Need help getting upgrade on AA
 

We have well over AA 250,000 FF miles. Due to medical problems we would prefer to fly business or first, SAN to JFK where we visit son. Not elite or platinum or whatever...just regular. Never have done this before..

1. How do I get upgrade?

2. Would I use miles or cash?

Our next flight would be BOS to SAN (we take a train from NY)..we love trains and it's easier for us than going to the airport.

3. would it make sense to fly back to JFK and make this round trip?
Only non stop from BOS to SAN is Jet Blue. No business or first. We got extra leg seats last time but it was not great.

Appreciate your help.

For SAN to JFK you'd need 5x 500 mile upgrade, which can be purchased for $30 each, or 8 upgrades for 35k miles.

https://www.aa.com/AAdvantage/purchaseUpgradesAccess.do

Unfortunately there will probably be so many AA Gold, Platinum and Exec platinum fliers ahead of you with upgrade credits to burn that I don't think you can simply buy a coach seat and expect to get a simple upgrade. I fly NY to CA on AA several times a year and I've only been upgraded once in the last 8 years despite trying every time. AA Gold status. I rarely get above #5 on the airport upgrade list.

Other than buying a 1st class ticket outright I'm not sure there is another way to get guaranteed first class seats. First class FF tickets will cost you 50k miles per person, round trip, or 25k one way only.

Hopefully other Fodors AA experts will chime in with some better options.

Then I have to buy business or first...I guess I will have to check out prices. Thanks for your help.

Here are your choices.

1. Buy a first-class ticket.

2. Buy a coach ticket and use miles to upgrade. Here's the table showing how many miles and the cost of the co-pay: https://www.aa.com/i18n/disclaimers/...rade-chart.jsp

3. Use miles for a first class redemption ticket - 25,000 miles in each direction. Here's that chart: https://www.aa.com/i18n/disclaimers/...ward-chart.jsp

AA doesn't have a nonstop from Boston to San Diego. To use a first class award or upgrade you'd have to change planes someplace, most likely Chicago or Dallas. Or you could train back to New York and take the nonstop from JFK. Your upgrade or award mileage would upgrade you on all segments (e.g. Boston to Chicago, then Chicago to SAN) but note that some connecting flights (e.g. Boston - JFK) would be in regional jets that don't have first class, so you'd be in the cheap seats if you went that route.

The 500-mile upgrades mentioned above are only available to Aadvantage members with Gold elite or higher status.

I'm not an AA member, but on Delta you don't just buy the cheapest coach ticket and then use miles to upgrade. The 15,000 mile upgrade is from "most discount" fares - and those are strictly capacity controlled. The 5000 mile upgrade is from an <u>upgradeable</u> full fare (Y or B) coach ticket. There's a <u>big</u> difference in the price between the cheapest coach fare and an upgradeable fare. A Y or B fare ticket will cost nearly the same amount as a discounted First Class ticket -- in fact, I've seen them cost more.

I suggest you phone an AA agent (preferably late at night -they are always nicer at that hour of the day) and ask them this question. They can give you all the rules, fares, and check the flights that actually have upgrade seats available. Good luck.

Thanks so much.

On AA any paid coach fare is upgradeable - it's one of the huge differences between the Aadvantage and Delta SkyMiles (AKA Sky Pesos) programs. While they are capacity controlled, on domestic itineraries it's usually quite easy to upgrade using miles.

You can phone to make both the coach booking and to upgrade using miles. There will be a phone booking fee for the reservation, a service charge for the upgrade, and a co-payment as per the upgrade chart. Here are the details: http://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/jba-u...servations.jsp

What I am seeing for SAN to JFK first class is not 25,000 miles but 50,000.
Still when I figure it out it's a value of .03 so that seems ok

Perhaps I am reading it wrong...?....

25,000 (one way, 50,000 round trip) is the "saver" award (not upgrade) level; it's double that for "anytime" awards. "Anytime" awards are just that - any flight, any time.

On AA.com you can look at an award redemption calendar to see when they have space available in first class for the "saver" level of 25K each way. As a rule those awards are not very hard to book, outside of obvious periods like Thanksgiving or Christmas. When do you want to go?

Gardyloo, I don't understand your reply. The AA chart you reference specifically mentions 15,000 miles + $75 for upgrades from "most discount fares" and 5000 miles for upgrades from "full coach fares". That sounds exactly like the Delta program -- except at Delta there is no $75 fee tacked on. The capacity controls make sure that not too many of the cheap tickets get upgrades unless the plane is empty.

TC, not really. Many of Delta's discount economy fare buckets can only be upgraded by elite members of Delta's program, e.g. fares sold in "T" class, which are typically the lowest fares one can find on Delta mainline flights.

For example, a round trip in January from Seattle to JFK is around $310 when booked in "T" on Delta. Specifying the lowest upgradeable fare (booked in K) on the same flights results in a price of $547. Here's more info: http://www.delta.com/skymiles/use_mi...ards/index.jsp

Have a look at this chart, paying attention to the narrative next to those fares marked with an asterisk*. http://www.cwsi.net/delta.htm It's even worse when trying to upgrade Delta internationally.

On AA, all paid domestic fares are upgrade-eligible. Y and B fares just carry a lower mileage/co-pay than others.

The language on AA.com ("most") is a holdover from last year; before November some fares (O and Q) weren't upgradeable on some itineraries. Now no longer the case.

Thanks, Gardyloo. I'm Gold Elite, so maybe that is why I haven't had a problem with Delta. We live in a big Delta hub, so AA really isn't a reasonable choice for us. I do feel that Delta is much worse than NW.