I'm taking a flight tonight, and have been on the waitlist for a Milage Upgrade Award since I booked the flight a month ago.

My understanding is that Milage Upgrade Awards do not transfer to the airport standby list (link).

Since my flight is 10 hours from now and I haven’t been upgraded, I assumed that I won’t get a Milage Upgrade Award at this point. So I called Delta to ask them to take me off of the Mileage Upgrade Award list so that I would show on the standby list. The rep said “you shouldn’t do that…you’re on the top of the list right now.”

What’s the best strategy in this situation? Should I remove myself from the Milage Upgrade Award list a few hours before the flight?