Flights less than 500 miles – If you’re a Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro or Executive Platinum member, you’ll automatically be added to the upgrade list for flights under 500 miles. There’s no need to use a 500-mile upgrade. (Screenshot courtesy of aa.com) Note that any non-elite companions on your reservation won’t be auto-upgraded with you. If you have one non-elite companion on your reservation, you can use a 500-mile upgrade to upgrade them. If you’re traveling with multiple non-elite companions, unfortunately, you’ll need to pick your favorite one and call AA to request that they be added to the upgrade list.
Can you use 500-mile upgrades on flights?
Using 500-mile upgrades – First, it’s important to know where you can and can’t use 500-mile upgrades. They can only be used for travel within North America on eligible American Airlines-marketed and -operated flights. That means you can’t use 500-mile upgrades on Alaska-operated flights sold by American Airlines, or American Airlines-operated flights sold by a partner.
The good news is that it’s not just for flights within the continental 48 states. You can use 500-mile upgrades on flights to Hawaii and between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Bermuda and Central America. Further, as of January 2021, you can use 500-mile upgrades on basic economy tickets.
One important restriction to keep in mind: You must be a current elite member to use 500-mile upgrades. If you’ve lost status and still have a few upgrades in your account, you must regain status to be able to use them.
How do I get a 500-mile upgrade certificate?
How to earn 500-mile upgrades – Earning 500-mile upgrade certificates is very straightforward — Gold and Platinum AA flyers earn four upgrades for every 12,500 Elite Qualifying Miles earned with American Airlines, between Feb.1 and Jan 31 of each year. And anyone with American Airlines elite status can also purchase them for $40 each.
What are AAdvantage’s 500-mile upgrades?
American is exchanging 500-mile upgrades for Loyalty Points – (Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto/Getty Images) Recently, American announced that it will phase out 500-mile upgrades this year. For each unused 500-mile upgrade certificate, AAdvantage members will automatically receive 250 Loyalty Points. It might seem counterintuitive to be excited about an airline taking upgrades away from its members, but as I mentioned, I can’t use these 500-mile upgrades without AAdvantage status.
- At 250 Loyalty Points per upgrade, my 20 500-mile upgrades will provide 5,000 Loyalty Points.
- This will get me roughly 16% of the way to AAdvantage Gold, which requires 30,000 Loyalty Points.
- As for my grandfather, his 84 500-mile upgrades will convert to 21,000 Loyalty Points, more than two-thirds of the 30,000 Loyalty Points required for AAdvantage Gold.
Removing these certificates will also make the upgrade process more seamless for low-level elite members. All American elite members will be eligible for complimentary upgrades on domestic and short-haul international flights without needing to apply upgrade certificates.
What are upgrades on American Airlines?
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 to the next class of service.
How many miles does it take to upgrade American Airlines?
Under American Airlines ‘ old system, for flights greater than 500 miles, Platinum and Gold members had to use 500 – mile upgrade certificates to upgrade their flights. Now, all elites are eligible for complimentary upgrades.
Is American Airlines Mileage multiplier a good deal?
Slightly better than the multiplier, but buying miles is limited to 40,000 miles a year, so the multiplier might make sense if you need to buy more than 40,000 a year. So is it a good deal? It depends on your needs.
How to redeem miles through American Airlines?
- Redeem for flights on American. One of the simplest ways to redeem your miles is on flights operated by American.
- Redeem for flights on partner airlines. In general,redeeming your miles for a flight on a partner airline will cost you the same amount of miles as redeeming them for
- Upgrade your seats.
- Other ways to redeem.
- The bottom line.
What is 500 mile upgrade American Airlines?
What Is a 500 – Mile Upgrade? A 500 – mile upgrade on American Airlines is the capability of any elite status passenger to upgrade to the next class of service on qualifying routes, in 500 – mile increments, using a 500 – mile certificate.
