This morning, I was #1 on the upgrade list with one open seat in F for my flight from ORD to LAX, the one for which I didn't bite on the $419 upgrade offer last week. By the time that I got to the airport, I was #3 with two open seats. There was no movement by the time that boarding started. I boarded and took my exit row window seat. A few minutes before the end of boarding, a notification from the AA app popped up on my phone that my seat assignment changed. My upgrade came through. It took me a few minutes to move up to my new seat, I got there just as the aircraft door was getting closed.

EXP, estimated high 200Ks rolling LPs.

That's good. Did an agent ever come on to grab you?

This resonates with my post about this (not) happening to me a few weeks ago.

I've also had this happen before flying DFW-LHR. C0, and AA.com showing no SWU. I called to make sure I was waitlisted - she said, let me check...came back a couple of minutes later, advising she cleared my upgrade. Out of curiosity, were you on the SWU waitlist?

Yes, but only after I had already settled in my upgraded seat; same as in May, the previous time that I got upgraded at ORD after I had already boarded.

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on DCA-PHX-SAN using a SWU (I have several). Looking at the seatmaps, pretty certain that DCA-PHX would not have cleared at the 100 hour window. Agent could not upgrade me on PHX-SAN. Do I queue higher on the upgrade list since I am using a SWU as the upgrade instrument?

Yes, you should list above complementary upgrades and sorted within the SWU/Copay bucket by LPs etc.

Cleared BOS-ORD-BOS at the window (Mon.-Wed.) this week, both on 738s. Golds were likely upgraded at the window as there were a few seats open after check-in.

Cleared CLT to grr for flight today for both wife and I. Pleasant surprise for just pp on a nearly full 738.

PVD-PHL today 7/20

I’m #3 for 2 right now. Does AA practice “you board you lose” (YBYL) or will they come pull me up if someone doesn’t show?

PVD is an outstation and the flight is on a regional.

Depends on the gate agent.

Just some data points based on the complete cluster on July 19th with the Crowdstrike/MS update issue.
I had been previously upgraded on my MSY-CLT flight (around T-48 as EXP), but that flight delayed then canceled. The callback time for EXP said 4 hours, so my only option was to use the app/website to rebook. All of the options offered were in F, and I ended up going through 3 separate rebookings in F. On the downside, it never even offered me the option of downgrading to Y in order to choose a more convenient flight. If F wasnt available, then the flight was not an option through the app/website.

My last two upgrades were at ORD and I received a seat change notification and a new boarding pass on the app well after I had already boarded. I made sure to let the agents know that I was next on the upgrade list before I got on. On both those occasions, after I had settled in my new seat, agents came to me and gave me my new paper boarding seat with my old seat number hand written on it so that they could find me had I not already moved. I've also been upgraded at LAX a few times after boarding. Coming to think of it, in April, and agent at DFW came up on the plane to give my daughter her upgraded boarding pass after she took her seat in coach.

July 20, 2024
PVD-PHL
CRJ-900
#3 for 2 seats

F boarded full when I boarded in Group 4. (I was somehow the only person in Group 4. There were no passengers in Group 3!) The exit row seat I snagged was a great consolation prize.

July 20, 2024
PHL-SLC
A321
#1 for 1 seat. Cleared at the gate. I'm the only one on the upgrade list.

Had anyone else been upgrade eligible, I would have lost it. I'm a lowly AAdvantage Fool's Gold that got it from the Hyatt status challenge, so my 12-month rolling LPs are about 10,000.

Heresy. AA golds should be limited to upgrades from DCA to ORF (or similar). :D

Before the merger with AA, I was getting upgraded on the PHX-SAN on US 757 with Envoy seats, being PLT. It was a nice ride.