pssteve

They preserved our UG after they suspended ORD-DUS. We were originally going PSP-ORD-DUS-BUD.Routed us thru DFW-LHR-BUD. And yes even BA came thru with a battlefield UG (just an empty seat between us in row 6 or 7)LHR-BUD.

dungeonlurker

Hey guys, quick question - on domestic itineraries, let's say, the JFK-LAX transcon, is there any point to applying an SWU as an EXP?

As far as I can tell, both the complimentary upgrade and SWUs come from C inventory, right? And SWUs are not prioritized particularly over complimentary upgrades?

bdemaria

They don't come from the same fare bucket. On a domestic three class flight, SWUs + Mileage/copay clear into "C", but EXP complementary upgrades clear into "R" and C may well open up before R.

Thus, the point would be that an SWU could clear well before the complementary upgrade.

dungeonlurker

Ah, gotcha thanks!

mmgm

In my experience on LAX-JFK route, C always opens before R.

bmchris

I have a unique situation. I'm currently on flights in December for DFW-ORD-PEK. I applied the SWU to DFW-ORD, and waitlisted on ORD-PEK, since I'm pretty sure I will get ORD-PEK, and I wanted the upgrade on DFW-ORD locked in.

It seems like there is a good chance that the flight from ORD-PEK may be retimed (currently departing 4.25pm, may go earlier say 11am).

In this case, what will happen?
1. They will rescheudule me on an earlier DFW-ORD and keep my waitlist on for ORD-PEK (I think this most likely)
2. Due to the change in schedule, they will reaccomodate me on DFW-PEK non stop flight, in Y, and put me on the SWU waitlist. (I'm not sure how this would happen as I used my SWUs)
3. Due to the change in schedule, the will reaccomodate me on DFW-PEK and upgrade me to J due to timing change and seeing that I'm trying to use SWUs (hopeful, but slim).

Any thoughts on the above, or other? Any ideas of how to make 3 happen? I'm EXP and fly weekly on P fares and will requalify for EXP at end of June by Points if that matters.

DrDrDr56

I will qualify for EXP in june on points. If I do so I know that I will get 8 SWUs. However, what I dont know is if that means that I get 8 SWUs for all of the remainder of 2015 and the 2016 membership year, or if that means I get 8 for 2015, and they will expire in feb of 2016, but I get 8 more in 2016, with those expiring feb of 2017.
AA twitter seems to not understand what i'm asking. Can anyone please help?
Thanks!

Dave Noble

You will get a total of 8 . You have qualified for EP status for 2016 which grants 8 Systemwide Upgrades for that membership year.
You do not get 8 + 8

DrDrDr56

okay thanks Dave. I still do get the benefits of EXP for the remainder of 2015 though, correct?

Dave Noble

Yes, as soon as you reach the requirements for EP status, it will be available for the rest of the 2015 membership year

RogerD408

Yes, you will be EXP until the end of Feb, 2017 and your SWUs will be good till them too. And as long as you qualify again during 2016, you will get 8 more SWUs and status until 2018.

DrDrDr56

They'll be worth a lot more to me when AA finally puts wifi in it's routes to far away places on it's old aircraft (i.e. to Tokyo). I flew in econ last week and it was painful being 11 hours without wifi in that old metal can
Where do the pros apply their SWUs? Seems like it just makes qualifying on miles a lot easier, actually, since if you flew 4 roundtrips at 15k miles a r/t thats 60k, and you can knock 20k off with CC spend, and you can get the remainder with transcons which i heard exps get upgrades on, right? Or am I missing something?

scnzzz

My $0.02.

#3 is quite unlikely as you suggest.
If the schedule does change, you will either (a) be put on an earlier DFW-ORD or (b) be put on the nonstop DFW-PEK. In either case, I'm not sure what how the SWU will be handled, but you will not lose it. My guess is that if you're put on an earlier DFW-ORD flight, your SWU will be redeposited, and you can apply an SWU to the new itinerary, which will either clear or waitlist depending on inventory. If you end up on DFW-PEK, the SWU will be redeposited from your original itinerary, and you can choose to apply (or not) the SWU on the new itinerary.

All that said, I do not know if, in the event you stay on DFW-ORD-PEK but at an earlier time, your original timestamp will hold in terms of determining your place in the waitlist queue.

your requalification timeframe and fare basis for EXP is not germane; all that matters is what your status is at the time the upgrades are processed. Sounds like you'll be EXP, so you're top of the pile. Within that group, the only other thing that matters now is when you requested the SWU.

I suggest that if indeed you need to reapply the SWU if and when AA changes the schedule (and because of the schedule change), that you ask the AAGent to try to maintain your original date of request for the upgrade.

Good luck!

scnzzz

To address your points in order:
1. The SWU counts far more for the seat and the ability to lie flat. Not sure how wifi comes into the equation unless the SWU does not clear (in which case it was of no value
2. The longer the flight, the better value the SWU is (that is a bit of a trivial observation). Now, inventory that is needed for an SWU to clear is not always available on these long flights. If you're planning MRs to requalify then yes, these SWUs would make that process less painful. I don't believe I qualify as a "pro", but to me using an SWU is best if you actually are going somewhere you want to go on that SWU, as opposed to it just being a re-qualification MR.
3. EXPs get complimentary upgrades on domestic segments. This includes transcons. There is no guarantee of a complimentary upgrade though, and JFK-LAX/SFO are not easy upgrades to clear for anyone, EXP included.

moki1

Datapoint for SWU upg. As I had reported previously EXP agent told me a few months ago that because of the merger they are going to hold off giving Y to J UPG until last few days until they get down the road with it.
On 50 next week. On EF they have had at least 60% open J seats for a long time. I booked my ticket 3 months ago and only cleared to J yesterday, t-4. Still haven't cleared for return despite 40% empty seats according to EF.