International upgrade Y to J on AA

[openseat]

I would be interested in any experiences or thoughts about the value of the 25,000 mile + $300 upgrade from discount Y to J.

Though obviously much cheaper than buying a J ticket, I would find it hard to justify for US East Coast to Europe, but say Japan to DFW or JFK, do you think it is worth it (given that the east bound flight is overnight - despite being the same calendar day).

 

[simongr]

Obviously I am biased given I travel in J or I don't travel - but surely it depends on what you want to do at the end of the flight. Even the east coast to Europe at 7+ hours overnight is a reasonable chance to sleep in a flat bed rather than a seat. If you want/need to maximise your day when you get to europe it might be good. Also how many points do you have - if these are the last 25K the approach might be different than if you have 400K...

 

[NM]

For an overnight flight, I would certainly consider it. Better still, I would be using an e-VIP and not paying the co-pay fee, but that is only because I now have them available to me.

Note that depending on the paid fare and the issuing airline, you may have to pay to have the ticket re-issued by AA. This would be the case for say a OneWorld Explorer ticket originally issued by QF. This is because AA actually change the booking class of the ticket when the upgrade is confirmed and they can only do that for tickets issued by AA.

 

[Mal]

Though obviously much cheaper than buying a J ticket, I would find it hard to justify for US East Coast to Europe, but say Japan to DFW or JFK, do you think it is worth it (given that the east bound flight is overnight - despite being the same calendar day).

JFK-NRT is long in Economy. Upgrade if you can. Other way isn't as bad, but is still a pretty long flight and upgrading will give you much more comfort.

 

[hippo]

I would be interested in any experiences or thoughts about the value of the 25,000 mile + $300 upgrade from discount Y to J.

Though obviously much cheaper than buying a J ticket, I would find it hard to justify for US East Coast to Europe, but say Japan to DFW or JFK, do you think it is worth it (given that the east bound flight is overnight - despite being the same calendar day).

I've travelled on NRT-DFW a bit. The $300 copay is expensive, but is worth
it in my opinion as this is an overnight flight, and frankly, in economy
is quite uncomfortable. The return flight DFW-NRT is a day flight and matters
far less travelling in economy (although the flight time is actually longer than
the eastbound flight). I'm on JFK-NRT next week and have requested the
(confirmed) upgrade anyway.

If you use expertflyer, upgrade seats are C class. If there is availability in C class
you can get a confirmed upgrade on the spot when you call AA. If there isn't
you can register a wait list request.

I generally search for J, C and H (or whatever your economy seat is
booked in) plus or minus 3 days and then decide on the day that either
has confirmed upgrades or the best chance of wait list resulting in an upgrade
on day of departure.

Upgrading via a copay is however not always the best option. Upgrading from
H to B class, for example, can be about the same cost as the copay. The difference
is that a subsequent upgrade request from B to C has no copay and is only 15,000
points compared to the discount economy cost of upgrading to business class
which would be $300 copay and 25,000 points. B class fares also give you a
1.5 multiplier on elite qualifying points which can make small price differences
well worthwhile.

You probably need to work out the pros and cons yourself of upgrading to a
higher fare, compared to paying the copay, based upon information available
at expertflyer.

Unfortunately AA fares desk seem to have difficulty investigating this and
come up with a completely different cost each time you call an AA agent. The
fact you cant speak directly to the fares desk makes the process all the more
frustrating (and random). I've found that you need to know the best
alternative before you speak to AA and then be pedantic about them
providing that option. If you don't, then expect to pay considerable
amounts for their mistakes.

Also note that recently AA have introduced some additional fees associated with
upgrade requests. I haven't seen this written any where, however I have
recently been charged $50 for accessing points within 2 weeks and $100
for accessing points within 1 week.

Hope this helps.

 

[Dave Noble]

Upgrading via a copay is however not always the best option. Upgrading from
H to B class, for example, can be about the same cost as the copay. The difference
is that a subsequent upgrade request from B to C has no copay and is only 15,000
points compared to the discount economy cost of upgrading to business class
which would be $300 copay and 25,000 points. B class fares also give you a
1.5 multiplier on elite qualifying points which can make small price differences
well worthwhile.

Also, on the Transatlantic runs the price drops from 25k + $300 to 10k. There can often be a big jump to B class though in fare ; taking DFW-NRT in feb for example, the r/t W fare is $779, H is $1353 and B is $2154. Adding $600 to the W fare is still a lot cheaper than the B but if buying an H , I agree , that it is probably worth it if you can guarantee the upgrade at time of booking. I

Also note that recently AA have introduced some additional fees associated with
upgrade requests. I haven't seen this written any where, however I have
recently been charged $50 for accessing points within 2 weeks and $100
for accessing points within 1 week.

Hope this helps.

These are not recent changes. The scheme has had expedited fees for a long while. These are waived for Executive Platinum members

The fees are mentioned in the award details section at Award Details

Travel ticketed 20 - 7 days prior to departure - $50
Travel ticketed 6 days to 2 hours prior to departure - $100

When multiple awards are claimed at the same time, each additional award is subject to a fee of $25.00 USD.

Dave

 

[openseat]

Belated thanks for the input.

At the risk of being too brash, if anyone has expiring e-VIPs (02/08) I know a good home for 2 of them .

 

[JohnK]

At the risk of being too brash, if anyone has expiring e-VIPs
(02/08) I know a good home for 2 of them .

Have you tried FT Coupon Connection? I remember reading a thread where someone was giving away several back to the community recently.

Your biggest obstacle to be able to trade/join FT Coupon Connection would be you need to have been a member of FT for over 6 months and have at least 90 posts.