Originally Posted by
Steve GadFly
During the interview, Scott talked about SWU certificates on Delta being an unredeemable perk that they'd probably be better off not even having. I really feel companion upgrades are about as useless given my stats over the last 8 years I've been Platinum. The process for requesting/processing them (R bucket released, eua list run, and the cabin almost always full well before t-2 hrs) makes the chances of actually getting on so low that it's barely worth it.
Like everything else in life this is very much a YMMV situation. I've received plenty of companion upgrades over the years, probably >50% of the times I've tried, though I don't really keep great records of them. Considering that when those come through it means that
I get to sit up front, I'm really happy that the benefit exists. Even if it is limited in value, no need to cancel it. Let the few that do benefit from it continue to do so. Unlike the DL PMUs there is no special fare purchase required so there isn't really an "extra" outlay on the consumer's part to get the benefit. No, they don't always clear, but neither do my EUAs and there is no outcry to get rid of those.
I understand where
CO Insider is coming from on the statement and it makes a bit of sense, but I also think that just about any benefit could be interpreted that way. The big problem with the PMUs is the fare minimums. UA's requirements on that front are much more reasonable.
The other thing that he mentions in the same vein is that CO offers the BF sale fares instead. In many cases the fares are comparable to DL's YBM fares for PMU usage but anyone can use them. Not great for folks traveling on business where the office only pays for Y and you want to upgrade, but reasonable for folks trying to fly up front at a reasonable price point.