Confirmed: AAdvantage Systemwide Upgrades Can Now Be Used On British Airways, BAEC Gold Members Receive Two Certificates To Use On AA

Last week I wrote about American Airlines and British Airways enhancing their upgrade partnership and it’s now confirmed that customers can use their American Systemwide Upgrades on British Airways flights (and vice versa).

Additionally, eligible British Airways Executive Club Gold members will receive two additional certificates that they can likewise use on American Airlines flights.

British Airways has also struck a deal with American Airlines a while back that allows using BA upgrade vouchers for AA flights for one cabin class upgrades.

American Airlines and British Airways always had a very strong transatlantic partnership, including codesharing, relying on each other to be a feeder for the many long-haul flights that frequent every day between the UK and the U.S., but the upgraded partnership has certainly taken its sweet time.

JonNYC posted this internal AA employee memo on Twitter:

BA: pic.twitter.com/dcY75kzwcm

— 🇺🇦 JonNYC 🇺🇦 (@xJonNYC) September 12, 2022

I’m curious to know who these “eligible” BAEC Gold members are that will receive the certificates. Probably this concerns BA Gold members who already get their upgrade certificates at the 2500 tier point mark.

It really irks me that these kind of news are drizzling out slowly via blogs and message boards rather than a clear-cut membership communication or at least a press release.

American Airlines voucher use requires that:

1. Business Class flights upgraded to First Class will require fare code Z
2. Premium Economy flights upgraded to Business Class will require fare code U
3. Economy flights upgraded to Premium Economy Class will require fare code P

From what we know so far, it appears that you can process upgrades via the British Airways Voucher under the following conditions (among others that might pop up):

1. Business Class flights upgraded to First Class will require fare code A
2. Premium Economy flights upgraded to Business Class will require fare code C
3. NO Upgrades from Economy to Premium Economy
4. Only AA Transatlantic and U.S. domestic AA flights are eligible to use the voucher on!

Contrary to what American Airlines has in its rules, BA doesn’t mandate that your ticket includes both British Airways and American Airlines. You could therefore use your upgradefor any TATL AA flight provided the ticket was originally issued by British Airways and of course there is open award space.

I will continue to update this post as more official information becomes available.

Conclusion

I still haven’t seen any reference on the websites of American AAdvantage or British Airways Executive Cub but based on the American Airlines memo posted on Twitter the terms are rather clear for the use of the AA certs and shines some light on BA as well.

All this will be availability based, and that hasn’t been the greatest as far as British Airways award space is concerned. Therefore I’d not hold my breath that the change alone will be the ultimate salvation. No award space = no upgrades, even if it’s technically possible to use them.