Originally Posted by
PIONEER
Since retired 5 years ago, I haven't bought a DL ticket, but Ive been using plenty of miles for F tickets. I'm also lifetime PM. Now I need to do a simple overnight RT PDX-ATL in Sept. I'm only seeing 80,000 miles for an F ticket, so I'm thinking I might actually pay for the ticket. Two questions:
If I book a free coach ticket, it says I might get an upgrade. Is that a realistic expectation?
If I buy a coach ticket, it used to be that certain fares (e.g. Y) virtually guaranteed an upgrade at the time of purchase. Is that no longer the case?
I definitely do not want to take the chance of sitting in the back of the bus for such a long trip. Any advice appreciated. Thanks
Y still gets automatic upgrade at time of purchase if upgrade inventory is available. If you search by fare class for Y, it should say "Upgrade Available" instead of "Upgrade Eligible" on the website. Also note that as PM, you get free award redeposits and changes. Thus, you could book the 80K ticket and check regularly. If the price goes down, cancel and rebook. DL often makes more inventory available at the last minute. Also, with award upgrades, it's definitely worth searching within your upgrade window (five days out) for coach award tickets, as if there's upgrade inventory sitting around, you could get first class for 25K miles. Then just refund the miles ticket you booked earlier.