I'll be arriving on DL0040 from SYD (or possibly a late change to one of the VA flights from SYD/MEL) on a Thursday morning (Sep 14) ~08:00. This will be in business/Delta One, on an award.

I have a separate cash fare onward to DEN in first. This departs much later (~15:45) to allow for inbound delays and a much cheaper fare than the ~12:30 flight. I may well want to try a same-day confirmed change to get something with a shorter layover once I have more confidence in inbound arrival time.

So, questions:

1. Does DL0040 do CBP processing at T2 rather than TBIT?

2. I assume VA in MEL (my origin port) *can* check through my bag all the way to DEN given the partnership with DL?

3. If I want to have SDC as an option, am I better off *not* checking my bag beyond LAX, and then asking at/before checkin at LAX for the changes? Or can it be done even after my bags are tagged (and possibly out of my hands)?

4. Can an agent at the airport (checkin, transfer/recheck) do the SDC or do I need to call the reservations line?

5. Does the answer to Q3 change if I end up on one of the VA transPac flights?

6. Assuming I have to clear security again after CBP, whether arrival is TBIT or T2, and that T2/T3 are connected airside by bus for DL pax, what's the quickest/easiest terminal to reclear security?