A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 102,617
Each airline sets its own upgrade policies. For example, DL has three tiers that are SkyTeam ElitePlus: DM is upgraded before PM which is upgraded before GM. DL also will upgrade the elites of only *certain* partners, IIRC AS (Alaska, not in SkyTeam) and AF/KLM, but only after all DL elites and their companions have already been upgraded, so it doesn't happen often.