When you book a flight, one of the first things you’re asked to do is choose your seat. But how do you know which seat is right for you? When traveling on a basic economy fare, you’ll be assigned a seat at check-in or at the gate. The main cabin requires you to pay for advanced seat assignments or to do it for free at check-in 48 hours before departure on domestic flights or 24 hours before departure on international flights.

But if you’re in the mood to get your preferred seat when booking your ticket, here’s what you need to know about the different options.

There are a few points to Change Seat on American Airlines will depend on two different criteria.

The class of service you purchased
Your status with American Airlines.
If you have no status with the airline: If you have purchased First or Business class tickets, you can change your seat to any other seat within this cabin by visiting AA.com and entering your ticket locater and name.
If you’ve purchased a regular economy ticket (not a Basic Economy), you will be able to select from seats located in the rear of the aircraft. Or, you can purchase an upgrade to a seat up front (reserved for those with status) or to one that includes extra legroom (Main Cabin Extra).
If you purchase a Basic Economy ticket, you will not be able to choose your seat. You’ll typically receive your seat assignment at check-in or at the gate.
If you have Gold status and purchase a regular economy ticket, you’ll be able to sit in the priority section of economy on your flight (but not Main Cabin Extra). If you want access to the Main Cabin Extra seats, you’ll get a 50% discount, but only if there is space available 24 hours before departure.
If you have status as Platinum, Platinum Pro, or Platinum Exec (50k to 100k miles a year and $6k to $12k spend), you get free access to any upfront economy seats and MCE seats.
Basic economy still has no access regardless of status.