Originally Posted by
VacationMode
Great timing as I was actually just about to look for the right thread to ask this… but this year is my first as GM and I’m just trying to understand how the 72 hour upgrade window works.
Are upgrades in the window automated to clear if there’s room for upgrades (assuming I’m high enough on the list), or does it require someone at Delta to actually process the upgrade?
Also, is there any notification when the upgrade clears? My only experience so far has been upgrades at the gate, but if I clear before even checking in there won’t be an agent or screen to announce it.
72 hours is the earliest that you *could* clear, but you won't necessarily get the upgrade just because there is an open seat. Upgrades are inventory-controlled (from a separate OU fare bucket) based on how many F seats revenue management thinks it can sell in the remaining days before departure.
If you clear automatically there will eventually be an email, but you can indirectly check for inventory yourself by pulling up the seat map. If you see a buy-up offer* then there's no inventory. If the buy-up offer disappears but you can still see F seats in the seat map, you can try picking one -- if it says FREE you can confirm the new seat and self-upgrade, essentially. (If this state occurs, it ought to be the case that you would have received the upgrade in due course of time even if you hadn't done anything, but I prefer not to leave things up to chance, or Delta's systems...) You'll still get the email eventually, congratulating you on being upgraded to the seat you chose
*aka "FCM" -- other related thread:
First Class Monetization, or FCM: The Definitive Thread