June 06. Getting upgraded on American Airlines will soon be a possibility for all elites traveling on award tickets.
The Fort Worth-based carrier announced on Tuesday that all elites will be eligible for complimentary upgrades on tickets purchased with AAdvantage miles beginning on June 9.
This is limited to domestic and short-haul international markets, including on flights within the U.S. and those to and from Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Bermuda and Central America.
Eligibility includes all elites and up to one traveling companion. To be eligible, award tickets must be issued by AAdvantage for travel on American flights only.
As part of the move, American will no longer prioritize paid tickets above award tickets on the upgrade list. In the future, the pecking order for upgrades will be:
- Status level.
- Upgrade type (systemwide upgrades and mileage upgrade awards are prioritized above complimentary upgrades).
- 12-month rolling Loyalty Point balance.
The airline is also making changes to the back-end processing of upgrades. When traveling with a companion, sometimes your priority on the upgrade list got mixed up during the check-in process. That technical limitation has been fixed, and all companions will now appear next to their highest-status elite traveler without the need to «reconnect» the reservation at the airport.
Source: The Points Guy
