade list for C, with SWU’s, with 5 seats in PE showing on EF.

And I’m sat in PE. More comfortable way to spend the next 8 hours.

BOS crews are generally top notch. A whole F meal is a new one, but I've received the occasional sundae from F, or much more common for the F F/A to keep my Tito's and soda topped up. It helps to sit aisle on the first two rows of MCE.

Yea, there's a loose process by which AA comp upgrades those waitlisted for SWU to PE if no C space opens up (and there's room in PE).

Make sure to post your experience below, and double check that the GA didn't actually pull a SWU for your "free" upgrade.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...my-pe-w-2.html

Mixed results on this week's trip:

• DEN-ORD, Monday, ~11am, 738: Did not clear (was #3 out of 30+)
• ORD-DCA, Monday, mid-afternoon, 738: cleared at 100hrs
• DCA-CLT, Thursday, 530pm, 738: did not clear (was #4 out of 50+)
• CLT-DEN, Thursday, 830pm, A321: cleared at 100hrs

no clue what my rolling LPS are. More the 250k but less than 300k, i'd guess.

As Alaska MVP Gold:

08/03/2023 SFO-JFK AA234 (6:18am departure): Cleared battlefield upgrade, was given 7F onboard after sitting in MCE despite being #3 on WL for 1 seat. Appears that 1 and 2 declined the upgrade to not be split. MCE was extremely empty, I would have had 14ABC to myself had I not gotten the upgrade.

08/03/2023 JFK-BOS AA4269 (3:59pm departure): Cleared at gate around T-45min into 3F, despite having been #1 on WL for 2 seats for a full day prior.

Yesterday, was 2 out of 30 for 1 seat (PHX-TPA)
Today I'm 2 out of 12 for 0 seat (TPA-MIA)

Appreciate that, and done. No SWU taken, so all in, not too bad. And keeps my percentage around the 80% mark for upgrades through the year.

Well I got my upgrade to MIA last night. The flight was delayed 6 hours due to MIA wx. By that time there were 11 (lol) empty seats up front and the main cabin was dwindling (as people made other connection plans presumably). I was in 1E and half the F cabin was uniformed pilots.

I used to do TPA-MIA a fair amount and it was amazing how quickly the cabin would open up with delays. I was always very appreciative of the AC in TPA as they’d usually be able to quickly re-route me to beat the storms (and often time preserve any upgrades).