In the end of all the discussion about upgrades, my basic philosophy still holds true.........

If I want to fly F, I buy F ;) :D

A couple of thoughts:

I never "strive" for airline status, as in going out of my way for Level XYZ. Whatever happens, happens, and I'll take what I get.

With that said, as a low-level EXP at CLT I've cleared more than 50% of my upgrades this year. At least one was right at 100 hours, a few were roughly 24-48 hours, and one or two were at the gate.

Im not that acidic on domestic upgrades. I cashed one in on DCA-CLT-SEA. It was nice not having to wait for the upgrade queue, watching inventory drip away, etc. Both flights were on time, the meal on CLT-SEA was pretty decent, I got room to spread out (compared to coach) for work, and took a nap.

This has been a topic on all the bloggers the last few months. Some are peeling back the status chase, since the main benefit of automatic upgrades is no longer there.
I wonder what it'll look like in 18 mos.....will pax across the big 3 do the same, by spreading out their spend a little? I could envision putting 10-20% of my flying elsewhere. Will it be a zero-sum game, where no 1 carrier sees all the benefit of reduced loyalty?

Nor am I. I do one transatlantic international trip every few years, so I have little choice but to try to use them domestically. I also don't think AA's domestic first is a disgrace -- it's not fine dining but is good to me for the price point it's being offered at.

Lets not forget that the time and distance required on a lot of east to west coast transits is longer than, say, from JFK to LHR or PHL or CDG.

Sure, its not a lie-flat seat, but it. beats. the. hell. out. of. any. coach. seat.

Agree 100%.

All the rewards are choices now so there's no reason to get more SWU than you want/need.

I've never flown AA 3-cabin "true" F but I agree with you in general. Most of the complaints I see are comparing it to something like La Premiere or EK. They might both be labeled "F" but the price points are very different. If someone is paying 3x as much they had better get a better product.

Also, I've flown BA F and it was fine but I won't be confusing it with JL, CX, or EK F. But, again, the price point was very different.

Just made PP on AA.

CHS > MIA > KIN this Sunday.

I have a mileage upgrade pending on all 4 legs. The very last one has cleared. But still pending for this Sunday.

IMO, complimentary domestic upgrades aren't at all the main benefit of status. Not really anywhere close it.

Dependent on personal preferences and flying patterns of course - I fly a lot of longhaul international purchased in Y and I'm based in DEN so my longest domestic flight is like 3.5 hours, I'm almost never on transcons. I've posted a detailed list somewhere here before, but on my list of important elite benefits, domestic upgrades is somewhere near the bottom. It certainly doesn't influence my choice of airline. In order of importance, list looks something like this:

• better agents and phone access during IROPs (the comparison is not to the EXP line 5 or 10 years ago, it's between the EXP line and the general line today)
• Lounge access on international, including OneWorld First lounges
• SWUs (6 for 6 on Y.-->J longhauls so far this year)
• MCE
• Group 1 Boarding on AA
• In some order the various other OneWorld Emerald priority benefits: fist class check in, priority security where it exists, early boarding groups, access to enhanced/priority economy seating, waived baggage fees. - Together, these all make a meaningful difference in my international trips.
• Domestic Upgrades (of which I'm still running greater the 80% success rate, anyway, just clearing later)
• Bonus miles
• Everything else

I don't chase status - that is, and always has been, a fool's errand. But I also don't "value" status based just one of the benefits alone. YMMV

11/27/23 AA1138 PHL-LAX on a 787-8: Was 9/41 for 1 seat. Ended up putting in a miles+money at the Admirals Club and ended up at 6/42 with 1 clearing at the gate.

Cleared this morning @ 24-hours out! Looks like I got the last seat in J.

Actually, whether you get upgraded or not is not at all dependent on whether or not you read the fine print. Put another way, customers who read the fine print have no advantage or disadvantage when it comes to upgrade priority or availability.

Correct, but had they read the fine print they might not ask the question once they understand that upgrades are capacity controlled.

First time requesting mileage upgrade
 

This is my first time requesting a mileage upgrade. I requested two J upgrades on a long-haul international flight a couple months ago. I am now exactly two weeks from departure, and there currently appear to be 20 unclaimed seats in J on my flight. EF still shows zero C inventory. What are the chances of C inventory opening up between now and my Dec. 12th departure? Also, if I get an EF alert, do I have to call AA to grab those seats or does AA do it automatically? I'm currently Plat Pro.