<i>Effective March 1, 2007, a <b>nonrefundable co-payment of $150</b> will be required to claim Upgrade Awards used with most Discount and Deep Discount Economy fares when traveling between the Continental U.S. / Canada / Mexico / the Caribbean and <b>Hawaii</b>. Additionally, effective March 1, 2007, the co-payment that applies to Upgrade Awards between North America and Europe, India, Japan/Northern China, and Deep South America will be <b>increasing to $300.</b></i>


I never use miles to upgrade, but for those that do, it's bad news, especially for the leisure traveler that saved enough miles and wanted to upgrade on a trip to Hawaii.

The international upgrade co-pay went up by $50, so it's not too bad, but at the end of the day, the miles are getting less and less valuable for the occasional flyer.

The mileage requirement stayed the same, 15K for Hawaii, 25K for international, one-way.

You guys can thank CO for starting this. Upgrade fares for flights with BusinessFirst service range from $0 to $450 each way; for Hawaii, it's $200+ unless on a full &quot;Y&quot;.

My upgraded ticket for next June is already paid for. Will I still be charged the additional amount?

Carry, if you are already ticketed you will be OK.

It looks like my little tail will continue to find itself in a coach seat.

ditto, P_M.

it's all a case of supply and demand. so many frequent business fliers with hundreds of thousands of miles to use in business class that the seats are full and they have to keep the supply in check with the demand.

oh well...

WHAT???? When I get enough miles, I'll have to pay to use them????

Or is it for upgrade to first/business only?

<i>Or is it for upgrade to first/business only?</i>

As opposed to... ?

LOL I meant to ask if the charge is for upgrade only

Whoa! This past year we paid a $500 fee to upgrade out US-Europe tickets from coach to business class. What's with this $300??? It must be for one way only.

Right, it was previously $250 each way.

Perhaps the airlines show offer people the option of buying an airline ticket and getting NO miles. This way, they could lower the price of the ticket and maybe offer a little wine with the meal.

Oh, ya, BA is already doing that.

If there's anything AA could do to offer more choices, easier management of accounts, accommodate preferences, etc., count on them NOT doing it.

The idea is to ram lots of unusable FF miles down the throats of everyone but top-level elite frequent flyers, who don't even need to use their miles to get the upgrades often. At some point they'll be able to write off the &quot;liability&quot; of all those miles&quot; and, voila, more equity!

Good will is never on American's corporate strategy -- again, with the exception of Platinum execs.

<i>At some point they'll be able to write off the &quot;liability&quot; of all those miles&quot; and, voila, more equity!</i>

I believe you don't understand that the FF programs are worth a fortune to the airlines. The miles have been paid for by credit card companies and as part of your ticket - real cash to the airline. The &quot;leakage&quot; from mileage programs - miles that are bought but never used, or miles redeemed for lower-value products - is so great that the net asset value of the FFP is very high. When Air Canada flirted with bankruptcy some time back, their FFP was valued higher than the rest of the airline. They sold it for a hefty profit.

I believe you don't understand that's EXACTLY what I meant.

. . . Yet another example of the airlines' ongoing contempt for the passenger. I just wonder how this is going to affect their FF affinity credit cards, as one could get a &quot;miles&quot; card with a bank that offers free tickets w/no blackout dates -- probably at a lower or even no annual fee, since using miles for upgrades is becoming less of an attractive option.