American Airlines Systemwide Upgrades Extended Through July 2022

by Gary Leff

At the start of the pandemic American said that confirmed upgrades which were earned for 2020 were extended to July 31, 2021.

These are upgrades given to Executive Platinum and Concierge Key members and to those achieving 2 million mile status and each million miles thereafter).

The extension meant members could book travel and confirm it until that point, even for trips that occurred afterward. However Europe is just starting to re-open, and Asia generally hasn’t done so yet.

Against that backdrop I reported two weeks ago to expect announcements from American Airlines at the start of June:

  • Extending systemwide upgrade expiration again

  • Offering further incentives for earning elite status this year, since both United and Delta have gone much farther than American has

It appears that the American Airlines IT shop is out ahead of their Corporate Communications team, because systemwide upgrades have already been extended in accounts. (HT: Joe H.)

This means customers will have through the end of July 2022 to confirm upgrades for travel that may stretch out at that time into early June 2023, even. I’m looking forward to the official announcement, of course, and additional news that should be coming out of AAdvantage.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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  1. My systemwide upgrades still show as being valid through July 31, 2021. Granted they are applied to a ticket already in the next couple of months that I may not be able to take. So I wonder if I have to cancel in order for them to be properly updated.

  2. That is great – I saw the extension in my account a few hrs ago – as soon as initial reports appeared on Flyertalk.

  3. Hi Gary. Is AA also planning on extending the systemwide upgrades that are scheduled to expire on Jan 31, 2022 to July 31, 2022?

  5. @Gary – Can I use (now extended) systemwides in my account during 2022, even if I don’t retain EXP status next year, or do they need to be booked before my status drops?

  6. @PDS you can use SWUs even if you don’t maintain status, but your priority on the waitlist will be based on your new status level.

  7. My SWU’s deposited in August 2019 are still showing an expiration date of Jul 31, 2021…

  8. I asked AA about non-US citizens living overseas re extension of EXPlat,
    it’s a wait and see. Many countries closed and impossible to travel. Will AA extend status again?

  9. @JH – my intuition was incorrect, I’m told “only active SWUs set to expire in 2021 are being extended. So those certs expiring January 31, 2022, still expire on that date.”

  10. @Gary

    Do you know what is defined as “active SWUs set to expire in 2021?” Does this mean that systemwide that have already been applied for a future trip that are set to expire on July 31, 2021 will be extended if they have been deducted from my account. Or are they not considered active since they have been deducted?

    If the latter, if I cancel and ask them to be returned to my account as American Airlines website states will they then be considered active and extended through July 31, 2022?

    Thanks

  11. Thanks Gary. Mine show updated to 2022. Great news and a smart move on AA’s part.

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