American Airlines Systemwide Upgrades: How to Use Them
There are several ways to upgrade an American Airlines flight. You can upgrade your flight by using American miles or accepting a paid offer. American Airlines systemwide upgrades are available to those with high-level elite status or AAdvantage million milers. Here’s what you need to know about American Airlines systemwide upgrades.
What are American Airlines systemwide upgrades?
You can use an American Airlines systemwide upgrade to change a paid fare to the next class of service one-way for up to three segments. As long as your trip has at least one American-marketed flight, you can use an American Airlines systemwide upgrade for the following:
American Airlines-marketed and -operated flights
British Airways-marketed and -operated transatlantic flights
- British Airways-operated transatlantic flights marketed by American
- ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
- On American Airlines flights, you can use a systemwide upgrade to go from:
Business to first class
Economy or premium economy to business on a three-cabin aircraft
- Economy to first for domestic flights on a two-cabin aircraft
- Economy to business for short-haul international flights on a two-cabin aircraft
- Meanwhile, on transatlantic British Airways flights, you can use a systemwide upgrade to go from:
- Business to first class
Premium economy to business
- Economy to premium economy
- You can only use a systemwide upgrade on individual published fare tickets. You can’t use systemwide upgrades to upgrade AAdvantage award tickets, free tickets, military or other government fares, opaque fares, infant tickets or extra seats you’ve purchased.
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Related: Why (and how) I’m earning AAdvantage Platinum Pro elite status and not going for AAdvantage Executive Platinum
How to earn systemwide upgrades
The Loyalty Point Rewards program is one way to earn American Airlines systemwide upgrades. Systemwide upgrades are a choice (in other words, you must select them instead of other rewards) at the following Loyalty Point milestones each qualification period:
175,000 Loyalty Points
: You get one reward choice at this milestone; one option is two systemwide upgrades.
- 250,000 Loyalty Points: You get two reward choices at this milestone; one option is two systemwide upgrades.
- 400,000 Loyalty Points: You get two reward choices at this milestone; one option is one systemwide upgrade.
- 550,000 Loyalty Points: You get two reward choices at this milestone; one option is one systemwide upgrade.
- 750,000 Loyalty Points: You get two reward choices at this milestone; one option is one systemwide upgrade.
- 1 million Loyalty Points: You get one reward choice at this milestone; one option is four systemwide upgrades.
- 3 million Loyalty Points: You get one reward choice at this milestone; one option is six systemwide upgrades.
- 5 million Loyalty Points: You get one reward choice at this milestone; one option is 10 systemwide upgrades.
- ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUYAs a reminder, Platinum Pro status requires 125,000 Loyalty Points each qualification period, and Executive Platinum status requires 200,000 Loyalty Points. You won’t have the option to select any systemwide upgrade if you achieve Platinum Pro status by earning 125,000 Loyalty points during this qualification period. You’ll only get the opportunity to select at most two systemwide upgrades if you earn Executive Platinum status with 200,000 Loyalty Points during this qualification period.
AAdvantage members with American Airlines Million Miler status can also earn systemwide upgrades when they reach specific milestones. When you earn 2 million miles towards AAdvantage’s Million Miler status, you will receive four systemwide upgrade. Then, for each subsequent 1 million miles you earn toward Million Miler status, you’ll get four more systemwide upgrades.
Related: How American Airlines sucked me back into AAdvantage with Loyalty Points
When do American Airlines systemwide upgrades expire?
Systemwide upgrades currently expire one year after they’re deposited in your account. However, AAdvantage recently announced that starting March 1, 2025, they will be valid through the status membership year.
American Airlines 777-200 business class cabin. The best credit cards for American Airlines flyers
How to use American Airlines systemwide upgrade
Travelers tend to use systemwide upgrade in one of three ways:
To book a flight with system AAdvantage is also extending the expiration date of systemwide upgrades you earned between March 1, 2024, and Feb. 28, 2025, through March 31, 2026.
Although you must use the systemwide upgrade to confirm an upgrade before its expiration date, travel can occur after the expiration date.
Related: Best credit cards for American Airlines flyers
How to use American Airlines systemwide upgrades
Travelers tend to use American Airlines systemwide upgrades in one of three ways:
- To book a flight with systemwide availability and immediately apply the upgrade
- To set up award alerts for flights they’ve already booked that don’t currently have systemwide availability and apply the upgrade as soon as availability appears
- To waitlist for upgrades on long-haul flights they’ve already booked
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Since 2016, my husband and I have used 64 systemwide upgrades on long-haul flights of seven or more hours using the first two strategies. So, let’s explore how to use American Airlines systemwide upgrades.
How to find systemwide availability
Finding systemwide availability is perhaps the most difficult part of using systemwide upgrades. American Airlines encourages its members with systemwide upgrades to log into their accounts on the American Airlines website and then look for flights with a “Systemwide upgrades” link on the results page.
AA.COM
Once you find a flight option with this link, you can click the link to see what classes currently have systemwide upgrade availability. If you’re looking at a multisegment option, you can see which segments have systemwide upgrade availability.
AA.COM
Using the American Airlines website can help you find systemwide upgrade availability, especially if you tend to book last-minute paid flights.
But most travelers will find it easier to sign up for a paid membership with ExpertFlyer (owned by TPG’s parent company, Red Ventures). You can search for availability of upgrades and set alerts on individual flights. You’ll need to find availability in the following fare buckets to use a systemwide upgrade:
- Business to first on three-cabin American Airlines flights: A
- Other upgrades on American Airlines flights: C
- Business to first on British Airways flights: Z
- Premium economy to business on British Airways flights: U
- Economy to premium economy on British Airways flights: P
Using ExpertFlyer, you can search for A and C upgrade availability on American Airlines flights using the “Awards & Upgrades” section. ExpertFlyer will give you the best results when you search systemwide upgrade availability segment-by-segment. So, I recommend using the “Connection Preference” drop-down to select only direct flights.
EXPERTFLYER.COM
On the results screen, the “Seats” column indicates how many seats are likely bookable with systemwide upgrades. To receive an upgrade alert for a specific flight that doesn’t currently have upgrade availability, click the exclamation mark next to the result.
EXPERTFLYER.COM
I highly recommend setting up upgrade alerts segment by segment for any flights to which you hope to apply systemwide upgrades. It is much better to upgrade your flight before AAdvantage has processed your waitlisted requests. You’ll find a tile labelled “Systemwide Upgrade” under “Seat coupons upgrades and passes.” “
AA.COM
Click on this tile to see more information about your systemwide upgrades, including when systemwide upgrades were deposited in your account and which systemwide upgrades you’ve redeemed.
AA.COM
Now you can redeem systemwide upgrade certificates online. To request a systemwide upgrade online, click the “Use systemwide upgrades” button and then enter your last name and confirmation code on the page that loads.
AA.COM
An informative page will load discussing how to apply systemwide upgrades online.
AA.COM
Then you can select a flight for which you’d like to request a systemwide upgrade. In this case, the request would be waitlisted instead of confirmed since there isn’t currently any systemwide availability on that flight.
AA.COM
Previously, you had to call the reservations line to apply systemwide upgrades, which was often time-consuming. Unfortunately, you’ll still need to call to apply a systemwide upgrade to some trips, including when you depart from an airport requiring payment of premium taxes, fly on a British Airways transatlantic flight or have three or more passengers on your reservation.
If there isn’t any upgrade space on your flight(s), you can waitlist your request for flights operated by American Airlines. Waitlisted requests will clear in order based on the following priority:
Status level
Upgrade type
- 12-month rolling Loyalty Points
- Booking code
- Date and time of the waitlist request
- ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
- If you’ve waitlisted your request but haven’t cleared the waitlist by the time you check in, AAdvantage will add you to the airport upgrade standby list. If your upgrade clears from the airport upgrade standby list, AAdvantage will deduct a systemwide upgrade from your account.
Finally, if you’ve cleared a systemwide upgrade but need to cancel your trip before you depart, call AAdvantage and ask to reinstate your systemwide upgrade(s).
Related: Last-minute strategies for earning American AAdvantage elite status
How do you earn miles when you use a systemwide upgrade?
Unfortunately, you’ll still earn American Airlines miles and Loyalty Points based on the fare class and cabin you originally booked.
Can someone else use my systemwide upgrade?
You can use your systemwide upgrades for anyone you choose, even if you’re not traveling with them. The terms and conditions of systemwide upgrades say that you cannot sell or advertise your upgrade for money or any other consideration. So, although you can gift your systemwide upgrades to friends, family members or lucky strangers, you shouldn’t receive anything in return.
Bottom line
When you can clear American Airlines systemwide upgrades on long-haul international flights, they’re extremely valuable, and it feels like a big win. It’s certainly possible to clear systemwide upgrades just days before your flight (or even at the airport), but it’s also possible to do so months in advance.
