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Who doesn't love a free upgrade? Airlines know this and make first-class upgrades a marquis part of their elite status programs — and American Airlines is no exception. AAdvantage elite status members can get complimentary upgrades on all domestic and short-haul international flights.
That hasn't always been the case. When it first introduced basic economy fares, American Airlines restricted AAdvantage elite members from getting upgrades on basic economy fares. That changed in October 2020 when American Airlines removed many restrictions from its basic economy fares. Now, AAdvantage status members can choose Main Cabin Extra seats, make same-day flight changes, and even score first-class upgrades.
However, travelers in two-player mode should be wary of one hangover from this old American Airlines basic economy restriction. As I've found from experience on several recent flights, companions may not be eligible for the upgrade list if booked in basic economy. While American Airlines published policies don't state this limitation, I confirmed with the airline that this is its current policy.
Here's what to know about American Airlines companion upgrades — and the unwritten restriction on these upgrades.
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American Airlines Basic Economy Companion Upgrade Stated Policy
American Airlines check-in, lounge, gate, and social media agents have all explained that AA's policy is to disallow upgrades for AAdvantage companions booked separately in basic economy. However, American Airlines doesn't explicitly state this restriction anywhere on its website.
On American Airlines basic economy page, the American Airlines publishes its upgrade policy as:
AAdvantage® status members can upgrade from Basic Economy fares for themselves plus 1 companion traveling on the same flight, if they bought their ticket at least 24 hours before departure. Upgrades are only available on flights marketed and operated by American within / between the U.S. (including Hawaii), Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean and Central America.
This policy clarifies that AAdvantage status members will still get upgrades when flying basic economy, but it doesn't state that the companion can't be in basic economy.
However, those are just the short-form rules. Maybe the AAdvantage terms and conditions will elaborate on this policy? Under “general terms and conditions for complimentary upgrade awards,” you'll find the following policy regarding complimentary upgrades for companions:
1. Complimentary upgrades, including the use of any complimentary upgrade benefit on AAdvantage® award tickets, may be available for ConciergeKey®, AAdvantage Executive Platinum®, AAdvantage Platinum Pro®, AAdvantage Platinum® and AAdvantage Gold® members as determined by American Airlines.
2.AAdvantage® Status members may receive a complimentary upgrade for one companion traveling on the same flight.
3. If you are not an AAdvantage® Status member, you may only upgrade when traveling as the companion to an AAdvantage® Status member
Again, the terms don't state that the companion must be booked in Main Cabin to be added to the upgrade list.
My Failed Attempts at Getting Upgraded as a Companion
After nearly a decade of earning AAdvantage elite status, I switched to crediting my American Airlines and Oneworld flights to British Airways Executive Club starting in 2023. Now, my wife (Katie) and I operate in a two-player mode. We use my British Airways status to get lounge access on domestic flights and her AAdvantage elite status to get upgrades on American Airlines.
At least, that's how it's supposed to work.
Related: Why I’m No Longer Crediting Flights to the American Airlines AAdvantage Program
In September, we flew from Austin (AUS) to Chicago O'Hare (ORD) for Chicago Seminars 2024. We booked separate tickets for work reimbursement reasons, but we didn't see any policy that would prevent us from using Katie's status to add me to the upgrade list. But AA's awesome Twitter team, our check-in agent, and the lounge agents could not add me to the upgrade list.
We chalked it up to being a fluke until we flew American Airlines again this past week. Once again, we booked separately as we each needed to use some expiring Trip Credits. And once again, no one at American Airlines could successfully add me to the upgrade list as Katie's companion.
American Airlines Confirms This Policy
Curious about my repeated issues, I reached out to the AAdvantage experts at American Airlines to get clarification on this situation. They confirmed that their current policy restricts companion upgrades when a companion is booked in basic economy on a separate reservation.
It turns out the issue is a technical one. When American Airlines removed the restriction on upgrades on basic economy fares, it seemingly hacked a workaround to turn basic economy fares into standard economy fares for upgrade purposes only. As it was explained to me:
Generally, non-status members' Basic Economy tickets aren't eligible for upgrades. To facilitate upgrades for Status Members, our system automatically adjusts their Basic Economy fares to allow upgrades. It's essentially changed to Main Cabin, without the other Main Cabin perks. Companions traveling on the same reservation, are also adjusted to allow their upgrade. Linking a Main Cabin ticket to a non-status member's Basic Economy ticket doesn't change the Basic Economy ticket's fare type. As such, the system won't update the non-status member's Basic Economy ticket for changes.
American Airlines admits that its current published policy doesn't reflect this nuance, and the AAdvantage team is working to clarify the published policy.
How to Ensure You Can Upgrade Your Companion
If you're an AAdvantage elite member traveling with a companion, you have two ways of ensuring your non-status companion is eligible for a companion upgrade:
- Book the companion as part of the same reservation (PNR) as the status member
- Book the companion in Main Cabin
In either case, the passenger should be eligible to be added to the upgrade list as a companion. The issue is only when both of these aren't the case.
Bottom Line
Admittedly, this is a really niche issue. However, it's likely frustrating for those who are limited by it. American Airlines has had an unwritten restriction on companion upgrades for the past four years, ever since it removed the no-upgrade restriction for AAdvantage status members on basic economy tickets.
And it seems American Airlines isn't getting rid of this restriction anytime soon. So, AAdvantage status members need to either book their companion in the same reservation or in a Main Cabin fare to make them eligible for a companion upgrade.
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