All AAdvantage Elites Now Eligible for Upgrades on Award Tickets

If you’re an American Airlines elite customer, you’ll notice a few new changes to when you can receive an upgrade, in what order you’ll receive an upgrade, and how companion upgrades work. These changes are all positive, making the opportunity to upgrade even easier across all elite ranks.

Platinum Pro, Platinum & Gold Now Eligible for Award Upgrades

The first change is that all AAdvantage elite customers can now receive complimentary upgrades when traveling on award tickets. For the purposes of upgrades, this is referring to all markets where you can normally receive a complimentary upgrade, which is traditionally all of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, and other local international markets. This does not refer to long-haul flights to Europe, South America, etc.

Previously, only AAdvantage Executive Platinum and ConciergeKey members were eligible for upgrades on award tickets, but now this benefit will extend to Platinum Pro, Platinum, and Gold members, as well as 1 companion traveling on the same flight.

While this is a positive change for most elites, it is a slight blow to those who are Executive Platinum and ConciergeKey, who enjoyed upgrades on award tickets as an exclusive benefit. It doesn’t appear that a replacement benefit will be offered, but the good news as always is that these elite tiers will still be prioritized higher than other elite tiers.

Ranking of Upgrades

The second change to upgrades is how you’ll rank on the upgrade list when traveling on an award ticket. Previously, if you were on an award ticket, you’d be at the bottom of the upgrade list within each tier. Now, you’ll fall on the upgrade list according to your rolling 12-month Loyalty Points earned within each elite tier, no matter whether you’re on a cash ticket or award ticket. All that matters is the amount of Loyalty Points you have earned.

Upgrading Someone Else With Status

The final change American is making comes into play when you have 2 elite passengers traveling on the same reservation, where 1 elite passenger has a lower status than the other passenger. American allows that lower elite to inherit the status of the higher elite for upgrades, but this previously required a manual intervention and reconnecting of the 2 passengers while at the airport. Now, this process will be fully automated and the lower elite passenger will fall on the upgrade list with the higher elite passenger without issue.

Final Thoughts

Overall, these are some very positive changes impacting all AAdvantage elite customers. While it’s sad to see the exclusivity go away for the higher tiers that enjoyed these benefits, offering upgrades to all elite tiers creates a more seamless experience for sure.