We are flying to Madrid from JFK tomorrow on AA, and I have been waitlisted for Systemwide Upgrades since booking. Up until Monday, there were 6 seats available for purchase. As of yesterday, 3. As of just now, none. Went from having a decent chance of at least one upgrade to no chance at all. It appears to be a fairly light load in economy, so maybe I’ll luck into a row I can lie across.
It was never mine, yet I feel I’ve lost it, lol.
We were watching our flight to Japan on United and saw how every day the chances of the upgrade diminished
In the end the coach seats were fine and neither of us slept on the way to Japan. Nice to get the points and dollars back for another trip!
An odd thing is that 11 seats still open on the map. I know that doesn’t mean they aren’t booked, but it does mean there are 11 passengers who have not chosen their seats, which strikes me as odd for biz class.
Were you also monitoring paid upgrade cost? Maybe it became relatively cheap.
This is the issue with AA. Smart business move, but a huge ‘screw you’ to it’s loyalty members, particularly Executive Platinum and Concierge Key. They realize that they can give them away to those who prove loyalty and spend thousands of dollars a year on flights with them, OR they can try to earn revenue by either selling them for dollars or a quick and easy points redemption (which saves them money in the long run, since those points won’t be used to book flights, so they’ll get revenue for those future flights, etc). SWUs have been remarkably difficult to get filled as a result. Free upgrades you can all but forget about, even in EP, unless some super random route. I used to get upgraded to First about 35% of the time. Now it’s closer to 15%, and with my SWUs I’ve not been filled the last 3 times I’ve tried.
If you have EP status or higher, try calling the dedicated phone line, they can often help with outlining likelihood of filling those SWUs. Obviously SWUs go in order of status, CK, EP, PP, etc on the way down - what’s your status?
Attempting once again for my NYC trip next month with Berserkers, and more of my SWUs for a Europe trip in September.
Of course. It’s not.
I am EP and have been for a long time, so I am pretty familiar with all the ins and outs and how to work the system. I get filled on SWUs for international routes about half the time, but almost never for two seats (Jonathan always gives it to me. I chatted with the EP desk first thing this morning, though they didn’t know much more than I did then.
Not really looking for secret tips, as I don’t think there are any, just commiseration with others who go through this.
I am completely sympathetic. AA management is by far the worst of the big 3 (even though UA is exAA). They are realizing too late that their competition isn’t Spirit and their best customers are there not as much by choice as by geographic advantage (fortress hubs).
I was ExP for about 8 years. Back in the glory (for me) days when upgrades would be prioritized by request date, and since I could book an 11 months out for my main trans cons . SWUs would clear at booking with just a little flexibility.
Towards the end, the SWUs became useless, since I can’t take the risk of it not clearing. And I became free agent (with lifetime Plat status).
Hopefully you’ll have a decent flight, perhaps supplemented by some Spanish Jamon for the flight back.
Yeah, I am lucky that it’s a perk rather than a necessity for both of us. We’d of course rather fly up front, but we still get Flagship First check in, will eat in the lounge, and don’t care about wine on the plane. I won’t sleep much in economy, and my back does suffer, but as long as I can get up and walk around a few times, I’ll be fine.
Didn’t mean to offend, no indication was given on your status (which can be of some minor benefit in this scenario) so I was just trying to help. Carry on.
Oh sorry! Not the least bit offended, but I can see now that what wrote might come off as huffy “Don’t you think I know what I’m doing,” for which I apologize. I didn’t mean it that way. I just wanted everyone to know I wasn’t hoping for miracles, that’s all. Don’t mind hearing all about how others do it, or sharing my status. And if any of us objected to unsolicited advice, we definitel don’t belong on WB! 
Sometimes when I’m changing flights the day-of for business travel, I’ll see that I’m taking the last available seat in first class and feel bad knowing that I’m crushing the hopes of someone watching their position on the upgrade list. Of course, I’ve been on the receiving end many times! Agony indeed!
All’s well that ends well - we both got upgraded.