Upgrades for status members – AAdvantage® program

Upgrades for status members – AAdvantage® program – American Airlines

Upgrades for status members

Complimentary upgrades

AAdvantage® status members may receive a complimentary upgrade on American if eligible seats are available:

From any eligible purchased, published fare or AAdvantage® award ticket in the Main Cabin or Premium Economy to the next class of service (Business or domestic First)

For travel within North America

On eligible American Airlines operated and marketed flights

For up to 1 companion on the same flight

We’ll automatically request the upgrade for you. Upgrades will be confirmed before departure based on status, if possible.

You can check the status of your request on the app, or by finding your reservation in the ‘Manage trips’ section after you book your flight on aa.com.

Not all seats are available for complimentary upgrades. The number of seats eligible for complimentary upgrades is determined by American for each flight and depends on seating limitations and capacity controls.

Some seats are only available for sale as a paid upgrade or ticket. These seats may not be offered as complimentary upgrades during the complimentary upgrade window before departure. If they’re still open when you arrive at the airport, they may be assigned based on upgrade priority.

Find your trip

Checking in with another airline?

If your first flight is on another airline, you won't automatically be added to the standby list. You'll need to see an American team member to be added to the list.

As a status member, you have access to unlimited upgrades on eligible flights*, including award tickets. You and a companion** may be eligible to upgrade as early as:

24 hours before departure for AAdvantage Gold® status

48 hours before departure for AAdvantage Platinum® status

72 hours before departure for AAdvantage Platinum Pro® status

100 hours before departure for AAdvantage Executive Platinum® status

These times are the earliest times upgrades may be confirmed.

Seats eligible for complimentary upgrades may not be available for your flight. However, they may become available closer to your departure time or at the airport.

Upgrading with a companion

If you're not upgraded right away:

We'll keep checking for upgrade availability. If you’re not confirmed by check-in, we’ll automatically add you to the airport upgrade list.

How upgrades are confirmed:

We’ll send an email to the address in your AAdvantage® profile to let you know you've been upgraded. You’ll also find confirmation on aa.com and in the American app.

*Upgrades on American are valid on American marketed and operated flights, within and between the U.S. (including Hawaii) and between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Bermuda and Central America (based on availability). Upgrades are valid from the Main Cabin or Premium Economy to the next class of service.

**Your travel companion can be booked in the same reservation or in a different reservation when traveling on American Airlines marketed and operated flights. If your companion is booked in a different reservation, call American Airlines Reservations to link the two reservations. If there are more than 2 passengers in your reservation, or you are traveling with an infant in lap or 10 or more passengers in your reservation, you must call Reservations to request an upgrade.

Call your AAdvantage® status service desk if you don’t want an upgrade.

Systemwide upgrades

Systemwide upgrades are available to:

AAdvantage® status members who reach select Loyalty Point Reward levels starting at 175,000 Loyalty Points.

Million Miler™ members, who receive 4 systemwide upgrades when reaching 2 million miles and for every Million Mile level after.

Systemwide upgrades can be used:

On American: To upgrade most Business fares and most Economy or Premium Economy fares to the next class of service* anywhere we fly.

On British Airways: To upgrade most Business fares to First, from Premium Economy to Business, or from Economy to Premium Economy when flying transatlantic.

For one-way travel for up to 3 flight segments on American Airlines marketed and operated flights or British Airways marketed and operated flights or British Airways operated flights marketed by American. You must have at least one American marketed flight in your trip to be eligible.

*On American, Business tickets will upgrade to First. For Economy tickets, it depends on the aircraft and destination:

In a 3-cabin aircraft, you can upgrade from Economy or Premium Economy to Business.

In a 2-cabin aircraft, you can upgrade from Economy to First for domestic flights, or from Economy to Business for short-haul international flights.

Starting March 1, 2025, systemwide upgrades will be valid through the status membership year, which begins when you reach status and will last through March 31 of the following full year.

For Loyalty Point Reward choices

The sooner you choose a systemwide upgrade as a reward, the longer you have to use it. For example: If you unlock a Loyalty Point Reward on March 1, 2025, and choose a systemwide upgrade anytime between March 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, that systemwide upgrade will remain valid until March 31, 2027.

For Million Miler™ status holders

Once you earn 2 Million Miler™ status or higher, you can use your systemwide upgrades from the time you earn them through the status membership year.

For example: Systemwide upgrades will be valid through March 31, 2027 if you earn them from reaching 2 Million Miler™ status or higher between March 1, 2025 and February 28, 2026.

When booking your flight on aa.com, look for the systemwide upgrades link to find cabins with upgrades available. If there’s no link, systemwide upgrades are not available for that flight.

You can request or waitlist for a systemwide upgrade on aa.com or the app.

We’ll confirm the upgrade right away if space is available and we’ll deduct the required number of upgrades from your balance.

Waitlist

If an upgrade isn’t available, we’ll waitlist your request. We won’t deduct your systemwide upgrade from your balance until it’s confirmed.

If your upgrade hasn’t been confirmed by the time you check in, we’ll automatically add you to the airport upgrade standby list if you have the required number of upgrades in your account.

How we prioritize upgrades

When to contact us

Keep in mind you may need to contact us when:

Departing from an airport requiring payment of premium taxes, like London Heathrow (LHR)

Flying on an eligible British Airways transatlantic flight

Keep track of your upgrade balance in your AAdvantage® account.

Upgrades on Alaska Airlines

Alaska will automatically request a First Class upgrade if you meet the criteria. To be eligible, you must:

Be an AAdvantage® status member

Have booked and ticketed a reservation on a qualifying fare class on Alaska Airlines (Saver Fares are not eligible)

Have your AAdvantage® number listed on your reservation

Upgrade priority on Alaska Airlines

The usual AAdvantage® upgrade windows apply, except AAdvantage Executive Platinum® members and AAdvantage Platinum Pro® members may be upgraded as early as 120 hours before departure.

If you booked with Alaska:

You’ll receive an email when your upgrade is confirmed. Visit alaskaair.com to reserve your seat in First Class.

If you booked with American or another source:

You can check the status of your upgrade on alaskaair.com using your Alaska Airlines confirmation code.

If you booked through American, you can also check the status of your upgrade on aa.com or the American app.

Manage reservation on Alaska Airlines

AAdvantage® status members receive complimentary access to Premium Class seats, but it works a little differently from how you access Main Cabin Extra seats on American.

Alaska Airlines Premium Class

If space is available, you’ll have immediate access to Premium Class seats a few minutes after your ticket for an eligible fare is issued. Otherwise, you’ll be waitlisted.

If you book your trip on alaskaair.com, find fares that are eligible for immediate access to Premium Class using the ‘Upgrade fare type’ filter on their website. Here’s how:

AAdvantage Gold® members – choose ‘MVP’

AAdvantage Platinum® members – choose ‘MVP Gold’

AAdvantage Executive Platinum® / AAdvantage Platinum Pro® members – choose ‘MVP Gold 75k’

Whether you book on alaskaair.com or another source and visit Alaska’s website later, you can reserve a complimentary Premium Class seat. Here’s how:

Choose a seat in the Main Cabin.

Buy your ticket for a seat in the Main Cabin.

After your trip is ticketed, you’ll be assigned a seat in Premium Class if you booked an eligible fare or once your AAdvantage® status window opens.

Keep in mind:

Seats marked as ‘Alaska Elite’ are available complimentary to AAdvantage® status members.

The seat type you choose in the Main Cabin – aisle or window – will be your seat type in Premium Class.

If you choose a seat in an exit row, you won’t be moved to Premium Class.

Choosing a Premium Class seat before ticketing will result in a charge. To receive a complimentary Premium Class seat, you’ll first need to choose a seat in Main Cabin and pay for your ticket.

You can view your assigned seat in Premium Class on alaskaair.com using your Alaska Airlines confirmation code.

Find your Alaska Airlines confirmation code in your booking confirmation email. If you booked your trip through American, you’ll find it when viewing your trip on aa.com or the American app.

If your ticketed fare isn’t eligible for immediate access or seats aren’t available, Alaska Airlines will try to move you to a Premium Class seat based on your AAdvantage® status window.

Alaska Airlines upgrade priority

Alaska Airlines will check for upgrade availability up to 1 hour before your flight. You can also ask an airport agent to add you to the standby list.

Alaska Airlines uses a single waitlist labeled ‘Upgrade requests’ for First Class upgrades and Premium Class seat requests.

AAdvantage® status members can be on the waitlist for both a Premium Class seat and a First Class upgrade at the same time.

Call Alaska Airlines if you don’t want a First Class upgrade or a Premium Class seat.

AAdvantage® status members who opt out of a Premium Class seat are still considered for an upgrade to First Class (unless you opt out of a First Class upgrade).

Contact Alaska Airlines

Upgrade with miles

Learn about using your miles for premium cabin upgrades.

Using miles for travel

Upgrading with a companion

Status members traveling with a companion

If your companion is booked in a different reservation, you need to call Reservations to link the reservations.

If seats are available, you and your companion will be upgraded at the same time.

In some cases, a complimentary upgrade will only be awarded if there's a seat for both you and your companion. If you prefer to split your reservation because only one seat may be available for an upgrade, please contact us.

If you do split your reservation, your companion may not receive a complimentary upgrade or other status benefits for that trip. This would apply to both the departure and return flights.

Contact Reservations

2 status members traveling together

You will be prioritized together on the airport priority list based on the member with the higher status or Loyalty Point value over the last 12 months.

3 or more passengers

If you have 3 or more passengers in your reservation, complimentary upgrades won’t happen automatically. Please contact us to make your request.

If you and a companion are waitlisted for the same type of upgrade, you can sponsor them to receive your priority level. You’ll stay prioritized together, even at the airport.

Companion and sponsor qualifications:

Book on the same flight (same or separate reservations)

Use the same upgrade type (systemwide or mileage award upgrades)

Companions don’t have to be AAdvantage® members – the upgrade can be deducted from any account.

To sponsor a companion for a new or existing trip, contact Reservations.

Contact Reservations

AAdvantage® status members can upgrade 1 companion traveling on the same flight and in the same reservation.

Benefits on Alaska Airlines

Upgrade priority

If an upgrade isn’t available at the time of booking, we'll waitlist your request.

Upgrade requests will be prioritized by:

AAdvantage® status tier

Type of upgrade

Loyalty Points earned in the last 12 months

If the upgrade type and 12-month Loyalty Point value are the same, we’ll look at the booking code then date / time of the request to determine priority.

Type of upgrade

Before you get to the airport, requests for systemwide and mileage award upgrades are processed separately from complimentary upgrade requests.

At the airport, upgrades are prioritized in this order:

Systemwide and mileage award upgrades

Complimentary upgrades

Loyalty Points earned in the last 12 months

Your 12-month rolling Loyalty Point value is updated daily and different from your Year-to-Date (YTD) Loyalty Points, which is used to track your progress toward AAdvantage® status.

For First Class upgrades and Premium Class seats, AAdvantage® status members are upgraded in this order:

AAdvantage Executive Platinum® members and AAdvantage Platinum Pro® members (after Alaska MVP Gold 75K)

AAdvantage Platinum® members (after Alaska MVP Gold)

AAdvantage Gold® members (after Alaska MVP)

AAdvantage® status members are also upgraded in order of status level, fare and time of booking.

Terms and conditions

This upgrade is subject to seating limitations and capacity controls and is limited to a single one-way ticket with a maximum of three segments. Reservations are subject to seat availability at the time of upgrade.

Reservations may be made and tickets purchased from any authorized Travel Agency or American Airlines. Upgrades are valid only on scheduled flights marketed and operated by American Airlines or American Eagle offering a First or Business Class cabin for travel, or on British Airways marketed and operated transatlantic flights. Not valid on codeshare flights, except for flights marketed by American and operated by British Airways.

Open tickets may not be issued.

Stopovers, joint and through fares are permitted if fare purchased allows. If, after ticketing, your ticket must be reissued, a change fee may apply based on your purchased fare.

Any tax liability is the responsibility of the user.

Upgrades are only valid on individual published-fare tickets. Upgrades are not applicable to AAdvantage® travel awards; any free ticket; military or other government fares; opaque fares; infant tickets (including INF50 fares) or purchased extra seats.

Systemwide upgrades are transferable and assignable, but may not be sold or bartered. The person using a systemwide upgrade does not need to be an AAdvantage® member.

Systemwide upgrades may be applied to a Basic Economy fare; however, the traveler applying the systemwide upgrade to a Basic Economy fare must be an AAdvantage® status member.

Upgrade must be confirmed before the expiration date; travel does not have to be completed before the expiration date of the upgrade. Unused upgrades will not be refunded, exchanged or transferred.

Upgrades will be deducted from your account as soon as upgrade seating can be confirmed on one or more requested flight segments of your itinerary. It is the responsibility of the member to contact the AAdvantage® department if a trip involving the use of a systemwide upgrade is canceled and reinstatement of the upgrade is required.

Any itinerary changes to a confirmed upgrade are subject to seat availability for the new itinerary.

AAdvantage® mileage will accrue for the class of service on which your fare is based when you are ticketed, not for the class of service flown. Any voluntary refund of a ticket issued against the upgrade shall be in accordance with applicable fare rules for the fare purchased.

Use of upgrades to any future American Airlines destination is subject to approval.

Upgrades are void if sold or advertised for sale for cash or other considerations. Members may designate another passenger to use their upgrades.

Passengers may be requested to show identification at any time during travel.