FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - How long do you have to make free change when Delta makes a schedule change?
Old Aug 5, 2022, 12:03 pm
  #9  
JW6130
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 378
You should have as long as you want to make a change. That gives you some time to figure out if you want to change departure airport, or only flight times, and sometimes, Delta locks up seats on the schedule change weekend, and then un-freezes them on Monday.

I enjoy booking my Delta flights early to benefit from this policy, particularly when they have a flight scheduled that I'm highly-confident will get cancelled. It's especially useful when there is a change from mainline to regional, or vice-versa. "I want to change my flights due to a change in operating carrier. I have the flight numbers I'd prefer--Would you like them?" usually does it.

I also recently had a great experience doing the same thing with American. I saved $400/ticket by waiting for the schedule change, and then getting the exact flights I wanted from another airport. American's agent wouldn't make a change, despite my flight being bumped ~3 hours, since their policy is more restrictive than Delta's. So I pulled out the operating carrier card, and once I whispered those magical words to the agent, the Delta SkyClub DJ sang from on high, and my options were unlimited.
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