mtkeller

Excellent for you all that you get the choice benefits, too. Things you need to know about the SWUs if you're not already aware:

As zhlobsky said, they can only be used on Y, B, and M fares internationally. There needs to be upgrade inventory (search for Z on Expert Flyer) in order to use them. If there isn't, you can be waitlisted to be upgraded when inventory is available or at the gate if there are empty seats in BE. (The upgrades on day of departure started in 2010.) SWUs can also be used domestically, but only on Y, B, M, H, Q, and K fares. (I believe that includes Hawaii.)

A good way to get around DL's expensive M fares is to buy AF Premium Voyageur (premium economy) seats and upgrade with an SWU. That requires O inventory on your flight. Note that SWUs used from YBM fares on AF only go into Premium Voyageur! Unfortunately, it appears that SWUs on AF are only good TATL (and not on MIA-CDG). There was some success upgrading beyond CDG, but it appears AF has stopped that. SWUs can also be used on KL, but they only have two classes, so upgrades are as on DL metal. (No SWU or miles can be used for international first class on AF since DL doesn't have international first.)

Final note about the choice benefit: You don't have to pick it right now. You should have until February 2012, so most on the DL board would advise that if you think you want SWUs, wait until you're getting ready to use them and then select them. They expire one year from when you get them, so holding out until you need them or until the last minute is usually the best plan.

DMSFCA

Had a strange email notice from PageOnce last night saying "Your membership status has changed to Platinum" and I thought "yea, right, wouldn't that be great?"

But sure enough, it was! I've been using USAir out of gratitude for the Plat status from Centurion, but time to start pouring some corporate love back to DL!

Thanks Amex!

zhlobsky

Very helpful, thanks. Is an AF TATL Premium Voyageur ticket generally less expensive than a DL TATL M-fare? If so, then that really is a good deal in terms of maximizing your cash savings and the utility of SWUs. I haven't had a chance to book AF Premium Voyageur since it's a relatively new product, and am not yet familiar with its fare structure.

travelnick33

Wow. Upgraded today to Platinum. Great move AMEX!

WineAGcom

Nice surprise... especially in light of the fact that I just received my DL Gold Card. You'd have thought they would have figured out their plans for 2011 before sending out Gold renewals.

Nice to see Centurion adding benefits after diluting them over the years. Just returned from Paris... so next trip will offer better benefits on Air France, and no foreign transaction fees (which added up to about $200).

thepointsguy

TATL AF Premium Voyaegur fares have been a steal recently. I've gotten $1,300 from east cost (ATL/JFK) during offpeak and $2,000 in summer. With confirmed upgrades with the Delta SWUs, its a great way to get to Europe or Asia in business class and earn 50% bonus on MQMs and miles. For those interested, I wrote a blog post about my experience using SWUs on AF.

sdix

Platinum it is! DL here I come.......

zhlobsky

Thanks. I will keep an eye out for this AF bargain. I honestly don't know who would actually pay for a DL M-fare out of his/her own pocket these days, even if a round-trip upgrade using SWUs were available at the time of booking.

DrivingRain

Well....I guess I have to keep my end of the deal.

stevenshev

Cool, just called totally by chance and was welcomed with a "Thanks for calling the Platinum Medallion Hotline." Nice!

Kagehitokiri

re SWUs - DL now has some J flatbed.

SusanDK

I've been doing it 2-3 times a year for the past 4+ years, using either miles for the upgrade, or one year PMUs when we were lucky enough to be Platinum. The all-in return for my itinerary has held steady at $1700-1800 all these years, and I always check expertflyer for the Z upgrade in advance and confirm at time of booking. Considering the economy flight is always ca. $1,000 I find the extra $700-800 a reasonable price to pay for the huge difference in experiences between DL BE and Y on a 767 TATL.

The only reason I'm not flying DL later this month is because they removed the CPH-ATL flight off-season, and the connection via JFK has a 4-hour layover with arrival at our destination of 23.30 (instead of our usual 18.00-19.00), plus I prefer not to fly a 757 TATL. But with 'free' upgrades instead of burning miles, I might reconsider. For TATL upgrades, those 4 SWUs x 2 are worth the equivalent of 200,000 miles. I just burned 60,000 MR to upgrade to Upper Class one-way only on VS.

Susan

TrvlGuru

I am Centurion US and DL still shows my account as GM. Had AX Centurion on the phone with DL and DL says their system still shows that Centurion cardholders only get GM.

It looks like my PM status is lost in the same place as the 50% bonus miles transfer that I never received.

AX Centurion is now going to look into the situation and find out what is going on. I also have the Delta Reserve card and maybe that is causing a computer glitch with my upgraded status. Who knows!

stimpy

For me this is one of those ho-hum benefits as I don't fly DL and I am already an AF/KL Platinum (ST Elite Plus) member. But I just chose a $200 Tiffany's card as my Choice. So I guess in my case, the actual benefit is a Tiffany's gift card more than anything else. I'm not complaining.

KyRoamer

Wow!!! Platinum with delta. At last Centurion does something special.

I have not got the card yet. I have questions related to the optional benefits - SWU's vs gifting silver. I'll post those on the Delta forum.