American Airlines Can Sell You Upgrades You Don’t See Online—Internal Memo Explains When To Call

American Airlines can sell you a paid upgrade over the phone even when you aren’t seeing an offer on their website. An internal memo tells reservations agents to check for customers who call asking about missing offers. That’s buried in a notice announcing that American has finished retiring its old Day of Departure Upgrade product. They’re moving paid upgrades onto the Instant Upgrade system — the one behind those offers to buy first class in the app. The memo says the old product has been removed from all systems, including its last remaining home in the airport check-in software. Day of Departure Upgrades were the old check-in upsells, also called “load factor based upgrades.” American would offer to sell you a better seat based on availability. Their merger-era customer FAQ described these as a check-in purchase option for passengers without elite status. Historically, the domestic version came after eligible elite upgrades had processed. These were seats left over to sell. Instant Upgrades are the offers you can receive well before departure, with prices that move around as American tries to get passengers who’ve already bought coach to spend more. I’ve shown my own $43 first class upgrade offer from Chicago to Lansing. They’ll take tens of dollars from an occasional passenger while an elite member waits for a complimentary upgrade. But I was more interested in the instructions for phone agents than in the retirement of an old computer function. American tells them: While a limited number of international points of sale are not yet eligible for Instant Upgrade purchases on aa.com or at the airport, there is no change for Reservations Travel Professionals. AACoRN processes all Instant Upgrades in USD, regardless of the ticket’s original point of sale. AACoRN is the reservations agents’ software. The ticket’s “point of sale” means where it was purchased, not where you’re flying. A ticket purchased in an overseas market can run into an online upgrade limitation that a phone agent doesn’t have. And American specifically gives agents a response for a customer who wants to buy an upgrade but doesn’t see an offer on the website: I’d be happy to check upgrade availability for you. Let me take a look at the options currently available for purchase. Please note that any upgrade charges will be quoted in USD. You can call and ask them to check for an Instant Upgrade. An agent still needs an available offer. This phone capability also isn’t new with the memo. American’s travel agent guidance, marked updated October 2025 lists Reservations as a channel for Instant Upgrade offers. And it shouldn’t be confused with the June 2025 addition of miles as payment for Instant Upgrades, which preceded the August 2025 retirement of new requests under the old mileage upgrade chart. When calling, I’d ask specifically for the Instant Upgrade offer. Repricing your ticket into first class is a different transaction, and the fare difference can be very different from the upgrade price. Have the agent check both. Topics on this page