When American Airlines announced program changes for 2024 they highlighted new upgrades with miles on partner airlines. While they’ve been touting the possibility of upgrades on Qantas since 2016 it looked like it might just be the long-delayed oneworld alliance upgrade program which if expected to finally launch this year.
Well, American Airlines upgrades on Qantas are now live. It’s managed by PlusGrade, the company that sells ‘bidding for upgrade’ programs to airlines. And it’s a “cash or miles” upgrade option. Basically you have the ability to upgrade on Qantas, as a Qantas member might, but pay using AAdvantage miles.
- Upgrades are space available, confirmed within 24 hours of departure
- International ‘sale’ fares on Qantas are ineligible though “most fares are eligible”
- You can request an upgrade to multiple cabins, and they’ll try to upgrade to the highest cabin requested first
- Upgrade processing continues to up to 10 hours to departure for international flights and 5 hours for domestic flights
Qantas First Class Seat
Interestingly they set a fixed price for the upgrade in miles, even though bidding is offered when paying by cash. There’s no explicit discussion of how upgrades are prioritized, other than a vague reference to status. In other words, we don’t know if oneworld status will be treated on par or below Qantas status in prioritizing requests.
And, it turns out, this appears to be the oneworld upgrade program. That’s at least what the terms and conditions say (“oneworld Upgrade Request Terms and Conditions”). And that’s really disappointing, since Star Alliance at least offers an upgrade program on the highest fares that allows for upgrades to be confirmed at booking, or in some cases a month prior to departure. Having the ability to spend miles in lieu of cash for upgrades into available seats inside the check-in window seems like weak sauce, though perhaps better than nothing.
Qantas First Class Cabin
Qantas First Class Lounge, Sydney
Meanwhile American’s Iberia and British Airways upgrades remain in place as a direct program without change in rules. Other airlines besides Qantas are expected to be offered through this PlusGrade process in the future.
(HT: mrp alert)
I wonder if a Qantas upgrade will be less than 100,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles so passengers can enjoy a ramekin of warm nuts with a Diet Coke served in a plastic cup.
Wow. We waited 8 years for this? For a 3rd party bidding site with vague and opaque terms and conditions. Cool AA/Qantas. Thanks for “this”.
Does it have to be a paid ticket? Or can it be award miles used? I saw YT vlogger Alan Law, last year do a FC review on Qantas. He bid for his Qantas upgrade from business to FC for 60k points, but I dont know what program he did this through.
Where’s JAL?
Update: I can’t find a good award flight for my current itinerary. So, I’m testing this new feature out. I booked an Award ticket SYD – LAX for 40k points economy with Qantas. Today, I went to utilize this new feature. My upgrade from economy to business would be 94,600 miles – which is not terrible at all. I was hoping once I logged in, my EX PLAT status would give me a better rate but no. There is also a cash option, which is too expensive.
I would like to see upgrades confirmed more than 24 hrs in advance. Also once the upgrade is confirmed, you cannot change or cancel.
Insightful read! Your analysis on American Airlines’ mileage upgrades adds clarity to the aviation landscape. Great job!