A Utah woman says she received a low-cost seat upgrade notification from American Airlines for an international flight, but chose not to use it right away because her travel companion had not received the same offer. By the time she went to the customer service desk to ask about upgrading both seats, the deal was apparently gone, and the airline staff told her there was nothing they could do.
The woman, a TikTok creator who goes by the handle @aluxeandra, shared the experience in a video that has received over 8,000 views. In the clip, she says American Airlines sometimes sends passengers in-app notifications offering seat upgrades at a low price ahead of international flights. She says she received one such offer for around $200, but her friend Becca did not get the same notification.
“Because I’m a good friend, I’m not gonna leave her in the back of the plane,” she said in the video, explaining why she did not immediately accept the upgrade for herself.
American Airlines say it’s a one time opportunity
Rather than clicking the notification, she says she and Becca went to the customer service desk to ask whether Becca could be upgraded as well. According to the creator, the staff told her that the only way to use the offer was to click that one notification, and that it was only available one time before the flight, or within 48 hours of an international departure.
“You can only upgrade your flight if you click that one notification that you get only one time before your flight or 48 hours ahead of time on an international flight,” she said, recounting what the staff allegedly told her.
She said she did not fully accept that explanation, claiming she had successfully upgraded at the gate on a previous flight to Greece. “I know is a lie because I’ve done it once before at the gate before I go to Greece,” she said in the video, though she did not provide further details about that experience.
She questioned the system in the video, asking: “Why do they only let you click on that notification one time and that’s your one and only chance to upgrade your seat before your flight? What kind of process is that?”
According to American Airlines, customers may receive what the airline calls Instant Upgrade offers through email, while viewing a reservation on aa.com, through the mobile app, or via AA Reservations. The airline says these offers are based on availability and may apply to part or all of a passenger’s itinerary. Because the offers are tied to real-time seat availability, there may be no guarantee that the same seat, price, or offer will still be available if a passenger does not act on it immediately. This policy can lead to unexpected situations at the airport, like a couple being split up.
Until a passenger completes the upgrade purchase, the airline is likely holding that seat or price point, and the offer may disappear if the inventory changes or another passenger claims the seat.
Viewers in the comment section offered a range of responses. One commenter suggested the offer may not be as one-time as it seems, writing: “If you miss the notification or click no thanks it will still pop up in the ‘upgrade’ or ‘offers’ tab below your flight.”
Another commenter said calling the airline immediately after seeing the notification may be a better move than heading to the desk, and claimed to have done it successfully. “Call IMMEDIATELY! Have your friend’s confirmation code with you. It just happened to me recently and I was able to do it. You have to call literally right after you see it though,” they wrote.
A third commenter shifted focus to the customer service experience itself, suggesting that the attitude of gate agents can sometimes make difficult situations worse. “Gate agents can be the worst. I approach them with as much kindness as I can and half the time they are so rude and can’t be bothered. I get that they deal with a lot jerks, but I wonder how much of that could be their attitude?” they wrote. Other passengers have shared similar experiences with gate agents questioning their boarding passes.
The creator did not indicate in the video whether she or Becca were ultimately able to upgrade their seats before the flight, or whether she followed up with American Airlines beyond the customer service desk visit.
Published: Jul 10, 2026 10:31 am