I'm sitting in MGM right now, 5:40pm departure is now a 6:47pm Departure. Scheduled to land in ATL roughly the same time that my current connection from ATL-CLT is scheduled to depart (8:50pm).

I received a Voicemail from Delta saying that I'm "protected" on the later, 10:50pm departure ATL-CLT. However, when I log into the FlyDelta iPhone app, it's giving me the option to "accept" a change to the 10:50pm flight.

So here's my question: I imagine that if I accept the 10:50 flight, I'm going to lose my ability to still make my 8:50 departure if it's delayed for some reason, correct? But if I don't accept, and I do end up missing the 8:50, is there a risk that my seat on the 10:50 will be gone by the time I land in ATL? If I had to guess, I'd say "no," because otherwise, what does "protected" mean...but I'm a very infrequent Delta flyer and not familiar with their IRROPS practices.

Basically, is there a risk to not confirming the later flight right now and just staying "protected"?

Also, my current ATL-CLT leg is an A fare. If I miss it and I get rebooked on the next flight in Y, am I owed anything? Not a huge deal, but just curious.

Thanks!