Originally Posted by ChazeFroy

I just had an incredibly frustrating call with the Delta Diamond desk. Excuse me while I vent and share my experience.

I am going to Alaska in the summer and wanted to use a RUC for my return ANC-SEA-DTW flight. When I logged into Delta.com and looked at the same flight I booked, I noticed only a GUC would get me upgraded. I knew I'd be waitlisted using a RUC, which was fine. I don't want to burn any of my precious GUCs on a couple of flights under 4 hours each.

I call the Diamond desk and explain wanting to use a RUC for these return flights. Based on past experience, this call should take 3 minutes tops. She puts me on hold and doesn't come back for 10 minutes. Hrm, that's odd. When she does come back, she says I have been confirmed in first class for both legs, which contradicts delta.com's information.

Immediately, alarm bells go off in my head. However, I start out cautiously optimistic and say "Wow, that's great. I thought I'd be waitlisted using a RUC based on what I saw on delta.com."

She said "Well, I had to use a GUC because RUCs can't be used for Alaska. RUCs can only be used for the 50 US states, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean."

I am absolutely stunned and silent for about five seconds. Did she really just say that? After I gather my composure, I tell her "You just said RUCs could be used for the 50 US states. Alaska is a US state. It was the 49th state admitted to the Union in the 1950s."

Now she is silent for about ten seconds. I am not sure if she's Googling if Alaska is a US state or what is happening.

I become a little agitated after her silence. I then say "I specifically told you I wanted to use a RUC for this flight, but you used a more valuable GUC. I hope you can reverse this error by giving back my GUC and using an RUC to waitlist me."

She finally replied (probably after her Google search came back with "LOL yes Alaska is a US state") and said "Yes, I will fix this."

After another 30 minutes, she claims my GUC has been redeposited into my account and an RUC is now applied to my reservation for a waitlisted upgrade. Of course, in my reservation on delta.com, I do not see myself on the waitlist yet. It has been two hours. My other RUC-waitlisted reservations show "upgrade waitlisted."

So for a call that should have been 3 minutes, it was a 50 minute agonizing call and I am still not sure if a GUC is burned or if my RUC was properly applied. I think I will wait until tomorrow to contact them to make sure everything is OK. I hope I don't speak to the same representative.

Hey Delta, if you're listening, it would be helpful if your agents knew some geography. I heard airplane companies rely on geography just a little bit.