Upgrades With American Airlines: The Ultimate Guide (2024)

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Barbara KingCredit Cards Writer

Always dreaming about the next destination, credit cards specialist Barbara King is an avid traveler who optimizes her adventures through the use of points and miles. Barbara has earned and redeemed millions of credit cards points which has enabled h...

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Barbara KingCredit Cards Writer

Always dreaming about the next destination, credit cards specialist Barbara King is an avid traveler who optimizes her adventures through the use of points and miles. Barbara has earned and redeemed millions of credit cards points which has enabled h...

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Barbara KingCredit Cards Writer

Always dreaming about the next destination, credit cards specialist Barbara King is an avid traveler who optimizes her adventures through the use of points and miles. Barbara has earned and redeemed millions of credit cards points which has enabled h...

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Credit Cards Writer

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Over a decade of editorial experience across a number of publications and more than 60 countries visited have given Dylan Pearl a wealth of travel knowledge, and the tools to effectively communicate that knowledge to others. Dylan has made it his mis...

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Dylan PearlCredit Cards Editor

Over a decade of editorial experience across a number of publications and more than 60 countries visited have given Dylan Pearl a wealth of travel knowledge, and the tools to effectively communicate that knowledge to others. Dylan has made it his mis...

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Dylan Pearl

Over a decade of editorial experience across a number of publications and more than 60 countries visited have given Dylan Pearl a wealth of travel knowledge, and the tools to effectively communicate that knowledge to others. Dylan has made it his mis...

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Dylan PearlCredit Cards Editor

Over a decade of editorial experience across a number of publications and more than 60 countries visited have given Dylan Pearl a wealth of travel knowledge, and the tools to effectively communicate that knowledge to others. Dylan has made it his mis...

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Table of Contents

  • American Airlines Complimentary Upgrades
  • Upgrading a Companion
  • American Airlines Systemwide Upgrades
  • Using Systemwide Upgrades
  • AAdvantage Mileage Upgrades
  • American Airlines Upgrade Priority
  • Paid Upgrades
  • Alaska Airlines Elite Upgrades
  • Bottom Line

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When it comes to travel, there are few better thrills than clearing an upgrade from economy to lie-flat business class.

Knowing the various American Airlines’ upgrade methods can help you score that coveted seat up front, whether you are an AAdvantage elite member or nonelite member.

American Airlines Complimentary Upgrades

AAdvantage offers a complimentary upgrade system to those with elite status. AAdvantage elite members on North American flights are eligible for complimentary upgrades from main cabin or premium economy to the next class of service—typically business or first class. American Airlines now also allows all elite status members the ability to upgrade award tickets.

Note that eligibility isn’t a guarantee since there are limited seats in the front of the plane and many AAdvantage elites competing for them. However, the higher your AA elite status, the better your chances of securing an upgrade.

For most flights, a complimentary upgrade translates to a reclining domestic first-class seat. But on some flights, an upgrade may find you relaxing in a lie-flat business-class product.

Complimentary upgrades are valid on domestic (including Hawaii) and short-haul international routes (between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Bermuda and Central America) that are American Airlines-operated and marketed flights. That means you can’t get a complimentary upgrade if you booked a British Airways (or other Oneworld alliance member) codeshare ticket on an American flight, even if you have AAdvantage elite status.

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Upgrading a Companion

All AAdvantage elites can get a complimentary upgrade for a companion traveling with them on the same flight, even if they’re booked on a different reservation. To request a complimentary upgrade for a companion on a different reservation, call AA reservations to link them. Remember though, seats must be available for the upgrade to subsequently clear.

Upgrade Timing

Complimentary upgrades clear when American Airlines opens upgrade availability and an elite member is within the upgrade window. Upgrades can be confirmed as early as:

  • Executive Platinum: 100 hours before departure
  • Platinum Pro: 72 hours before departure
  • Platinum: 48 hours before departure
  • Gold: 24 hours before departure

Despite these windows, an upgrade will only clear if space is available. If an upgrade hasn’t been confirmed prior to check-in, you’ll be added to the airport standby list and potentially be upgraded prior to boarding.

American Airlines Systemwide Upgrades

To score a complimentary upgrade on a long-haul international American Airlines flight, AAdvantage Platinum Pro with more than 175,000 miles, Executive Platinum and Million Miler elite status holders can use systemwide upgrades.

While complimentary upgrades are limited to domestic and short-haul international flights, systemwide upgrades can be applied to any one-way travel, up to three segments, on AA-operated and marketed flights. That includes ultra-long-haul flights such as Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Tokyo (NRT) and Los Angeles (LAX) to Sydney (SYD). Note that a systemwide upgrade only applies to one direction of travel, so for a return ticket, you’d need to use two systemwide upgrades to cover the entire itinerary.

When you apply a systemwide upgrade, AA upgrades your flight to the next class of service. Thankfully, premium economy isn’t considered a separate class of service. So if you booked economy or premium economy, you’ll be upgraded to business class (or domestic first class on short-haul flights). If you booked a business-class fare, you can apply a systemwide upgrade to go from business class to first class.

Systemwide upgrades can also be used on British Airways marketed and operated flights or British Airways operated flights marketed by American. This upgrade, however, is less generous as the upgrade path is economy to premium economy, premium economy to business and business to first.

Earning Systemwide Upgrades

AAdvantage members have two ways of getting systemwide upgrades:

  • Choosing systemwide upgrades as a Loyalty Point Reward
  • Earning systemwide upgrades as a Million Miler benefit

Loyalty Point Rewards

For 2024, AA offers Loyalty Point Rewards, which rewards AAdvantage members as they earn Loyalty Points. Earning more Loyalty Points unlocks access to more levels of Loyalty Point Rewards. Each level has a range of benefits to choose from. For example, lower-level rewards may be coupons for preferred seat selection while at higher levels, lounge passes or bonus miles are available.

Although AA elite status is determined through earning Loyalty Points, the Loyalty Point Reward levels are not tied to elite status thresholds. You can read more about Loyalty Points in our American Airlines AAdvantage guide.

AAdvantage Platinum Pro status is earned once 125,000 Loyalty Points are accrued. Systemwide upgrades become available as a Loyalty Point Reward after earning 175,000 Loyalty Points, which means that systemwide upgrades are only available to Platinum Pro members and higher. Members can choose two systemwide upgrades as their one Loyalty Point Reward at this level. At 250,000 Loyalty Points, members can choose two Loyalty Point Rewards and thus, can get two systemwide upgrades for each reward for a total of four systemwide upgrades. Here are the details of how many systemwide upgrades can be earned at each level of Loyalty Point Rewards.

Loyalty Points Number of Systemwide Upgrades Number of Loyalty Point Rewards Total Possible Number of Systemwide Upgrades

175,000

2 1 2

250,000

2 2 4

400,000

1 2 2

550,000

1 2 2

750,000

1 2 2

1,000,000

4 1 4

3,000,000

6 1 6

5,000,000

10 1 10

Million Miler Benefit

AAdvantage members can also earn systemwide upgrades through the AAdvantage Million Miler program. You’ll earn rewards for every Million Miler-qualifying mile threshold you reach.

  • 1 million miles: AAdvantage Gold elite status for the life of the program and 35,000 bonus miles
  • 2 million miles: AAdvantage Platinum elite status for the life of the program and four systemwide upgrades
  • Each additional million miles: Four systemwide upgrades

Using Systemwide Upgrades

In order to apply a systemwide upgrade, seats must be available and you must be flying an eligible fare. Unlike other airlines, AA doesn’t restrict cheap fare classes from being upgraded. Even basic economy fares can be upgraded as long as you have AAdvantage elite status. The only flights exempt from systemwide upgrades are award tickets, government or military fares and codeshare flights.

Systemwide upgrades are valid for one year from the date deposited into your account. However, the upgrade can be used for travel beyond the expiration date as long as the upgrade clears by the expiration date. So, make sure to pay special attention to your systemwide upgrade expiration dates.

Loyalty Point Reward selections can be made anytime between the date you qualify to make the selection and the following March 31. Once you choose a systemwide upgrade, it is deposited into your account and the clock starts ticking on the one-year validity. However, you can book travel with the upgrade beyond that one-year mark—you just need to confirm the upgrade before its expiration.

Systemwide upgrades cannot be applied online. You’ll have to call AAdvantage to request the upgrade.

If you’re feeling especially generous—or only purchase first-class flights—you can share systemwide upgrades with anyone you choose. Just call American Airlines with the traveler’s flight information to apply an upgrade.

Be aware that American Airlines will void your upgrades if you sell them or even advertise them for sale. And, even worse, you may lose your AA account and status.

Searching for Upgrade Availability

Unfortunately, systemwide upgrades aren’t the “golden ticket” that they may seem. In order to apply a systemwide upgrade, a specific type of upgrade seat inventory must be available and it can be very scarce on popular routes.

In the past, elite members would need to call American Airlines—or use a paid service like ExpertFlyer—to check upgrade availability. However, the American Airlines website now shows systemwide upgrade availability in flight search results if you have at least one unexpired systemwide upgrade in your AA wallet.

Upgrades With American Airlines: The Ultimate Guide (31)

If you don’t have a systemwide upgrade in your account, you’ll need to use a service like ExpertFlyer to search for systemwide upgrade availability. If you use ExpertFlyer to search for upgrade availability, make sure to search one segment at a time as American Airlines releases upgrade availability on a segment-by-segment basis.

Say you’re flying from Tulsa (TUL) to London (LHR) via Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW). You may not care about the upgrade from Tulsa to Dallas, but you want the upgrade from Dallas to London. Thankfully, if you find upgrade availability on the flight from Dallas to London, you can upgrade that segment alone without needing upgrade availability from Tulsa to Dallas.

If upgrade space isn’t available at the time of reservation, you can request to be waitlisted.

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AAdvantage Mileage Upgrades

If you don’t have American Airlines elite status, you’re not out of luck. Any AAdvantage member can utilize mileage upgrades to move to the next cabin of service as long as the flight is marketed and operated by American Airlines. The only exclusions are award tickets and basic economy tickets.

The mileage and cash co-pay cost for this option depends on the region you’re flying between, the type of fare and the cabin of service booked. Mileage upgrades apply to one-way travel up to a maximum of three flight segments.

For example, American Airlines charges 15,000 AAdvantage miles plus $75 to upgrade from discount economy to first class within the contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada. If you booked a full-fare (read: very expensive) economy-class ticket, you’ll only need to pay 5,000 miles—there’s no cash co-pay.

For discount economy-class flights from North America (defined as the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Caribbean), those upgrades cost:

To/From To/From Miles Required Cash Co-pay

Contiguous 48 U.S. states, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean

Contiguous 48 U.S. states, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean

15,000

$75

Contiguous 48 U.S. states, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean

Hawaii

15,000

$175

North America

Central America

15,000

$75

North America

Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname

15,000

$150

North America

All other destinations (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, China, Indian subcontinent, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Middle East, Africa)

25,000

$350

It isn’t worth paying 15,000 AAdvantage miles plus $75 to upgrade most domestic flights. But, it might be worth considering paying this to upgrade from economy to lie-flat business class on a redeye transcontinental flight.

Upgrades With American Airlines: The Ultimate Guide (32)

For routes to Australia, New Zealand or India, it can be a downright steal to pay 25,000 miles plus $350 for these 13- to 17-hour flights. The only catch: You need to find availability.

Like systemwide upgrades, mileage upgrades cannot be booked online and require you to call in.

Searching for Mileage Upgrade Availability

To use an AAdvantage mileage upgrade, you need to find upgrade availability. And unfortunately, finding availability can be complicated.

Mileage upgrades use the same upgrade fare availability as systemwide upgrades. However, to see systemwide upgrade availability on AA’s website, you need to have an available systemwide upgrade—which you probably don’t have if you’re intending to apply a mileage upgrade.

That means that, once again, you’ll likely need to use a paid service like ExpertFlyer to find upgrade availability. To search, head to ExpertFlyer’s” “Airline Awards and Upgrades” search page after signing in. American Airlines releases upgrade availability on a segment-by-segment basis, so you’ll want to enter the departing airport and arriving airport for your longest segment. Enter your travel date(s), select American Airlines from the dropdown list and then click the checkbox next to “Business–Upgrade (including 2-Cabin Domestic First) (C).”

Upgrades With American Airlines: The Ultimate Guide (33)

The data that ExpertFlyer receives is only accurate for individual segments, so you’ll have to search for upgrade space for each segment separately. To do this, select “Direct/Non-Stop Only” from the Connection Preference drop-down box for your search. Search for your longest flight since it’s the flight you’re most interested in upgrading. You can expand the number of days searched by choosing up to +/- 3 days next to the dates selected. To limit the search results, you can enter a departure time and check the box to exclude codeshares. Then, click “Search” at the bottom to see your results:

Upgrades With American Airlines: The Ultimate Guide (34)

In this case, there are at least three upgrades available from New York Kennedy (JFK) to Doha (DOH). Note that seven is the most that will show as available at one time.

Another alternative is to call AA and inquire about award availability on different flights, though this may take more time than a free trial with one of these services.

American Airlines Upgrade Priority

As you might expect, upgrades are prioritized by elite status. American Airlines invitation-only ConciergeKey members clear first, followed by Executive Platinum, Platinum Pro, Platinum and then finally Gold elites. If more than one elite member has requested an upgrade, American Airlines utilizes the following to determine priority:

  1. Systemwide and mileage award upgrades
  2. Complimentary upgrades
  3. 12-month rolling Loyalty Points

Put together, that means American Airlines prioritizes upgrades in the following order:

Upgrade Order Elite Level Upgrade Type
1

ConciergeKey

Systemwide or mileage upgrade

2

ConciergeKey

Complimentary upgrade on purchased tickets

3

ConciergeKey

Complimentary upgrade on award tickets

4

Executive Platinum

Systemwide or mileage upgrade

5

Executive Platinum

Complimentary upgrade on purchased tickets

6

Executive Platinum

Complimentary upgrade on award tickets

7

Platinum Pro

Systemwide or mileage upgrade

8

Platinum Pro

Complimentary upgrade on purchased tickets

9

Platinum

Systemwide or mileage upgrade

10

Platinum

Complimentary upgrade on purchased tickets

11

Gold

Systemwide or mileage upgrade

12

Gold

Complimentary upgrade on purchased tickets

13

Nonelite

Systemwide or mileage upgrade

If two elite members have the same status and are using the same type of upgrade, American Airlines will consider the amount of Loyalty Points that each member has earned in the past 12 months. If additional tiebreakers are still needed, American Airlines will first consider the booking fare class and then the date/time of the upgrade request.

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Paid Upgrades

The final upgrade option open to all American Airlines travelers is paid upgrades. If there are unsold seats in business or first class, American Airlines may offer travelers the option to upgrade during online check-in or when checking in at a kiosk.

Upgrades With American Airlines: The Ultimate Guide (35)

The cost of these upgrades is dynamic and can vary wildly from one flight to another. It may even fluctuate on a day-to-day basis for the same ticket. So, stay on the lookout for these upgrade opportunities and evaluate whether it’s a good deal for you when you’re offered one.

Keep in mind that you can’t hold one of these upgrade options. You’ll need to decide at the time you’re offered the upgrade.

Alaska Airlines Elite Upgrades

Through a partnership with Alaska Airlines, American Airlines offers Alaska Mileage Plan elite members upgrades on American Airlines flights.

Alaska MVP elites (and up to one companion) get access to complimentary, space-available upgrades to the next class of service when flying on domestic and short-haul international flights operated and marketed by American Airlines. Basic economy fares are ineligible for upgrades. This unlimited upgrade benefit is meant to emulate the complimentary upgrades that AAdvantage elites get when flying on the same American flights.

Upgrade requests are automatic and upgrades will clear as early as 72 hours before departure. Alaska MVP Gold 75k and MVP Gold 100k elites are placed on the priority list after American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum Pro elites. Alaska MVP Gold members are prioritized after American AAdvantage Platinum and before Gold members; MVP members are prioritized last, after AA Gold elites.

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Bottom Line

There are multiple ways to get upgraded on American Airlines flights for both elite and nonelite members. Any AAdvantage member can use mileage upgrades or pay for a day-of-departure upgrade.

All AAdvantage elites from Gold and up are eligible for complimentary upgrades, while upper-tier AAdvantage elites can earn and apply systemwide upgrades to long-haul flights. Even Alaska elites can now get upgraded on some American Airlines flights.

By understanding all of your upgrade options, you can increase the chances of getting upgraded and make your flight that much more enjoyable.

Forbes Advisor Contributor JT Genter contributed to this article.

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Upgrades With American Airlines: The Ultimate Guide (2024)
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