Originally Posted by ornulfkittelsen

Tried to use SWU cert on SEA - JFK. Outbound, there was 4 seats available until 2 hours prior to flight. And than nothing. Not sure who got those 4 seats.

On inbound flight there was 7 seats available until 1 hour prior to departure and than it showed nothing.

I boarded with my EC seat but only to find that there was actual seats open in First.

That said, i do understand Delta, this is a long flight and people are buying First on this leg due to the distance. So it make sense to upgrade the cabin with the good seats etc.

On the other hand, i do believe they understand that loyalty becomes less. When i know there is no chance of any upgrade, I go by price so next time on this leg I am booked on Alaska (AA) flight due to $100 cheaper. Never thought I would do that as I have been 100% loyal to Delta for years.

Not the most active, but fly 200k + miles a year and million miler.

Many frequent fliers go out of their way to stay with one carrier including paying premium prices even if competitive prices are available on different carriers as well as many times purchasing M + fares due to upgrades chances etc. But if the lack of upgrades (in particular certs) are going away I think overall the net profit might be negative over time.

-ok