American Airlines extends systemwide upgrades through mid-2022
Not yet ready to take a long-haul flight? Well, American Airlines has your back.
The Fort Worth-based carrier is rolling out an extension for its systemwide upgrades that were originally slated to expire this year. In a statement shared with TPG, an AA spokesperson said that "we are pleased to share with our elite AAdvantage members that all active systemwide upgrades scheduled to expire in 2021 will have a new expiration date of July 31, 2022."
Last year, American extended expiring systemwide upgrades by six months, giving any unused systemwide upgrades with an expiration date of Jan. 31, 2021, a new expiration of July 31, 2021. Now, the carrier's giving flyers another full year to use those unused upgrades, with the new expiration now on July 31, 2022.
The updated expiration date should already be reflected in your account and can be seen by looking at your "Wallet" section of your AAdvantage profile.
Of course, long-haul international travel is still largely suspended due to the pandemic, so the carrier's taking a generous approach to extending systemwide upgrades.
In fact, American's extension is now the most generous of the major U.S. airlines. Delta's regional and global upgrade certificates selected between March 1, 2019, and Dec. 31, 2020, have already been extended through the end of 2021.
United, on the other hand, gave top-tier Premier members two six-month extensions on PlusPoints that were slated to expire on or after Jan. 1, 2021. Those PlusPoints are now valid through Jan. 31, 2022.
Related: How to use American systemwide upgrades
AAdvantage elite members earn systemwide upgrades when they hit either Platinum Pro or Executive Platinum status. AA now lets top-tier elites get a pick from a catalog of elite choice rewards, including systemwide upgrades, bonus miles, travel vouchers and more.
Systemwide upgrades, or SWUs as they're affectionately called by loyalists, can be used to confirm a one-way, one-cabin upgrade any time after booking, subject to availability. In fact, as of Oct. 1, 2020, they can even be used on discounted basic economy tickets as well.
Tuesday's news doesn't include any update to earning status in 2021, as American is now the only one of the Big 3 to not yet announce a mid-year promotion or fast-track offer for those taking to the skies once again.
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month