Disclosed are methods, devices, and computer readable storage mediums for encoding and decoding messages for fast link adaptation. In one aspect, a method of a high efficiency (HE) station (STA) (HE STA) includes encoding an aggregated control subfield of a high throughput (HT) Control field to signal one or more of: a request to use dual carrier modulation (DCM), a request to use a particular resource unit, an uplink (UL) power headroom indication, and an indication that the HE STA is using a minimum transmit power for a current modulation and coding scheme (MCS). The method also includes configuring the HE STA to transmit a HE-PPDU including the HT control field.