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Ever daydream about getting an upgrade on your flight? Me too! Unfortunately, without high-level elite status on an airline, the idea of escaping the cabin you booked and easing yourself into a business- or even a first-class seat may feel like an unattainable dream. But does it have to? If you are traveling with American Airlines, maybe not! American Airlines allows AAdvantage members — even those without elite status — to upgrade using miles.
Let's show you how to upgrade your American Airlines flights with miles.
American Airlines Upgrade With Miles Chart
American Airlines allows passengers to use miles to upgrade to business or first class. If you booked an economy or premium economy ticket, you can upgrade to business class using miles. If you booked business class, you can upgrade to first class. Full-fare tickets can be upgraded for as little as 5,000 miles. Similarly, full-fare business class tickets can be upgraded to first-class seats using as few as 15,000 miles.
American even allows travelers to upgrade from almost all other fares (double-check that your specific fare class is eligible) using a combination of miles and cash. However, award tickets and American Airlines basic economy tickets are not eligible for upgrades using miles.
Here's a closer look at the options:
As covered in the chart, pricing is determined by your route, the ticket you originally booked, and what type of upgrade you're seeking. You'll likely need to pay a cash component on top of using your miles for the upgrade — unless you purchased a full-fare (read: extremely expensive) ticket.
How To Upgrade With Miles on American
You can't submit an American Airlines mileage upgrade request online. Instead, you'll have to contact the American Airlines reservations team.
You can request an upgrade when you book your trip, but you need to do so by phone. If you decide you would like to use miles (or miles and cash) to upgrade a previously booked ticket, you need to have your reservation details handy before reaching out to American.
Related: The Complete Guide to Earning American Airlines Miles
Finding American Airlines Mileage Upgrade Availability
While using miles to upgrade your American Airlines trip looks appealing, capacity is limited. So, you'll need some luck. The number of upgrades available on each flight is limited, and requests can outnumber the upgrades available.
If you want to find American Airlines mileage upgrade space before booking or calling, you have two tools for doing so.
The most reliable way of finding mileage upgrade availability is by using ExpertFlyer. Use ExpertFlyer's Award & Upgrade Availability Search, enter your flight information, and select the option for either:
- Business – Upgrade (Including 2-Cabin Domestic First) (C) — for mileage upgrades to business class
- First – Upgrade (for 3-cabin flights only) (A) — for mileage upgrades to first class
The downside: ExpertFlyer requires a paid subscription to run such searches.
A less reliable (but free) way of finding when there's mileage upgrade space is by using a tool like Seats.Aero. Use Seats.Aero's award search tools to find business class availability. If there's business class award availability on a flight, it's likely — but not guaranteed — that there's mileage upgrade availability. Just note that Seats.Aero uses cached data, meaning that the availability may no longer be available when you see it.
Waitlist Priority for American Airlines Mileage Upgrades
When you call to submit your request, you might be waitlisted. The waitlist is prioritized based on:
- AAdvantage elite status level
- Upgrade type
- 12-month rolling Loyalty Points
The waitlist can move, especially if you are making the request well in advance. Even if your upgrade request does not get confirmed before check-in, all is not lost. American will add you to the airport upgrade standby list as long as you have enough miles in your account to pay for the upgrade 48 hours before your departure. So you may be that lucky passenger called up just as boarding begins to accept your upgrade — the dream come true!
Related: Do American Airlines AAdvantage Miles Expire?
Is It Worth Using Miles To Upgrade on American Airlines?
Whether or not it is worth redeeming miles for an upgrade is always a hotly debated topic. The numbers alone won't tell the whole story. Is this an overnight flight where you really need the rest? Is this a quick hop where you won't care much one way or the other? Whatever the context, it is always smart to do the math and make an informed decision. Since there isn't a fixed value assigned to American Airlines miles, let's just value them at 1.5 cents each on average. In that case, here's a look at how much upgrades cost:
Full-fare economy (Y), premium economy (W), and business (J, D, or R) tickets have lower mileage requirements and no cash component to upgrade. If you booked one of these tickets, the following miles are required to upgrade:
| To / from | To / from | Miles Needed to Upgrade from Economy/Premium Economy | Miles Needed to Upgrade from Business | Value of Required Miles at 1.5 Cents Each |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contiguous 48 U.S. states, Alaska, Canada | Contiguous 48 U.S. states, Alaska, Canada | 5,000 | 15,000 | $75 / $225 |
| Contiguous 48 U.S. states, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean | Contiguous 48 U.S. states, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Carribean | 8,000 | 15,000 | $120 / $225 |
| Contiguous 48 U.S. states, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean | Hawaii | 8,000 | 15,000 | $120 / $225 |
| North America | Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname | 8,000 | 15,000 | $120 / $225 |
| North America | Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, South Korea, China, Indian Subcontinent, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Middle East, Africa | 15,000 | 25,000 | $225 / $375 |
Full-fare tickets can be pricey, so it's definitely worth looking at the discounted tickets as well. Discount economy (fare class H, K, M, L, V, G, Q, N, O, S, and military or government fares booked in Y), premium economy (P), and discount business (I) require miles and cash fees to upgrade:
| To / from | To / from | Miles/Fee Needed to Upgrade from Discount Economy/Premium Economy | Miles/Fee Needed to Upgrade from Discount Business | Total Cash Value of Required Miles at 1.5 Cents Each + Fee Discount Economy/Discount Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contiguous 48 U.S. states, Alaska, Canada | Contiguous 48 U.S. states, Alaska, Canada | 15,000 + $75 | 15,000 + $175 | $300 / $400 |
| Contiguous 48 U.S. states, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean | Contiguous 48 U.S. states, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Carribean | 15,000 + $75 | N/A | $300 |
| Contiguous 48 U.S. states, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean | Hawaii | 15,000 + $175 | N/A | $400 |
| North America | Central America | 15,000 + $75 | N/A | $300 |
| North America | Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname | 15,000 + $150 | N/A | $375 |
| North America | Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, South Korea, China, Indian Subcontinent, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Middle East, Africa | 25,000 + $350 | 25,000 + $550 | $725 / $925 |
What do all these numbers really mean? Let's have a look at a real itinerary:
Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles
This flight includes one stop at New York-JFK. The good news is that upgrades are good for up to three segments, so one upgrade covers both legs. If you book the last Main Cabin economy ticket for $269, you can then call American Airlines and request an upgrade to business class. In this case, the business-class seat is American Airlines' Flagship Business. Flying in Flagship Business means you will be upgrading to a lie-flat seat, receive lounge access, and get in-flight meal and drink service.
To upgrade from this economy ticket to business class, here's the total cost:
- Initial ticket: $269
- Upgrade: 15,000 miles + $75. If you value AAdvantage miles at 1.5 cents per mile, the cash value of those miles is $225, plus the $75 copay for a total of $300 in value.
So the grand total for a flight from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles, CA in Flagship Business (this would be the JFK to LAX segment) will cost $569, instead of booking directly for $1,353. A savings of over $700 sounds like a good deal to me!
The question is whether this upgrade is available at booking or whether you are added to the waitlist. One trick to knowing upgrade availability status in advance is to place the itinerary on hold. Once you have a record locator, you can call American Airlines and have a representative check to see whether the upgrade is available before you purchase your ticket.
Related: Sweet Spots Using American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
Bottom Line
There are great deals to be had by using miles to upgrade American Airlines flights. Just be certain that all flights are operated by American Airlines, as these upgrades won't be available on codeshare flights.
The key is finding the confirmed upgrade availability when you book your ticket. Chances that your waitlist upgrades will clear can vary, based on numerous factors — especially if you don't already have American Airlines elite status. If you do have elite status with American Airlines, using miles to upgrade should put you in front of elites waiting for a complimentary upgrade.
Have you ever used your miles to upgrade on American Airlines? What was your experience? Let us know in the comments.
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