High-spend travelers may find themselves in First Class more often than not with American Airlines’ new upgrade procedure. Under American’s new upgrade policy, which went into effect at the end of May, flyers who spend more with the airlines on an annual, rolling basis will be prioritized higher for upgrades than other travelers when all other variables are equal. Upgrade requests will be prioritized within each elite status level, by upgrade product type, spend over the last 12 months, purchased booking code, and requested date/time. For example, if two top tier Executive Platinum members show up at the gate with identical tickets, the traveler who spent the most in the last year will get the upgrade first.