AA Instant Upgrade Fare - Risky?

[Homer]

On July 4 we are flying VA SYD-LAX and then needing to fly LAX-JFK. AA is expensive in J or F, around $2,500-$3,000. However there are Instant Upgrade fares (are those the YUP things I read about every now and then?) for $1,500 which would theoretically have us sitting in J.

But...

My TA (bless her) has pointed out that if J is oversold, the “Instant Upgrade” tickets are the first ones to get bumped down to Y with no compensation.

I know some of the members here have experience with these fares and I was just wondering what the general feeling was around risk?

 

[serfty]

...
My TA (bless her) has pointed out that if J is oversold, the “Instant Upgrade” tickets are the first ones to get bumped down to Y with no compensation.

I know some of the members here have experience with these fares and I was just wondering what the general feeling was around risk?

In over 40 "Instant Upgrade" fare segments I have never been bumped.

For a start you can employ on-line check-in and ensure you are at the gate before boarding commences.

In reality these cabins tend to be 'undersold' and generally fill up with Elites being upgrades from Economy. These would be the first to be 'bumped' should it be deemed necessary.

 

[BensAdventures]

I've been on dozens of these fares, and like sefty, never bumped. If you pick your fares right (there are plenty of threads about this) the SC's you are earn are amazing value for money!

Enjoy!

 

[Mal]

Only when there are weather or mechanical issues would i be overly concerned.

Even then I've never been downgraded.

 

[drron]

Well I had never been bumped until yesterday.Had our BPs for the third sector of our YUPP.Seated in 4E,4F.An hour before flight it was cancelled.One more flight on the night and despite AC and Flagship agents asking for us ended up in Y and in 20E and 28E as well.
So yes there is a risk.

 

[harvyk]

drron,

What class did they award points for?

Also if a flight is delayed \ cancelled or equipment changed all bets are off as to what class you'd end up in even with a fully paid J or F seat. (There are quite a few stories on here about people being bumped down from J or F due to plane changes or other operational reasons)

They do try and put you into the class you paid for (and with a YUP's you did pay for the higher class seat) but of course their number one priority changes to get everyone to where the need to get to.

 

[drron]

drron,

What class did they award points for?

Also if a flight is delayed \ cancelled or equipment changed all bets are off as to what class you'd end up in even with a fully paid J or F seat. (There are quite a few stories on here about people being bumped down from J or F due to plane changes or other operational reasons)

They do try and put you into the class you paid for (and with a YUP's you did pay for the higher class seat) but of course their number one priority changes to get everyone to where the need to get to.

They will give Y miles and SCs-it is in the T&C's of YUPP fares.The new BP's state class as Y.Not posted to AA or QFF yet.

 

[serfty]

...
So yes there is a risk.

There certainly is a risk - in January a BOS Mia flight I had was cancelled. I found out when I went ~ 20 hours before that flight after arriving into LAX when I went to print BP's using a terminal.

E/F showed A4 on a useful later connection so I high-tailed it to the F/L service desk and simply rebooked. 2 hours later it was F0 A0 ...

Aside from that, "Instant Upgrade" fares generally permit standby in the premium cabin for IRROPS.

 

[Anna]

They will give Y miles and SCs-it is in the T&C's of YUPP fares.

Are the T&C's about this to be found on the AA website before booking? If so could you please tell me where?

I have been researching KUPP routes recently, but I can't see anything about miles and SCs in the fare rules that come up on aa.com, only a whole pile of stuff about cancellations, standbys, refunds and penalties.

 

[serfty]

Are the T&C's about this to be found on the AA website before booking? If so could you please tell me where?. ...

Aside from the fare rules, the most important information on the AA web site is the actual booking class of each segment.

Normally you would only book segments that book into A, P or I (or perhaps Y on one class RJ's). In the case of IRROPS, the class actually travelled can vary from that booked. This is printed on the BP for each segment.

From there you go here and look up AA earning eligibility for the booking class:

• QFF Airline Earning

Then go here to work out the distance of each segment:

• Great Circle Mapper

And finally here to get the actual SC earning for each segment:

• Frequent Flyer - About the Program - Status Credits

In any case, there are many reports of "Original Routing Credit" being granted by QFF in such cases.

 

[dk4]

The thing to remember about instant upgrade fares is that they are just an ingenious way of marketing a discount business class product (or, first class, as it is still called within the USA).

Instead of calling the fare - a discount from the first class price, they call it - an upgrade from a coach class seat.

The other key benefit, that this simple marketing gimmick provides (for premium class sales), is that now a whole heap of business/corporate customers who have "coach only for domestic travel" policies, can now fly in first class (with all the ancillary benefits, including miles), but claim it as coach when it comes to accounting.

Some instant upgrade fares come with restrictions, some don't (just like discount premium tickets).

And when things go pear shaped, AA generally thinks that getting you to where you are flying ASAP (sometimes in coach), is more important than making you wait for the next available first class seat :idea: (which you can always request to do... but if the network is stuffed, then consider how many people simply won't be making it anywhere, when you have an offer of a confirmed seat, even though it is in coach).

 

[dajop]

Lot of pontification about AA YUP's in general - which is of course all good information, but specifically for the OP's situation:

1) It's an instant upgrade to J, so more difficult to find an alternate routing if things go pearshaped, due to limited J network. Assume rerouting on connecting services (non transcon) (eg via DFW) would therefore automatically involve a downgrade to Y, is that correct?
2) On the other hand, the planes just go back and forth between east and west coast, so far less likely to be affected by network disruptions in places other than NYC and LAX. Disruptions therefore less likely in July as avoiding thunderstorm hotspots in the centre of US such as DFW? Is that a correct assumption?
3) This is a one sector J flight, the points/SC penalty for such a downgrade is not as significant as a downgrade from a 3 sector YUP that gets you into the F cabin ( What fare class do these downgrade to full Y or disc Y?) Main penalty is a rubbish seat and no free food.

 

[Anna]

My TA (bless her) has pointed out that if J is oversold, the “Instant Upgrade” tickets are the first ones to get bumped down to Y with no compensation.

In the case of IRROPS, the class actually travelled can vary from that booked.

I am confused. Is overselling the premium cabin an IRROP? I thought IRROPS were weather or mechanical issues, not commercial issues.

Thanks serfty for the miles info.

 

[serfty]

I am confused. Is overselling the premium cabin an IRROP? I thought IRROPS were weather or mechanical issues, not commercial issues.

...

You are correct about that.

Your post was quoting drron's IRROP situation this week.

As far as the OP goes, what I earlier posted still stands. Being revenue first/business class gives priority over those elites upgraded should downgrades be necessary.

i.e. Homer should not be concerned. FWIW, AA's legacy core systems cannot easily differentiate between EXP and oneworld Emerald, so he would be prioritised with them.

 

[Mal]

Aside from that, "Instant Upgrade" fares generally permit standby in the premium cabin for IRROPS.

A KUPP in an irrops situation will move you to a very high position on waitlists. If you were OWE, then you would be first [or near first]. Maybe outranked by Concierge Key members and people on true F fares.

As OWE (And I believe OWS) you can waitlist on any flight anyway. No requirement for IIROPS to waitlist. I generally waitlist on most of my KUPP flights where there is an earlier flight.

 

[muppet]

This week I had a YUPP flight change from a 757 to a 767 (so from 20 F seats to 10), fortunately I scored one of the fully flat F seats, but I can definately see a risk to being bumped by EXP pax who after T-100 get F seats for free.

In the AC lounge in MIA on Tuesday I overheard (everyone overheard) a rightfully angry F pax who had been bumped due to an aircraft change that meant his 1D?? was no longer a seat. He was angrily shouting that they should bump the upgraded people not someone who paid $4k. (I think he was going to JFK).

I guess my suggestion is not to book a really tight connection and hope for the best.
On a side note, every one of my 6 AA flights this week were on time and connected no worries, as others have said weather is your main risk - no one controls that.

 

[Blackadder]

Haven't had a issue being bumped from a YUPP J to whY, closest I have come was during a mechanical delay in Memphis (abt 2hrs), puting at risk my connection in DFW.
But a combination of being quick off the plane when we were allowed to de-plane, and towards the front of the queue for re-booking the connection the AAngel was able to put me on the following flight from DFW, keeping my J. (turns out I would have made the original flight, with few mins to spare.)

 

[Homer]

My QF WP membership recently lapsed (I chose not to do status runs as I only fly J or F internationally anyway) so I’m now a lowly SG. I’ve still got OWE status courtesy of the Centurion CX MP Diamond membership (for 12 months at least).

Would anybody recommend me adding my MP number to the YUPP booking instead of my QF SG number so that I can “fight it out” for seats with the high status pax (in the event of a downgrade) or would I be safe enough crediting QF?

 

[Blackadder]

Should have no issue crediting QF if you wish, once the seat is purchased that is it you have a F seat of your choice (or J on 3 class services), not fighting it out with anyone else.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

My QF WP membership recently lapsed (I chose not to do status runs as I only fly J or F internationally anyway) so I’m now a lowly SG. I’ve still got OWE status courtesy of the Centurion CX MP Diamond membership (for 12 months at least).

Would anybody recommend me adding my MP number to the YUPP booking instead of my QF SG number so that I can “fight it out” for seats with the high status pax (in the event of a downgrade) or would I be safe enough crediting QF?

Bless your travel agent, but she simply doesn't know what she is talking about.

As other have pointed out, dozens of YUPPs taken here and I have never been downgraded, even during irrops.

If you are on a YUPP fare then you are usually on a fare basis Y, which is pretty much top priority for stand-by. I was at the gate in chicago for a flight to LA and we had missed our earlier flight due to weather. We were therefore stand-by. There were something like 44 passengers on the standby list 2 hours before departure, and being on Y fares were were #1 and #2. That stayed the case right up until flight departure even though the standby list grew). We ended up taking the last two F seats on the flight (those held back for full fare).

You always have the choice to wait until the next flight when F is available anyway, so if time is not a major problem, you can choose to wait for a flight in a coupe hours to get your F seat then.

My advice is to take the YUPP fare and things will almost always go as planned. If you have flexibility, then its 100% as planned (just might be a bit later).