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How to Upgrade Your Flight with American AAdvantage Miles

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american airlines upgrade options

Many travelers who earn frequent flyer miles aren’t always interested in booking an award ticket. Instead, they want to use their miles to upgrade a ticket they’ve already bought with cash. Upgrades and award travel have a lot in common, but the rules are unique for every loyalty program. This post discusses how to upgrade a ticket purchased with American Airlines.

There are two major rules for booking upgrades on American. It’s very important to understand these before you book a ticket as any mistakes could require expensive change and cancellation fees. Please ask your questions here or contact an American representative for clarification.

First, you must use American AAdvantage miles to upgrade your American-operated flight

Аny miles earned with another program like Alaska Airlines probably won’t be helpful. This same logic works in reverse: you normally can’t use American miles to upgrade a flight operated by another airline. You usually can’t upgrade codeshare flights, either, which may be operated by American but have another airline’s flight number. It helps to book your flight through the American Airlines website to avoid codeshares.

Feel Short on American Airlines Miles? Check these Credit Cards with cool bonuses:

Second, upgrade inventory is limited

Just because there are business class seats for sale does not mean that you can upgrade your economy class ticket. Like award flights there are only so many for sale, and this number changes often. But because award availability is often limited, upgrades make it easier to secure travel on the flights you need when the destination and dates aren’t very flexible. You may need to fly even if your upgrade doesn’t clear and you have to stay in economy class.

Finally, some people don’t want to travel any more than they already do, or they need to continue booking paid tickets in order to earn the miles they need for elite status. Booking “extra” award travel doesn’t appeal to everyone.

Searching for Upgrade Inventory

expertflyer
Get your ExpertFlyer account and search for upgrade inventory

American makes it relatively easy to search for upgrade availability on its own site and on third-party websites like ExpertFlyer. Domestic first class and international first class upgrades are listed in the A fare class, but international business class upgrades are listed in the C fare class. This means that you’ll need to switch your attention between A and C if you’re trying to upgrade a economy class fare, depending on where your travel takes you.

The ExpertFlyer approach is available to everyone, but it requires a paid membership. Once logged in you can search for upgrade inventory on individual flights.

American upgrade available ExpertFlyer
Search for upgrade inventory on individual flights

Using the American Airlines website is only an option for individuals with top-tier Executive Platinum status since these members receive systemwide upgrades each year. When logged in, you’ll be able to see which international flights have upgrade inventory because bold text reading “Systemwide Upgrade” will appear underneath. Even if you do not want to redeem a systemwide upgrade, the same inventory can be used to upgrade with miles.

American upgrade available
You can see which international flights have upgrade inventory

Upgrades can’t be secured online. Even if you find available inventory somewhere else, you’ll need to call an agent at some point to either upgrade the flight or place yourself on the waitlist. Some people may prefer to call the agent at the beginning of the search process to help find available flights.

Upgrade with Miles

American Airlines provides an opportunity to upgrade with miles if you are traveling in almost any fare class. The number of miles required ranges from 5,000 for short domestic flights to 25,000 for long international flights, and the cash co-pay ranges from zero to $550 in each direction. Generally any full fare ticket (Y, J, D, or R class) will not have a co-pay. Also be aware that co-pays are not waived for members with elite status. Here is a complete list of the current upgrade award chart:

american upgrade costs
American Airlines award chart

Upgrading Flights on Other Airlines

It’s possible to use American Airlines miles to upgrade flights operated by other carriers, but only those operated by British Airways or Iberia. The vast majority of the oneworld alliance is excluded.

These upgrades require you to purchase a full fare ticket in economy class (Y fare) or in business class (J, D, or R class). In some cases it may actually cost more to buy one of these tickets compared to purchasing a discounted business class fare that doesn’t require an upgrade. Fortunately, no co-pay is required. Upgrades cost between 12,500 and 60,000 miles in each direction depending on where you travel. Here is just a partial list:

american airlines
See how many miles you need to get an award ticket

It may not be possible to use this method to upgrade your economy class fare to business class. Passengers may only upgrade from one cabin to the next, and many of British Airways’ flights have a premium economy cabin. That means even if you buy a full fare ticket in standard economy the best you can get with an upgrade is a little extra legroom and slightly wider seat–not a flat bed. You must purchase a premium economy ticket in order to upgrade to business class. Furthermore, you will be liable for any increase in taxes and fees, which are unusually high for premium cabin passengers in the United Kingdom.

Priority for Each Upgrade Type

If your upgrade cannot be confirmed immediately, you will be place on a waitlist, and the order you clear the waitlist will depend on your position within the hierarchy. Upgrade priority is determined by three factors: elite status, fare class, and the time of request. Fare class is only relevant if you book the most expensive Y or B economy class fares as just discussed; all other fares are processed after these passengers and are sorted by time of request only.

The type of upgrade you request is not relevant. There is no priority, for example, that places a mileage upgrade ahead of a complimentary upgrade, which means that someone with low status who tries to use miles could be outmaneuvered by a someone with high status who gets a complimentary elite upgrade.

american airlines elite status
Get your elite status to maximize your priority

However, using miles for an upgrade does have priority in the sense that it can clear much earlier. Complimentary elite upgrades are not processed until a few days before departure. If upgrade inventory becomes available weeks or months before departure, then only people using miles or a systemwide upgrade certificate will be able to process their upgrade.

Follow this process to determine your priority for an upgrade on the waitlist:

  • Elite status is most important. Anyone with higher elite status will clear before others with lower or no elite status.
  • Full fare Y and B economy class tickets will clear first within each group of elite members.
  • All other fares will be sorted by the time of request (generally the time that you booked the ticket).
  • If two people are traveling on the same reservation, the companion will generally clear at the same time as the person with higher priority. If there are more than two passengers on your reservation, it may be helpful to call an agent and split the reservation into smaller groups.

Normally a primary traveler and companion will clear their upgrades together if processed in advance. However, American states that on the day of departure each traveler will clear according to his/her own elite status.

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American Airlines AAdvantage Program Review

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Who Is American Airlines AAdvantage Good For?

Long a favorite among frequent flyers, American Airlines AAdvantage has garnered the Freddie Awards (the top honor for frequent flyer programs) for the Program of the Year and the Best Elite Program for three years straight. But it’s in a really interesting position these days for two reasons: its merger with US Airways and the huge changes going on with the United and Delta programs.

AA’s program will change in some way in the coming year and a half as the merger completes, but it’s unclear exactly what those changes will be. Some adjustments have already taken effect, such as the dissolution of the popular One World Explorer rates. But American fans are hopeful that changes that come will be better than the ones in other major domestic programs because it’s AAdvantage has always been a generous program for frequent flyers.

Overall, changes aside, AAdvantage is a strong program for several reasons. Award availability is generally great, even at the lowest redemption rates, which can be substantially less than other airlines thanks to AA’s great off-peak rates.

Hubs:

  • Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
  • John F. Kennedy International Airport
  • Los Angeles International Airport
  • Miami International Airport
  • O’Hare International Airport
  • Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (through US Airways)
  • Philadelphia International Airport (through US Airways)
  • Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (through US Airways)

How Can You Use American Airlines Miles?

American Airlines has one of the most straightforward booking processes of the major domestic airlines. You can find awards online easily for award flights with partners airberlin, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines and Qantas Airways.

There are three basic types of American Airlines rewards: off-peak, MileSAAver, and AAnytime awards. Off-peak awards aren’t technically listed as separate on the AA website, because they have the same restrictions as MileSAAver awards. But they’re a great way to make your miles go further if available during the off season.

AAnytime Awards, which can be booked on any flight with no blackout dates, include a number of perks that make them more akin to premium economy fares, justifying the sizable increase in points required for booking. In addition to expedited check-in, security screening and priority boarding, you get complimentary upgrades to preferred seats, such as exit rows.

Program Perks:

  • You can hold itineraries for free for five days
  • A new MileSAAver level, with fewer points than are required on most legacy airlines, has been introduced as part of the US Airways-American Airlines merger
  • All awards are technically one-ways, so it’s easy to book open-jaw itineraries, and mix and match cabins in one itinerary
  • AAnytime awards can be booked on any flight with no blackout dates, so if you’re willing to pay extra miles and there’s a seat, you can even use awards to fly on busy holidays
  • Miles expire in 24 months, which is standard for, if not longer than, some programs, but American allows you to pay to reactivate them

Booking Quirks:

  • Only awards on American Airlines, airberlin, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Qantas Airways and Royal Jordanian Airlines may be booked through the AA website
  • $150 fee for changes to arrival or departure location
  • $150 cancellation and redeposit fee, plus $25 for every additional passenger on the same itinerary
  • $75 fee to book a flight or change date or time on a reservation within 21 days of departure
  • American sets a maximum permitted mileage for each city pair, and award itineraries cannot exceed this number by more than 25 percent, so it can be difficult to be creative on routings to maximize miles earned

Best Value Awards:

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What were previously known as off-peak awards, and now fall into the category of MileSAAver level one on the new five-tiered award chart, are some of the best redemptions in the industry for a number of destinations.

The 40,000-mile round-trip flights between the U.S. and Europe (matched only by British Airways Executive Club, and there only to and from select destinations) and 50,000-mile flights to Japan and Korea are the best rates you’ll find anywhere for these routes.

Worst Value Awards:

While the American Airlines AAnytime rewards have long represented a decent value proposition a significant increase in perks for around twice the miles, similar to booking a premium economy award the new award chart that went into effect this June has completely changed that landscape.

Now AAnytime is not the most accurate name for these awards. You can book a seat anytime without blackout dates, but you have no idea how much it will cost. It’s not even published, so the airline may charge a point value akin to 1 cent per mile or worse in relation to the price of purchase of that ticket in cash.

AAnytime awards are now split into three levels, so if you can get one at the lowest level, it’s a decent value, but avoid any AAnytime awards beyond that.

The Good Stuff: Upgrades and Elite Status

oneworld alliance PartnersOther Airline Participants
airberlinAlaska Airlines
British AirwaysHawaiian Airlines
Finnair
Qantas
Royal Jordanian Airlines

With AAdvantage miles, you can only upgrade American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia flights, unfortunately. However, they are marvelously transparent, compared to many other airlines, about which fares you can upgrade and how much that will cost.No matter how far you are flying, you’ll never have to pay more than 25,000 miles to upgrade the most discounted cash economy or business fares to the next level of service, and you only need 15,000 miles for North America, Central America and northern South America. From full fare economy, upgrades start at 5,000 miles.

Upgrades are done on a one-way basis, for a maximum of three segments. You’ll have to be careful with this on long, complex itineraries, but it offers a nice level of flexibility. If you have a round-trip that has a red-eye in one direction, you can upgrade that direction, and keep the other in coach.

American Airline AAdvantage Elite Levels and Perks

Each subsequent level includes the perks of the previous level, unless stated otherwise.

  • Gold: Eligible for upgrades 24 hours in advance, priority check-in, 25 percent mileage bonus
  • Platinum: Eligible for upgrades 72 hours in advance, priority baggage delivery, 100 percent mileage bonus
  • Executive Platinum: Eligible for upgrades 100 hours in advance, unlimited upgrades, service fees waived, expanded award availability, free food in economy

Associated Credit Cards

American partners with Citibank for its co-branded credit cards, offering three different levels of fees and services:

Currently, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® offers 50,000 bonus points after a $2,500 minimum spend in three months and includes early boarding on all flights, one free checked bag for you and four additional travelers, $100 AA flight discount and 10 percent of your redeemed miles back every year all for a $99 fee, waived the first year. The Business card is similar, except you get a 5 percent bonus at the end of the year, rather than 10 percent,  and a companion certificate in lieu of the flight discount.

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® comes with the same sign-on bonus, but an annual fee of $595, which earns a host of additional benefits, including Admirals Club membership, expedited security screening and boarding, double miles earning, no foreign transaction fees and concierge service.

As far as credit cards with fees go, it has fewer perks for that outlay than its competitors, but it’s the only card that includes Admiral Club membership, after its been stripped from American Express cardholders. For several months this year, Citi also ran a promotion for 100,000 bonus miles with a $10,000 spend in the first three months.

Many frequent travelers are stocking up on US Airways points through the Premier World Mastercard from Barclays, which carries a very generous bonus, in anticipation of the final consolidation of the two airlines. As the merger with US Airways progresses, the US Airways cards may completely disappear, or they may turn into additional options connected to American.

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