First Class All the Way - A Disney Christmas Day 4.5

December 7th, 2014

I've never tried to upgrade to First Class before.  Other than just asking at the gate, I never really knew how to go for it.  So I really didn't try.

Dude.  I didn't know what I was missing until today.

Based on the extreme amount of travel I've done in 2014, I have Gold Status with American Airlines. And every time I booked a flight, it gave me the option if I wanted to upgrade.  Then there were talk of segments and...it just got so confusing.  Until I tried it.  And it worked.

So how does it work??

As you book your flight, there is a box to request the upgrade.  Upgrades are broken out in 500 mile segments.  Flying to Orlando you need two segments to upgrade one way, because it's (slightly) over 1000 miles from ORD to MCO.  In your account, you can see if you have segments available.  If you don't, you can buy some online or at the airport.  If you have Status, you're given four segments for every 10,000 miles flown.

I had eight segments and I didn't even know it.  What have I been doing with my life??

I did try to upgrade on my flight down to Orlando.  But I discovered that flying on a mid-afternoon flight in the middle of the week wasn't ideal for upgrades.  At first, I was happy to see the lack of kids on the flight to Orlando.  But the Business Travelers screwed me out of an upgrade.  Curse you, Business Travelers!!

I woke up on Sunday morning in Orlando to find an e-mail from American telling me my upgrade request had been granted.  I was now sitting in the last row of First Class.  Which was only two rows ahead of where I was originally ticketed.  But two rows made a world of difference.

First Class means you board early and have plenty of leg room.

I had room enough to cross my legs.  This is living!!

First Class means you get a pre-flight drink.

Juice or water??  I chose juice.

First Class means you get an actual glass of an adult beverage along with warmed nuts.

They were real bottles of wine.  Like on International flights.
First Class means you get a multi-course meal, complete with silverware.  And more wine.

Warm roll, Caesar salad (a really good one) and a pasta dish.  Plus, more wine.  They kept offering wine.  I finally had to say no.  Which, we all know is hard for me to do.  Really hard.

First Class means you get a warm cookie.

Ooh!!  Cookie!!

I mean, really...I gotta get on this more often.  I can only hope my upgrade balance hangs around for a while longer.  Cause, man.  This is the way to go.

Hello, Chicago!!

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