American Airlines has rolled out the ability for AAdvantage members to request upgrades on Qantas operated services.
The new service is managed by Plusgrade, a company that specialises in managing ‘bid for upgrade’ programs. For example, you may have seen the name when bidding for upgrades on various airlines.
Upgrade with miles, or cash
The basic idea is that as an AAdvantage member, you can use your points to bid for an upgrade on Qantas. On the other hand, you might want to make a cash bid. Interestingly, if you are bidding with points, there is a fixed number of points. However, if you opt to make a cash bid, you can choose your offer (within limits).
Conditions
In this case, the terms and conditions around the upgrade process seem to be modelled on the current Qantas process. This would make sense, as it is Qantas that will be processing the upgrade requests. However, while Qantas is processing the requests, there is nothing in the terms that would indicate where an AAdvantage upgrade fits in the priority list. The only indication given is that the priority includes factors that include oneWorld status.
Other rules gleaned from the upgrade page:
- Upgrades are made of a space available basis. These may be confirmed within 24 hours of departure.
- Processing of upgrades can continue until 10 hours prior to departure for international flights. In the case of domestic flights, processing continues until 5 hours prior to the flight.
- You can apply for an upgrade on most fares. One exception is that international sale fares ineligible.
Final Words
This appears to be the start of the rollout of a broader ability to upgrade across airlines within oneWorld. It will be interesting to see how this rolls out to more combinations of airlines.
