James (Jamie) started The Forward Cabin blog to educate readers about points, miles, and loyalty programs. He’s spoken at Princeton University and The New York Times Travel Show and has been quoted in...
Edited by: Keri Stooksbury
With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now Editor-in-Chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...
26 comments
Gary Leff
November 15, 2019
Y’all need to update information about use by expiration date with the latest details which can be found here.
Alex Miller
November 15, 2019
Yep, cheers Gary – caught that shortly after we published the piece this morning 🙂
Edgar
December 19, 2019
With the new partnership between AA and Qantas starting next year (acting as an only one airline), is it going to be possible to use the SWU on Qantas operated or ticketed flights?
James Larounis
December 30, 2019
Hi Edgar, there is currently no plans for this, and to upgrade, you must be on an AA “prime” flight (meaning Qantas can’t ticket the AA flight). That said, American is currently exploring joint-venture upgrades with British Airways, so you may be able to use your SWUs on Qantas in future years if that concept is expanded further.
James Broderick
December 26, 2019
This is not correct. I was told by phone, at check-in, at the lounge and at the gate that it is only one class upgrade on our 3 class international flight. We were in economy and said we could not go to business and premium economy was full.
James Larounis
December 30, 2019
Hi James. Unfortunately, you received incorrect information from American. Premium Economy is still considered part of the Main Cabin for the purposes of systemwide upgrades. You can go from Main Cabin to Business, Premium Economy to Business or Business to First, but there is currently no policy for Main Cabin to Premium Economy upgrades (this will come later in 2020, according to American). To further validate this (if you’re speaking to an agent), on American’s website, they state: “Enjoy a confirmed upgrade from most Business fares to First and most Economy or Premium Economy fares to the next class of service (Business or domestic First) anywhere American flies.”
RANDAL Brekhus
December 14, 2020
Q: AA came out with a way for the average consumer can buy status ie: @30K. Could you break it down for an average person like me? My goal is to do a lot of traveling in one year when I retire next year. Thanks in advance.
Mohan
June 17, 2022
Can I delay making the choice on the loyalty reward thereby extending the validity of the systemwide upgrade? As an example, I am eligible for a loyalty reward now and have to make a choice by Mar 2023, one of the options is a system-wide upgrade. Let us say I wait until Feb 2023 to make the choice, the question is, when will the system-wide upgrade be valid until.
Versyn
November 20, 2022
Yes. They are valid for 1 year after deposit to your account.
Marie Ross
February 21, 2020
I booked Premium Economy from LAX to CDG and booked business from CDG to LAX. I was cleared from JFK to CDG right after I booked the trip. I’m on a priority waitlist for LAX to JFK. I made a dummy booking; there are still ten seats available. What is my chance to get an upgrade? Thank you.
James Larounis
February 23, 2020
Hi Marie, there really is no way to fully determine your chances of receiving an upgrade, as booking patterns change and flight availability is volatile. In general, upgrades on this route are difficult, even using a SWU. If you are an Executive Platinum, you will be listed as a VIP2 on the upgrade list, above all other Executive Platinums requesting a complimentary upgrade, but below any ConciergeKey members. My suggestion would be to continually watch AA.com to see if upgrade space opens (you are looking for C inventory), or to use a service like ExpertFlyer where you can monitor if this inventory opens up, and then call American to clear when it does.
Jerry Aldini
April 20, 2020
NOT SWU question- Can an AA EP get a complimentary upgrade on an AA marketed flight purchased on AA.com but flown by Alaska Airlines i.e ORD-ANC)? Other EP perks recognized on this AA marketed flight within North America? Thanks
James Larounis
April 20, 2020
Hi Jerry. Unfortunately, Executive Platinum upgrades are only valid on marketed and operated by American Airlines flights. It must say “American” on the side of the plane in order for you to receive an upgrade.
FRank
May 11, 2020
I am 120k short of 5 million, but am now retired and not flying anywhere near as much as I used to. I am trying to evaluate the value of shifting some of my spend over the next six months to an AA branded card to close that gap. An thoughts on how one might put a dollar value on a SWU? Most likely I would use them to upgrade from business to first on an trans atlantic flight.
Samantha
June 19, 2021
I came here to see if anyone was talking about the fact they did away with “C” code inventory for SWU and mileage upgrades. Now there is no 100% sure-fire way to check on your own (other than the app, which in my experience under-represents the true SWU inventory), but there is a strong correlation with U inventory if you are using expert flyer. Just not perfect.
Probably doesn’t matter since almost impossible to find these days. Also enjoying the 2 hour hold times on the executive platinum line and less friendly agents. Really makes me rethink which airline I want to move forward with!
AnthonyB
October 28, 2021
I am PLT PRO and very close to EXP. I want to use my SWU but most international flights don’t have the option to upgrade and when they do it’s always LAX-PHX or LAX-DFW which is the shorter leg. I am not seeing the value of the SWU like I used to see in the past.
Anthony B
December 05, 2021
So, I have been EXP before and used SWU and they are amazing. But now it seems that the inventory is terrible and they don’t cover all legs. They seem to be pretty useless.
V. Liriano
April 10, 2023
You are correct! I as an EP have also found SWU to be useless. They were once of value but no more
Nazgul
December 17, 2021
I found A class on a flight, but getting an agent who says A no longer means its available for SWU?!
Jarrod West
December 20, 2021
Hi Nazgul,
You should definitely be able to upgrade on A class. I’d recommend calling again and speaking to another agent.
Michael
February 02, 2022
If I earn SWUs and then lose the PP or EXP elite status under which I earned them, are they still bookable until their expiration date?
Jarrod West
February 03, 2022
Hi Michael,
Yes, they should still be bookable until their expiration date.
Dave
February 26, 2022
Have a confirmed systemwide for this summer (home-JFK-LHR). American changed the flight schedule and changed my home outbound to a much less advantageous time (3+ hours difference). Based on this post my SWU would be protected and I could switch to any available flight to get to London. I’m now on my third agent who believes that the only flights I can switch to are those with C Upgrade availability. Do I need to keep calling back until I find agent who knows the rules?
Jarrod West
March 14, 2022
Hi Dave,
Yes, I would recommend calling again until you reach someone who is well versed. It can be a frustrating experience I know. Best of luck!
Jeff Frankel
August 23, 2022
I’m new to systemwide upgrades as a recent Exec Platinum Member. Just got the SWUs. I’ve subscribed to Expert Flyer and so far I cannot find any flight to anywhere outside of the USA with “C” availability at anytime except within 24 hours of today. Is that the norm or am I looking/doing something wrong? I really don’t have any desire to book a ticket to Europe in “hopes” of getting an upgrade – only interested in confirmed upgrades.
Eric Sweeney
June 08, 2023
American has perhaps changed their policy. I was booked in Economy to Amsterdam and was told my upgrade could only go to Premium Economy not Business. I argued this has never been the case but they would only upgrade me to premium which I declined as a poor use of an upgrade. They gave the upgrade to the #3 person on the list skipping 2 people for this reason
Any thoughts or questions? Comment below!
Email needed if you'd like comment updates. It will NOT be published.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.