How it works
Complete these steps no later than 11:59 p.m. CT on March 18, 2026.
Buy a Premium Economy ticket on an eligible* international flight for travel departing between Aug. 1 and Aug. 31, 2026.
Look for a flight that has Flagship® Business seats available for sale.
Request a systemwide upgrade on the eligible* international flight either on aa.com, the American app or by calling Reservations.
Note: You may see an option to "waitlist" for an upgrade to Flagship® Business even though seats are available for sale. Rest assured we'll still confirm your systemwide upgrade request as part of this promotion if seats are available.
Within a few hours after submitting your request, we’ll confirm the upgrade
to Flagship® Business, if seats are available for sale**.
Enjoy your confirmed systemwide upgrade to Flagship® Business
and enjoy the elevated amenities and benefits .
Time is limited — hurry before seats run out.*
*Subject to availability. Includes flights marketed and operated by American for travel to / from Europe, South America, Asia and Australia. Excludes flights to / from Delhi (DEL), Doha (DOH), Seoul (ICN), Shanghai (PVG) and Tel Aviv (TLV).
**After you're confirmed, please allow 7-10 days for your ticket to be reissued and for the systemwide upgrade to be deducted from your account.
Frequently asked questions
Anyone with an available systemwide upgrade is eligible to participate. You can request to upgrade yourself or anyone you choose.
We'll continue to try to upgrade you using our normal systemwide upgrade process, which requires upgrade-eligible seats to be available.
If you want to cancel your trip, visit aa.com or call Reservations .
Note: Your refund will be issued to your original form of payment if you request to cancel your entire trip within 24 hours of purchase. If it's been more than 24 hours and you'd like a refund to your original form of payment, contact us by 11:59 p.m. CT on March 25, 2026, and we'll process your request. Normal fare rules apply if you request to cancel only a portion of your trip.
If your reservation doesn't show a confirmed upgrade to Flagship® Business, it means there were no available seats when we tried to upgrade you. We'll continue to check for upgrade availability throughout the promotion period.
No, you need to buy a ticket in Premium Economy to be eligible for this promotion. You can still contact Reservations to pay the difference (excludes Basic Economy) or buy an Instant Upgrade (if available) to Premium Economy by 11:59 p.m. CT on March 18, 2026, to participate in the promotion. After buying your Premium Economy ticket, you'll need to submit another systemwide upgrade request.
While searching for flights on aa.com or in the American app, you'll have the option to buy a ticket in Flagship® Business.
No. The number of Flagship® Business seats available for sale isn't shown on aa.com or in the American app. Although you can view the seat map, it doesn't show the number of seats for sale.
You may not see a systemwide upgrade as available on aa.com or in the American app, even if Flagship® Business seats are available for sale. You'll need to waitlist, and within a few hours, we'll confirm your upgrade as long as Flagship® Business seats are available for sale on your flight..
Our Reservations team can only confirm your systemwide upgrade if upgrade-eligible seats are available on the eligible international flight. You'll need to waitlist, and within a few hours, we'll confirm your upgrade as long as Flagship® Business seats are available for sale on your flight.
Systemwide upgrade promotion terms and conditions
Eligibility
- The promotional period for this offer is defined as eligible tickets purchased between 2 p.m. CT, March 17, 2026, and 11:59 p.m. CT, March 18, 2026, for an Eligible Flight departing between Aug. 1, 2026, and Aug. 31, 2026 (“Promotional Period”).
- Eligible international flights are defined as flights marketed and operated by American Airlines where Premium Economy is offered for sale between the U.S. and Europe, South America, Asia and Australia (excluding flights to / from Delhi, India; Doha, Qatar; Tel Aviv, Israel; Shanghai, China and Incheon, South Korea). For clarity, flights to / from Hawaii and within the U.S., including those offering Premium Economy, are excluded from this offer (“Eligible Flight”).
- To receive a confirmed upgrade to Flagship® Business on your Eligible Flights, you must:
- Purchase a Premium Economy ticket during the Promotional Period on an Eligible Flight, and
- Request a systemwide upgrade on one or more Eligible Flights during the Promotional Period.
- This promotion is open to all AAdvantage® members in good standing with an available systemwide upgrade. No registration is required to participate in this promotion.
- Connecting flights for domestic travel that are part of your trip are excluded from this promotion. However, we will attempt to confirm your upgrade for up to a total of three eligible flights that are part of the one-way trip as per systemwide upgrade terms and conditions. The additional connecting flights may be upgraded based on availability of upgrade-eligible seats.
- Main Cabin fares purchased prior to or during the Promotional Period for travel on an Eligible Flight with a requested systemwide upgrade are not eligible for this promotion. To become eligible for the promotion, you must pay the difference between Main Cabin and Premium Economy (excludes Basic Economy) or purchase an Instant Upgrade into Premium Economy (if available) during the Promotional Period and re-request the systemwide upgrade.
- Award tickets are not eligible for this offer.
- Tickets purchased in Premium Economy prior to the Promotional Period with a systemwide upgrade already requested (or added during the Promotional Period) on an Eligible Flight will be upgraded as part of this promotion, provided seats are available.
- A systemwide upgrade can be requested online by logging into your AAdvantage® account or by calling your AAdvantage® status desk.
Upgrade clearance
- Upgrades to Flagship® Business using an available systemwide upgrade from the designated AAdvantage® account will be attempted within 2-3 hours after your ticket is purchased and the systemwide upgrade is requested, however, processing times may take longer.
- If the designated AAdvantage® account does not have sufficient available systemwide upgrades for all passengers in your party at the time we attempt to confirm the upgrade, the upgrade request will be cancelled, and in the event the flight segment was upgraded to Flagship® Business, all passengers will be rebooked into the original class of service. Any previously reserved seat assignments in the original class of service may not be available when the flight is rebooked.
- Sufficient seats must be available for sale in Flagship® Business for all members in your party at the time we attempt to confirm the upgrade. Inventory is limited and American Airlines does not guarantee availability of Flagship® Business seats.
- If there are not enough seats are available for sale in Flagship® Business on the requested flight to upgrade all passengers in your party, we will continue to attempt to confirm your upgrade through 3 a.m. CT, March 19, 2026. Any timely upgrade requests that could not be confirmed by 3 a.m. CT, March 19, 2026, will automatically default to our normal systemwide upgrade clearance policy which requires upgrade-eligible seats be available.
- Systemwide upgrade requests will be processed in the priority order as defined in the systemwide upgrade terms and conditions.
- Once your upgrade is confirmed to Flagship® Business, your reservation will be updated, and you will see the change reflected on your trip on aa.com and in the American app. Please allow at least 7-10 business days for your ticket to be reissued and for the systemwide upgrade(s) to be deducted from the designated AAdvantage® account.
- If you are unable to purchase a ticket in Premium Economy for your desired flight because it is sold-out, you will need to choose a different flight to participate in this promotion.
Cancellation of Premium Economy tickets
- If we are unable to confirm your upgrade to Flagship® Business on the Eligible Flight, you may request a refund to the original form of payment no later than 11:59 p.m. CT on March 25, 2026 by contacting Reservations. It is the responsibility of the member to initiate the refund request.
- Refund requests received after 11:59 p.m. CT on March 25, 2026 will be subject to the fare rules of your ticket and may be refunded to a Trip Credit, if applicable, instead of the original form of payment.
Servicing
- Any changes to your upgraded flight after the promotion has ended will be subject to the fare rules of your ticket and systemwide upgrade terms and conditions.
- If you make a voluntary change to your upgraded flight, you can request to apply your systemwide upgrade to the new flight, but it will be subject to our normal policy and the upgrade will only be confirmed if upgrade-eligible seats are available.
- If we make an involuntary change to your upgraded flight, American will do all possible to keep you in the upgraded class of service but this is not a guarantee we will upgrade you to the higher cabin. Additional compensation will not be offered in the event of a downgrade.
General
- American is not responsible for any technical issues which may inhibit or frustrate our ability to provide an upgrade.
- American Airlines may, at any time and without notice, for any reason, change, stop or end this promotion in part or in full.
- This offer is subject to the AAdvantage® program terms and conditions and systemwide upgrade terms and conditions.