American Airlines killed miles + co-pay upgrade options and the award chart a couple of weeks ago, but its “instant upgrades” are not so instant.
What Were Mileage Co-Pay Upgrades?
On some routes, American Airlines would allow passengers to use miles and cash to secure a seat in either Premium Economy, Business Class, or First Class. The upgrades would clear last after eVIPs used by Executive Platinum and any gate-level upgrades were made or sold. Travelers would only pay the miles and co-pay upon clearing. This is the co-pay chart as it was:
There were some particularly attractive options on the chart, with Hong Kong, China, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East offering the most value for money.
American Airlines Replaces Co-Pays With Instant Upgrades
As an Executive Platinum member of American Airlines, loyal (mostly) to the brand for mor than 20 years, and a travel blogger of dubious quality, somehow this news slipped past me. In fact, I called earlier this week to apply one as I would be one eVIP short for a family trip and was told that not only was the program going away, but it had gone away the prior week, ending August 12th, 2025.
Worse still, Instant Upgrades that should have replaced the system were unavailable at the time of booking, something the airline promotes. What’s confusing about this is that we already knew that the systemwide upgrades would clear, so upgrades were available, and in the case of eVIPs, they were also instant. But for the fifth passenger, the upgrade was not available in miles or cash.
Passengers Who Utilized Them
The old system was perfect for elites who might have run out of eVIPs, or are traveling with more family members than their systemwide balances allow. It’s also ideal for members that are willing to risk coach but also willing to pay more for a better experience on an as-needed basis. Just last year, my mother-in-law used one of these to move to business class and cleared as a lowly Gold on a basic economy mistake fare. It was absolutely worth it to her, and for the trip I was booking, it would have been worth it to me.
The new system doesn’t appear to work as well and while it could have been my anecdotal situation, the conditions were perfect. If not then, when?
Conclusion
I didn’t love the old system of miles + co-pay for every flight, but in the right moment, it was a great tool to use. Instant Upgrades have replaced this system, but in my experience were neither offered instantly nor resulted in an upgrade.
What do you think? Have you had success with Instant Upgrades? Do you prefer the old system?
SWUs. No one calls then eVIPs anymore.
Every price scheme is “flim-flam” .
Every AI interaction is incidious .
If the price of anything is higher than expected , postpone the trip .
Everyone prefers the old system, though I imagine there will be some very low pricing on winter TATL upgrades.which could be attractive.
And look, I know I’m tough on your writing, but could you really try to stop using the term “eVIP?” American stopped using that nomenclature in 2012. Nuance matters, and I promise it’ll make you sound like a more informed, credible writer.