flyrsphl27

Hey all, I have what is most likely a very dumb question but I cannot seem to find the answer anywhere. My wife is Platinum and maybe will get to PP and I am stuck at Gold. We have an 8 yo daughter who obviously (or maybe not so obvious is just a general member). If we book all 3 of us on a reservation so that we can all book MCE seats, how does the Companion + 1 work? Would we want to call and tell them we just want out daughter connected to her's and I am on my own once that happens? I know AA.com says to call with more than 2 passengers but it doesn't actually say what the options are. We'd prefer to stay on one reservation if possible. I guess along those lines, what if we buy my wife's ticket and use miles for my daughters and maybe mine. Would it be the same deal to call in and get them al connected but tell them we only want my daughter to count for the companion +1??

Sorry for the long winded question it just gets so confusing and thanks all!!!

aisleorwindow

As a family of three we deal with this all the time.
No problem getting MCE if you're all on the same PNR, but more than 2 pax on the same PNR will mean you will NOT be on the upgrade list.

If you want/need to be on the upgrade list, I suggest to maximize your upgrade chances you put wife + child on one PNR, since she has higher status, and yourself on the other as a single passenger.

Then call AA and explain you are a family of 3 traveling together and you should be able to get all 3 of you in MCE.

If you don't care or are not eligible for upgrades (i.e. an award ticket) then just book all 3 on one PNR and you should be able to pick MCE seats together at booking.

flyrsphl27

Awesome thank you!! That makes sense and is what I thought. One last scenario, what if my wife and I buy our tickets and use miles for our daughter, would we want to put me on my own reservation so that we can call and use the companion upgrade for our daughter (who would need to be on a separate reservation due to the points?)

JJeffrey

Only EXP can upgrade award tickets, not PLT or GLD. You could still book your daughter an award ticket but that ticket would not be upgradeable.

flyrsphl27

But I thought that since my wife would be buying her ticket, she would be upgradeable with one companion regardless of award ticket or not. Is this not the case?

Antarius

No. Award ticket upgrades are only a benefit that EXP and CK get.

flyrsphl27

Ah thank you! I was misunderstanding that piece of it, I thought as long as the member's ticket was purchased the companion's type of ticket didn't matter. Thanks for clearing that up!

bryanb

I am a Platinum Pro, flying with my parents this week. Looks like the front cabin has 6 empty seats, so I’m crossing my fingers for an upgrade. Neither of my parents has status. Since we were all on the same PNR, I called AA and reservations split our party onto two PNRs, requesting an auto-upgrade for my mom and me.

In case I get two upgraded seats, I’d like to give both of them to my parents and I’ll sit in MCE by myself.

Dumb question: I hear people say all the time that they gave up their seat to their spouse. If this happens, do we need to tell the gate agent first what we’re doing? Do they have to make the swap official in their system? Should we just trade paper boarding passes? Or just board and sit in the other person’s seat?

I’m not sure how much has to be made official and whether it’s frowned upon in actual practice. I’ve been traveling for a while but this is the first time I’m in this situation.

moondog

aisleorwindow

You don't need to tell the gate agent (they won't care), but it couldn't hurt to let the FA know since they will be looking at the manifest for food orders. But it's not a big deal either way.

flyrsphl27

OK so my wife did make it to PP. If we want to be able to take advantage of the complimentary same day change, would the 3 of us need to be on the same reservation or if we are "linked" or whatever the correct term is, would I be included, just like with the MCE seats?

If we do book as one reservation, could we call and split the auto upgrades between my wife/daughter with her status and me on my status?

Thanks for all the help as I'd prefer not to call AA with these questions! Even if we end up not using some of these perks, we figure we may as well put ourselves in the best position.

bchandler02

You should be able to book all together and get MCE for all at time of booking. Then, call and split out the reservation to 2+1, and the two can have upgrades requested.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how a child plays into this. When I did it last month it was for 3 adults and that's how I did it - worked fine.

flyrsphl27

If we do that, would I still be able to be auto upgraded based on m Gold status along with still being able to take advantage of the complimentary same day flight change?

bchandler02

I would think so, but can't say for sure. In my case, I am plat and the other two have no status - so the main goal was getting them into MCE and my extra/free baggage.

MathMusic

Once you are split on your own record for the most part it's as if the other ticket doesn't exist. So you should get all the normal benefits you get as gold, which includes upgrades at your status level Gold and complimentarty same day standby (not confirmed changes). Confirmed same day changes are $75 for Gold, but free for PPRO.

If you were all together on one ticket, no upgrades for anyone but free bags and SDFC for everyone based on your wife's PPRO status.