Reviews

American Airlines A321T Business Class Review: JFK-LAX Transcon

a teddy bear on a bed

We may receive a commission when you use our links. Monkey Miles is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com and CardRatings. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Monkey Miles is also a Senior Advisor to Bilt Rewards. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.


Miles’ strategy for an business class upgrade worked!

Last week we wrote about a strategy that could help you secure an American Airlines Business Class upgrade on it’s transcon A321T if you aren’t a ‘keeper of the gate’: Executive Platinum or Concierge Key. These guys just push us lower elites right out of the way, butttttt with a little savviness we can fight back.

Just like I’d mentioned in my earlier post, I had auto requested with 500 mile upgrades and didn’t really expect much. So I was now looking to see if maybe I could upgrade with 15k + $75.

We’d been frenetically checking the inventory on expertflyer, not that I don’t trust their email alerts, but Miles is OCD and he just likes to check and check and check. Around 1am, the morning of my flight we logged and saw that there was one seat avail ‘c’ so we immediately jumped on the phone and spoke to the rep.

Screen Shot 2016-06-16 at 9.00.27 PM

Without a hitch she said she would book the ticket and BOOM we were in confirmed business!!!!! BYAH BYAH BYAH


THE DEETS

  • When: June 8th 2016
  • Airline: American
  • Flight: 293
  • Class: Business (c)
  • Seat: 9d
  • Route: JFK-LAX
  • Duration: 9 hours – flight time: 5hrs 45mins

American Airlines Business Classssssss A321T TRANSCON!!!!! WE DID IT

American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 2 of 33
the cabin

I didn’t have a choice of seats – this was the only aisle available!  But here’s the seatguru info.

Screen Shot 2016-06-16 at 9.49.40 PM Screen Shot 2016-06-16 at 9.49.48 PM

My Seat 9D

American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 3 of 33
i’m ready to ball out

Make sure you get all the angles!

American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 4 of 33
Make sure you take one from every angle PLEASE
American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 5 of 33
Storage is about waaaaaaaaay big
American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 6 of 33
Yep we are controlling this bad boy alllll the way down
American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 9 of 33
Ports and power are located behind the headrest
American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 10 of 33
keep it charged
American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 11 of 33
Amenities are luxurious – even more so domestically
American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 12 of 33
He doesn’t embarrass easy
American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 14 of 33
Unwrapped!
American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 18 of 33
loved the understorage


This ended up being the best possible time to upgrade because our flight was late pushing back from the gate and then once we got to the runway we were notified that the cross wind was so severe that they were holding flights until the wind died down. We were 20th in line!

Good thing I had plenty of room to stretch out!

American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 19 of 33

After waiting an hour to take off

we were told that there was a medical emergency on the plane and we were taxiing back to the gate. I was actually quite happy that this happened while we were in queue and not in the air: what a tragedy if something happened! Anyways, we made it, medics came on and assisted. After another 90 mins at the gate we were told that the medical emergency had been rectified and the affected party would come back on after a clean up crew. Phew – they were ok! Plus we were…BALLLLLLLING out in business!

A remote my size!!!
American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 17 of 33

We had movies to enjoy! THROW DEM BOSE!

American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 23 of 33

AND CHAMPAGNE

American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 25 of 33

Once everyone was safe and sound we headed to the runway. At this point we were over 3 hours delayed.

As we took off the plane rocked, swayed, pop, locked and practically twerked its way up to 35k

let’s say that the cross winds hadn’t really died down too much! It was Rocky!

But we were in BUSINESS! So we just laid the seat back, watched a movie, and sipped CHAMPERS

Once we were up and attem meal service commenced. I have to say – American is taking their service and their food to the next level. Gone are the days of rubber chicken and sandwiches that resemble dirty socks – American now serves food!

American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 26 of 33 American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 27 of 33

I chose the Shrimp and the ICE CREAM!!!!

The smoked salmon cheesecake was incredible – I was sort of shocked that it was as good as it was. I snarfed it up!

American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 29 of 33
smoked salmon cheesecake

The thai shrimp had nice complexity of flavor and the risotto was good too

American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 31 of 33
thai shrimp

<BIG EXHALE> ICE CREAM at 7 Miles high! I still Marvel at it. So good!

Ice Cream sundae
Ice Cream sundae

After getting our bellies full – we were OUT!

  • These pics were obviously taken during pre-board because the lighting is better, I have no shame, and my embarrassment is level is very low. Miles also loves the attention and handed out business cards! Award Booking Service peeps!!!
  • The bed is 100% lie flat
  • It’s not the most comfy bed I’ve ever had at 35k feet, but it sufficed!

American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 22 of 33 American Airlines Business Class A321T JFK-LAX - 21 of 33

We landed after being on board for 9 hours and boy was I happy with my upgrade!

A few days after the flight I even received this email, which I wrote about, saying they were giving me some extra points for the delay. Kudos American, American

Screen Shot 2016-06-14 at 4.11.08 PM

The Verdict:

I basically took an international flight given the actual time on board – 9 hours. Had we been in coach…I would have had a very grumpy monkey on my hands and my next week’s banana bill would have been steep! So I probably saved $75 just on my banana bill.

Great product. The only thing that I could put forth as a criticism is the lack of privacy. The guy next to me fell asleep early in the flight and I felt bad about turning my light on to eat, but I did anyways – he didn’t wake up. I can see why people would opt for  First class over business purely for those privacy reasons. One of the hosts on ESPN was in First and I’m sure he would have been caught up in sports conversations during the delay had he been in business. This stands as a difference between business and first on the 777-300ER. I flew that product a couple weeks ago and I’m not really sure that First Class is that necessary, especially when flying in the business class mini cabin – which I did on one leg. The privacy of the mini cabin is very similar to that of first on the 777-300ER. On this plane, there is a marked difference between business and first.

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

a blue credit card with blue lines and white text

Learn More

 Affiliate link 

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


4.8
4.8/5
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott.

Welcome Offer

60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

  • 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
    • Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
  • 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
    • (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
    • The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
  • 2x on all other travel
  • 10% Anniversary Bonus
    • Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
  • Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
  • Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
    • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
  • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
  • $95 Annual Fee

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

4 Comments

Leave a Reply to POP: KLM Business Class 777-200 Singapore to Bali - Monkey Miles Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.