Originally Posted by jsmith50

As a DM who travels t-con (semi)frequently, I too have had nearly a 100% upgrade success as of late. Since my upgrade usually confirms 2-5 days prior to departure, I use Delta's website to evaluate my seat assignment and other available BE seats and change my seat to ensure I have the best of what is available. This is easy enough to do and rarely results in getting stuck in the rear corner with a seat that doesn't recline. It also ensures that I get my pick before the last minute silver and gold upgrades confirm.

As for priority seat assignments or diluting the product by offering these upgrades to all medallion statuses, I have mixed emotions. I should have enough miles by year end and with carry over miles to qualify as platinum and re-qualify for next year (at least 5 t-con ATL to Asia flights remaining this year). However, my job requirements don't have me flying this frequently every year. Rather it's usually cyclical and after the end of the year, I may not do enough t-cons for 2-3 years before I hit PM status again. But, I certainly fly enough every year to reach silver or gold easily. Since we all went through silver and gold to get where we are, I have no problem with the airlines offering upgrades to these flyers. After all, if I was a silver or gold, an upgrade, especially on a long haul, would further ensure my loyalty and have me wanting to fly DL again. Seems to be a smart business decision for the airlines to continue to build loyalty and also ensure that the flight isn't departing with a half empty FC or BE section.