So this is pretty interesting. The other day I was browsing the American Airlines Flyertalk forum and came across a thread discussing upgrade notification emails. Specifically, the thread was asking what happened to the automated emails you used to receive when your American Airlines upgrade clears. Most of the people writing in the thread agreed that these emails aren’t being sent any more. Many cite the fact that nowadays upgrades typically only clear at the airport. Each year it becomes rarer and rarer to have an upgrade clear well before a scheduled departure.
I Recently Received An Upgrade Notification Email
This is where things get interesting. I recently booked an award ticket home for Christmas. I booked the flight with British Airways Avios so I never even considered receiving an upgrade. Then, about 100 hours before my scheduled departure I received an email which notified me that my upgrade cleared.
This situation is exciting for two reasons. The first reason is that this is my first flight as an Executive Platinum elite member. I’ve heard gripes from veteran frequent flyers that Executive Platinum “isn’t what it use to be,” but so far I’ve had an extremely positive experience. This is the first time I can ever remember an upgrade clearing before my schedule departure. I’m also excited that this upgrade cleared on an award ticket and that it cleared 100 hours out. I couldn’t believe the upgrade cleared so early considering I’m flying home for Christmas and I presume the flight will be full.
The second reason this situation is interesting is that it proves American is still sending out Upgrade Confirmation emails. Perhaps this practice recently started back up again, but either way the airline is definitely still sending these emails out. I personally don’t care if I get an email or not because I receive seat change notifications from the American mobile app. When my upgrade cleared this time I received both and email and a seat change notification to my new seat. Surprisingly the first class cabin still had 10 open first class seats at T-100 however that number has since shrunk to 7.
Final Thoughts
I realize this isn’t terribly useful information to most, but I found it interesting that I came across this Flyertalk thread just days before receiving one of these upgrade confirmation emails. While I don’t care if I get an email or not I’m sure there are others who would still prefer to receive one when their upgrade clears. This way they can go in and quickly select their preferred first class seat instead of getting stuck in a less desirable seat.
I also found this situation interesting because my upgrade cleared so early. While yes the flight departs at 9PM on a Wednesday, I was still surprised. Upgrade or not I don’t actually plan on taking this flight. Instead I’m still hoping to switch to the earlier flight for free thanks to waived same-day flight change fees. I don’t mind giving up a domestic first class seat on a one hour flight if it means I can get home several hours earlier. Who knows, maybe my upgrade will clear on the earlier flight too?
