Few things are more disheartening than getting on an airplane and walking through a business-class or a first-class cabin on the way to your seat in the back of a plane. As passengers sip on their welcome cocktails, you begrudgingly wheel your carry-on suitcase in front of you praying there’s space for it in the overhead compartment.

What if we told you that you can be one of the people sipping on a drink as others pass you by down the aisle?

The first thing you must know about upgrades on American Airlines is that there’s no single best way to get an upgrade on your flight. It’s true that in most cases, you have to be an elite flyer—at the least, elite status increases your chances of success. However, mere mortals without status can secure a seat upfront, too.

In this article, we’ll discuss the differences between complimentary upgrades and systemwide upgrades. Then, we’ll talk about upgrading cash fares with American Airlines miles and whether you should do it or book an award ticket outright.

Once you learn how to upgrade to first class on American Airlines, you’ll never have to walk to the back of the plane again.

American Airlines boarding gate with seating area and check-in counter at the airport terminal.

How the American Airlines First-Class Upgrade System Works

To upgrade your American Airlines flight to first class, you have a few options, including using systemwide upgrades, being an elite status member through American Airlines’ AAdvantage program, and using miles or cash to pay for an upgrade.

Before we dive in, let’s establish how exactly American Airlines upgrades work on domestic and international flights.

When flying on a domestic route, you get the following options for cabins of service: basic economy, main cabin and first.

If you have elite status with American Airlines AAdvantage, you keep upgrade privileges on basic-economy tickets. For non-elites, basic-economy tickets are ineligible for upgrades.

Based on elite status, you can get upgraded to a complimentary preferred seat in the main cabin, such as a seat with extra legroom. Otherwise, if you booked a main cabin fare, you’re eligible for an upgrade to first class on flights marketed and operated by American within the United States (including Hawaii), and between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean and Central America.

On international flights, American Airlines aircraft are configured with more classes of service: main cabin, premium economy, business and first class. Crucially, you can only ever upgrade to the next class of service—that means you could upgrade from a main cabin fare to premium economy, but not to first class.

While American Airlines offers complimentary upgrades for its elite members on domestic and short-haul international flights, it doesn’t offer them on international flights. Instead, you need to use systemwide upgrades (SWUs) or pay with a combination of miles and cash to upgrade on international flights. However, there are certain rules concerning eligibility for these types of upgrades.

Let’s now look at the different types of upgrades for American Airlines flights.

Complimentary Upgrades

Complimentary upgrades are the ultimate way to get upgraded on an American Airlines flight. They’re also the least guaranteed.

All AAdvantage elites are eligible for unlimited, auto-requested complimentary upgrades on American Airlines-marketed and -operated flights within the U.S. (including Hawaii), and between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Bermuda and Central America.

As an AAdvantage elite member (Gold or higher), you can have one companion on the same flight upgraded with you. However, your companion must be on the same reservation as you to qualify for an auto-requested complimentary upgrade—otherwise, you’ll need to contact American Airlines and request a complimentary upgrade for your companion.

Likewise, if you have more than one companion booked on the same reservation as you, you’ll need to contact American Airlines and request an upgrade for yourself and one of your companions—multi-passenger reservations don’t qualify for auto-requested complimentary upgrades.

When you contact the reservations team, you can opt to split your reservation or keep it as one, for the purposes of upgrades. If you keep it as a single reservation, there will need to be two spots available for both you and your companion to be confirmed for an upgrade; if you split your reservation, only one of you may receive an upgrade if seats are available.

As already mentioned, elite members retain upgrade privileges on basic economy fares. That means you can also have up to one companion on the same flight upgraded with you when flying basic economy.

However, data points suggest that this can be difficult in practice. Specifically, companions who are non-elites traveling on a basic economy fare sometimes experience difficulties as American Airlines’ system doesn’t always automatically recognize their eligibility for upgrades. If you experience this, reach out to the reservations team.

Depending on the level of status you hold with American Airlines AAdvantage, you can get notified of a confirmed complimentary upgrade as early as:

  • 120 hours before departure for ConciergeKey® members
  • 100 hours before departure for AAdvantage Executive Platinum® members
  • 72 hours before departure for AAdvantage Platinum Pro® members
  • 48 hours before departure for AAdvantage Platinum® members
  • 24 hours before departure for AAdvantage Gold® members

Elite members are also eligible for complimentary, auto-requested upgrades when flying with Alaska Airlines, as long as they are traveling on a non-Saver fare and have listed their AAdvantage number on their reservation. You can also have your companion put on the upgrade list automatically, as long as they’re flying on the same flight and are booked on the same reservation as you.

Executive Platinum and Platinum Pro members can receive upgrade confirmation as early as 120 hours before departure when flying with Alaska.

Keep in mind that although complimentary upgrades are unlimited and are available to all elite flyers, the competition is strong on every flight. The lower your elite tier is, the less of a chance of receiving an upgrade you have.

So, if you’re not sure about whether your upgrade based on your elite status would clear, it’s best to have a backup plan. Luckily, American Airlines offers its flyers many opportunities to fly like a rock star.

Systemwide Upgrades

If you want a better chance of securing an upgrade than that offered by auto-requested complimentary upgrades, American Airlines’ top-tier elites can leverage systemwide upgrades (SWUs) to increase their odds.

Once you earn 175,000 loyalty points, you’ll be able to choose a Loyalty Point Reward, one of which is two systemwide upgrades.

Thereafter, you can receive additional systemwide upgrades when you reach further loyalty point milestones and select them as your Loyalty Point Reward. Here’s a full rundown of how many systemwide upgrades you can nominate as your reward at each loyalty point milestone:

  • 175,000 Loyalty Points—Two systemwide upgrades
  • 250,000 Loyalty Points—Two systemwide upgrades
  • 400,000 Loyalty Points—One systemwide upgrade
  • 550,000 Loyalty Points—One systemwide upgrade
  • 750,000 Loyalty Points—One systemwide upgrade
  • 1 million Loyalty Points—Four systemwide upgrades
  • 3 million Loyalty Points—Six systemwide upgrades
  • 5 million Loyalty Points—10 systemwide upgrades

Those with Million Miler status receive four systemwide upgrades when reaching two million miles and a further four systemwide upgrades for every Million Mile level reached thereafter.

Systemwide upgrades are eligible for usage with paid fares only—government fares, codeshare flights and award tickets are ineligible. These confirmed upgrades receive top priority and are good toward the next class of service for most fares.

As long as your itinerary has a minimum of one American-marketed flight, you can apply systemwide upgrades to the following types of flights:

  • American Airlines-marketed and -operated flights
  • British Airways-marketed and -operated transatlantic flights
  • British Airways-operated transatlantic flights marketed by American

On American Airlines flights, systemwide upgrades allow you to upgrade business fares to first-class fares. For economy fares, systemwide upgrades allow for different options depending on the aircraft and destination you’re flying to.

In a three-cabin configured aircraft, you can upgrade from economy and premium economy fares to business fares. In a two-cabin configured aircraft, you can upgrade economy fares to first-class fares on domestic flights and economy fares to business fares on short-haul international flights.

On British Airways flights, systemwide upgrades can be used to upgrade business fares to first, premium economy to business and economy to premium economy.

You don’t have to use systemwide upgrades on flights for yourself. You can apply these to anyone’s ticket whether you fly together or not.

Systemwide upgrades can be applied for one-way travel on a maximum of up to three segments, with no stopovers allowed. Not all flights have upgrade availability, so you should search for fares with the systemwide upgrade link next to them when booking your flight. When you click this link, you’ll see what types of upgrades are available and for which segments of your journey. You’ll need to be logged into your AAdvantage account for systemwide upgrades to show up in your search page.

Some systemwide upgrades can be applied for online while others require you to call the reservations team.

Keep in mind that systemwide upgrades are valid through the status membership year, which begins when you reach status and will last through March 31 of the following year. You need to use the upgrade before its expiration date but your flight can occur afterward.

Mileage Upgrades

American Airlines retired the old “miles + co-pay” upgrade chart. Instead, you’ll see Instant Upgrade offers—priced dynamically in miles (or cash)—right in your trip on aa.com or the app. When an Instant Upgrade is available, it confirms immediately and there’s no cash co-pay when using miles. If you don’t see an offer, it isn’t available for that flight. You can request Instant Upgrades with miles up to 24 hours before departure (cash any time before departure). Eligibility currently requires an American-marketed & operated (or American Eagle) flight and that the ticket was purchased within the 50 U.S. states; American says more countries will be added.

How to Request

Open your itinerary on aa.com or in the American app and look for an Instant Upgrade offer to Premium Economy, Flagship Business, or the next higher cabin where eligible seats exist. Tap to upgrade and you’ll get instant confirmation if it’s offered.

Sunset of the Old Mileage Upgrade Awards

Legacy mileage upgrade award requests were only accepted through Aug 11, 2025 (11:59 p.m. CT). Starting Aug 12, 2025, American Airlines stopped accepting new requests under the old chart. Existing confirmed upgrades will be honored, and American will continue working waitlists; after Aug 12, 2025, you can cancel and get miles reinstated (co-pays aren’t refunded), but no changes to those upgrades are allowed. For legacy requests made between June 12–Aug 11, 2025, your one-way trip must begin by Dec 31, 2025 (11:59 p.m. CT) and complete by Jan 1, 2026 (12:00 a.m. CT).

For non-elites, mileage upgrades are one of your only options for landing yourself at the front of the plane on American Airlines (or British Airways or Iberia) metal.

Use British Airways Avios for Upgrades

You can use Avios to upgrade a paid ticket by one cabin on British Airways, Iberia, and American Airlines when upgrade space is available. In practice, this works best on BA-marketed itineraries (BA flight number). The higher cabin must have reward-seat availability, and not all fares qualify—lowest Economy and some bulk/tour fares are excluded. Pricing is simple: you pay the Avios difference between the cabin you booked and the cabin you’re moving to, with taxes/fees/charges still applying. To upgrade, go to Manage My Booking and select “Upgrade with Avios,” or use BA’s “Book and upgrade” flow at purchase.

Upgrade with Cash

Paid flights can be upgraded with cash if you choose to shell out additional money for a more comfortable seat. This is another way non-elites can upgrade their American Airlines flight ticket.

If you booked a flight and want to see your options, go to Find Trip and fill in the blank cell with your last name and your PNR. Once your reservation comes up, scroll to the bottom and check your cash upgrade options. You can also find cash upgrade offers by logging into the AAdvantage app and going to your upcoming trips.

If your ticket type is eligible for an upgrade, you’ll see the cost there. It’s going to be up to you to decide whether the upgrade cost is reasonable.

American Airlines Upgrade Priority Explained

Whether you’re looking to upgrade with cash, miles, a complimentary upgrade or a systemwide upgrade, it’s important to understand that not all upgrade requests are treated equally by American Airlines.

In fact, there’s a specific order of priority that’s applied to clearing upgrades.

When considering upgrade requests, priority is given to these elements in the following order:

  1. Your AAdvantage status tier
  2. The type of upgrade you’ve requested
  3. The number of loyalty points you’ve earned in the last 12 months

The level of status you hold within the American Airlines AAdvantage program is the number one determinant of upgrade eligibility. ConciergeKey members receive the highest priority, followed by Executive Platinum, Platinum Pro and then Gold.

After that, your upgrade priority within each AAdvantage status tier will be determined based on the type of upgrade request, the number of loyalty points you earned in the last 12 months, as well as the booking class, and the date and time you requested an upgrade.

The next most important factor in determining upgrade eligibility after status is the type of upgrade requested. Systemwide upgrades and mileage award upgrades receive joint-highest priority. Complimentary upgrades receive the next highest priority thereafter.

If there are any ties between elites for upgrade priority, this will be settled by the number of loyalty points each elite has earned within the last 12 months.

Lastly, American Airlines prioritizes certain fare types over others, as well as the date and time the upgrade was requested. However, elites will always trump those without elite status when it comes to upgrade priority.

American Airlines boarding gate counter at New York JFK Airport

How to Earn American Airlines Upgrades with the Business Extra Program

Small-business owners are free to join American Airlines’ AAdvantage Business™ program to earn points toward future upgrades, among other perks.

The AAdvantage Business program rewards both the individual passenger and the company for which he or she travels. Simply add your AAdvantage Business number when employees book travel and earn more rewards for the same trip. Businesses are rewarded with extra miles while travelers are rewarded with extra loyalty points.

This way, you’ll accumulate a greater number of miles and loyalty points faster, making mileage award upgrades and status-conferred complimentary upgrades more likely.

Consider This Before Upgrading

Whether or not you should upgrade a flight after booking depends on your personal preferences and financial circumstances, but here are some important caveats to consider before choosing to upgrade a flight.

Skip the Upgrade: Book an Award Ticket with Miles

The only way to guarantee you fly in a cushy seat with nice amenities, especially on a long-haul international flight, is to pay for the ticket up front. This is the only foolproof method to fly in a premium cabin for those without airline elite status.

Of course, we at 10xTravel rarely pay for business-class tickets with cash, if ever, so miles to the rescue.

American Airlines is a Oneworld partner, which means you can use plenty of programs to book American flights with miles, including British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Qatar Privilege Club and Alaska Mileage Plan. It goes without saying that American’s own program, AAdvantage, is quite useful for booking award flights as well.

Depending on your itinerary, some frequent-flyer programs might be better than others. We suggest searching for award flights with multiple programs to check all the redemption options and find the best rate.

If you don’t have elite status with AAdvantage, booking a premium cabin ticket with miles is typically far cheaper than booking with cash and then paying an additional amount to upgrade. Not to mention, booking an award ticket guarantees you a spot in the premium cabin.

Evaluating the Worth of an Upgrade

Whether or not an upgrade is worth it depends on what you expect from your flight. Do you expect a lie-flat seat and bottomless champagne? Or do you simply need to get from point A to point B?

If you’re an elite member and receive a complimentary upgrade from your status, then yes, the answer is quite obvious—you should take the upgrade. Similar logic applies to systemwide upgrades. If your American Airlines upgrade expires soon and you have a trip before it does, why not use it to secure an upgrade to a higher class or service?

However, if you have to shell out extra money or even miles for an upgrade, ask yourself if you really need it. Do you have a physical condition, such as a broken leg, that means you would feel more comfortable in a lie-flat seat? Are you tall enough for others to ask if you play basketball and need the extra legroom? Do you need to arrive at your destination ready to attend a business meeting? Then yes, you should probably try to secure that upgrade on a long-haul flight.

Unless you’re an elite American Airlines flyer, the best way to secure that lie-flat seat is by redeeming miles for a business-class award fare from the get go. Otherwise, upgrading a cash ticket will either require purchasing a significantly more expensive ticket, cost you a hefty fee on top of that or not be possible at all based on the fare code you bought.

Final Thoughts

Flying upfront is a desire for many travelers, especially those traveling long distances. Who hasn’t thought about getting a taste of that bougie life even for a moment? Luckily, it’s possible to achieve an American Airlines upgrade by either holding elite status or having access to some AAdvantage miles.

Although the options are abundant and the process is different for every type of seat upgrade, you’re now familiar with how it all works before you plan your next trip.

Speaking of your next trip, if you need to rack up a few thousand miles before takeoff, sign up to the free 10xTravel course today to learn how to.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you upgrade to first class on American Airlines?

Flyers can get a first-class AA upgrade using a systemwide upgrade, by paying miles and cash to upgrade from a business fare or by holding elite status with AAdvantage.

Is American Airlines upgrade to first class free?

Non-elite members have the option to upgrade to first class by paying with miles, and depending upon the original fare bought, flyers may need to pay with miles and cash to upgrade to the next level of service.

Elite members can receive free upgrades by using their systemwide upgrade certificates or by scoring themselves a complimentary upgrade.

If none of the above options apply, you’ll need to pay cash for your upgrade.

How much does it cost to upgrade to first class on American Airlines?

For non-elite members, American Airlines charges 15,000 AAdvantage miles plus $75 to upgrade to first class from a domestic economy fare.

Can you upgrade to first class on American Airlines after purchase?

Yes, airline passengers can purchase an upgrade to first class after their initial flight ticket purchase.

How do I upgrade my class on American Airlines?

If you’re looking to benefit from complimentary upgrades, you typically don’t need to do anything to receive one—these are auto-requested in American Airlines’ system.

If you want to upgrade with miles, you’ll need to check for availability first and then either contact the reservations team or upgrade online.

For systemwide upgrades, you need to search for flights with the systemwide upgrade link next to them, check availability on each segment and then either request an upgrade online or contact the AAdvantage status service desk.