I flew from Miami to Los Angeles on a plane. I decided to try something for the first time in hopes of getting an upgrade.
One of the perks of being an Executive Platinum member of American Airlines is the ability to upgrade to unlimited complimentary space. I assumed that my chances of clearing the upgrade on a Saturday in September were pretty good because the Boeing 777 has 52 business class seats.
The day before departure business class was completely sold out, I didn't get upgraded.
The upgrade list is published by American Airlines 12 hours before departure, so at that point I realized I was the only one on the upgrade list. Chances weren't looking good unless there were several misconnects or no shows.
American Airlines has a prioritized upgrade plan.
I don't like paying for things I don't need, but I really wanted an upgrade on this flight, as I was tired and needed some sleep. This is more valuable than an upgrade in the lower 48, as you get a reverse herringbone seat, a decent meal, and bedding.
I went to the Flagship Lounge Miami on the morning of my departure to inquire about a mileage upgrade. I called American to request that after the agent told me I had to. A phone agent listed me for an upgrade. I would be charged a $75 co-payment if it cleared.
If you have already checked in, the list doesn't always update. The agent was at the Flagship Lounge when the request was made. She had to check me in again after unchecking me in. She told me that I was number one on the upgrade list after five minutes of typing.
I thought I had a good chance of clearing. With 52 business class seats, American no longer has change fees, or someone running late to the airport, I gave myself a 40% chance of not showing up, even though business class was sold out. There was a certain percentage of passengers that didn't show up, and I only needed a small no show rate here.
That didn't happen. Everyone came up. I was able to assign myself a premium economy seat at no extra cost since this was a Boeing. It was a perfect flight, it was almost as comfortable as domestic first class.
It was a long flight because of the broken wi-fi, and I usually just stay productive.
There is a song called "Too Little, Too Late". If I had waited listed it as such from the beginning, I would have cleared it. I didn't want to pay for a perk that I thought I could get.
American is the worst airline at monetization. It is likely that most frequent flyers appreciate that. American makes it difficult to upgrade because they don't have low cost upgrade offers.
It is hard to believe that American does not allow you to request a mileage upgrade online, but instead you have to call. If it were easier to request mileage upgrades, more people would do it.
There is a huge opportunity for American to make money. We should be grateful American doesn't do this, but I feel like American is missing out by not more encouraging people to request mileage upgrades to boost their odds of clearing an upgrade The liability of AAdvantage miles would be taken off the books and there would be a co-pay for these upgrades.
American could promote how you can get a higher upgrade priority by asking for a mileage upgrade. In this case, transparency would work in American's favor, so that customers know where they stand.
Since I don't like paying for something I could get for free, I've never requested a mileage upgrade on an American route. On the day of departure, business class was sold out, so I tried this for the first time.
I was bumped up to the first spot on the upgrade list, which worked in my favor. Business class passengers showed up so that wasn't much of a deal.
Under what circumstances would you upgrade your mileage to get better priority on the upgrade list?
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