You don't necessarily have to be an elite at all to use SWU's, however the first reward choice where they are available is at 175k LP, so most around here talking about using SWU's will be PLT Pro or EXP.

LAX-SYD can be very tough in season but like all long haul routes if there's space left AA will typically open up C space around 24-48 hours before. In the off and shoulder seasons this year we have seen a little bit of C space pop up, in addition to the reasonably priced awards.

EXP

JFK to SFO cleared for me and a companion T-12

This may be a dumb question.
I am gold flying on a basic economy ticket flying RDU to CLT to COZ to MIA to RDU.
I purchased main cabin extra on the CLT to COZ segment, but haven't for the COZ to MIA segment - there are currently 5 seats remaining, I will likely purchase it if the number goes down (it is literally like $21 so minimal). My question is, are my odds of getting upgraded to business class any better if I already purchased MCE? or does that not play a role? Or since I have basic economy I am not eligible for upgrades?

editing final location as I have mexico on my mind.

You can upgrade from basic economy. MCE doesn't impact it. Order is based on status then LPs over the past 12 months

My last two flights (ORD-SFO, SFO-JFK) both cleared 20 minutes after T-12. EXP 350k LP.

SWU clearance chances in DFW to ICN route
 

Any one has any idea what are the chances of clearing SWU in DFW to ICN route in mid nov on Sunday( 12). Hate to book an economy ticket and travel in economy.

Any advice

In general flights to Asia are difficult for SWU. I looked on the 12th on expert flyer and its currently very open on that day. However :

Oct 8th entire flight is sold out in all classes
Oct 15th sold out in J
Oct 22 2 seats open in J
Oct 29th J is wide open.
Nov 5th J is wide open

I don't know if there is something seasonal going on in Seoul that will end after the 22nd?

Mid Nov: PHL - CDG, SWU cleared at booking
~ Thanksgiving: EU - LHR - LAX, SWU cleared at booking on both legs
Early Jan: LAX - LHR - EU, SWU cleared at booking on both legs
Mid Jan: EU - LHR - PHL, SWU cleared at booking on both legs (purchased PE as LHR - PHL on BA)
Mid April: LAX - LHR - EU, SWU cleared from J to F on BA

Tl,dr, significant value (in this case easily $1k+ per SWU) still possible with slight flexibility

Today's flights:

• DOH-JFK, 77W, Sunday, 135am departure: Y-->J SWU cleared off waitlist around 20 hours (not sure exactly when, I was asleep)
• JFK-CLT, 738, Sunday, ~11am departure: complimentary cleared at around 20 hours prior to departure
• CLT-DEN, A321, Sunday, ~530pm departure: complimentary cleared at 100 hours

Maybe around 275k rolling LP.

Agree that there’s still availability (particularly on BA in J) with some finessing and creativity. Noticed that this past week when booking some December / January travel.

Example — DFW-FRA was C3+ on multiple days in late December. Fare difference was $2k+ with my routing and the app upgrade was $700 before I applied the SWUs.

Chance of complimentary upgrades on DFW-HNL?
 

Flying with someone on a Monday DFW-HNL (AA115). We are booked in economy and there was a second HNL flight earlier in that day. I’m EXP and the other passenger has no status.

Should I apply SWUs? We’d very much prefer getting a lie flat on the 9+ hour flight to HNL, but don’t know if we should burn 2 SWUs if we’re likely to clear complimentary upgrades anyway.

LOL, you will be #28 and #29 on the upgrade list.

AA115 8 days from now (before any comp upgrade windows open) is J2. Do you expect your Monday to be less busy than that Monday?

If you want F, you most likely have to pay for it. See if the app is letting you buy upgrades, and compare to the cost of an upfare.

Seems like AA would add a second DFW-HNL flight in 2 weeks and as of now both flights are J7 (3-4 weeks before day of departure). I’ve never flown this route before so not sure if the added capacity would make SWU chance a bit higher :/

MIA-SEA (cleared T-23)
10/11 AA2363 A321neo
Yesssss, for the first time ever, this lowly Gold (38k T12M LPs) got his first upgrade that wasn't literally during boarding! Was very optimistic when J had all but one seat open until T-90, coupled with ~50% open Y cabin, but still never got my hopes up. I figure there are literally no other folks flying with status on this flight bc my wife (no status, 9k T12M LPs) got the upgrade at the same time as me, and there are still 6 seats in J open!

The kicker? Today's flight sold out J weeks ago and had a 30+ waitlist at the time of departure. I guess sometimes you just get really lucky...