What is the Point of SWUs?
 

Could somebody tell me what the point of SWUs are? Every time I search, regardless of dates and destinations, I at least find an I fare that is usually $1k cheaper than an M fare. So, what exactly does Delta want us to do with these things? Who would pay more for only a chance at getting upgraded, vs. just having a confirmed seat? Or am I missing something here? :confused:

It all depends upon the market. I used several last year at less than $1k per ticket. I will be using all of mine this year at less than $1600 per ticket. They can also be a good deal to and from Hawaii, where only a K fare is needed.

As to the "chance" of getting upgraded, that is where ExpertFlyer comes in.

I fares < M fares may have 7-day stay and 50-day advance purchase restrictions. SWUs can have a lot of value for business travelers buying into Y/B/M (because cheaper classes aren't available, or because cheaper classes demand advance purchase) for intercontinental flights on short notice - and that's the kind of traveler every airline wants. In prior program years & SWU iterations, I managed to use every one I received.

For the leisure traveler, these are mostly a smoke and mirror show.
DL pretends to offer us a USEFUL upgrade tool to SEEM competitive with the other majors (AA, UA, CO), but in reality - just as you have pointed out - in many cases, it just doesn't make sense to use these certs.

Yet another example of how this airline doesn't really value its most loyal customers, if you ask me.

For business travelers that cannot buy J fares due to corporate travel restrictions, the SWU can be quite useful. However, as bostonbali mentioned, for leisure travelers, the SWU may not be as useful depending on your travel plans.

In the past, M fares to Asia could be found for $1200 - $1800. Using an SWU at these fares were a no brainer. Now, with M fares hovering between $2500 and $3000 for both TPAC and TATL flights, SWU's are not as useful.

However, it is important to note that for Domestic Travel, SWU's can be used to secure an upgrade if one wishes to avoid the battlefield (K+ fares). All in all, I personally do not find the SWU's useful anymore. This is my biggest beef with the Skymiles Program.

YMMV

Exactly as stated above, Business Travel is the only logical use for SWUs. I pay about $2,500 for a Y, B or M fare to Europe a few times a year instead of $6,000-8,000 in Business. I NEVER book online, and always get the upgrade confirmed by an agent before purchasing the ticket. Despite the hassle, I then go to the Airport PRIOR to the flight, and physically hand over the coupon and get the ticket re-issued in Business. Pain in the @rse - yes, ever been disappointed on the day of travel - no. Convenience factor for a FF freebie - Zero.

After coming over from UA, I completely agree about the DL SWU.... just paper

I've never been able to use my SWUs. I've tried on numerous occasions on every fare they say you can use them with, up to and including full Y with zero success. I've stopped trying to use them.

So far, I have reservations in the system today for 6 of my SWUs... two trans-atlantic (Brussels next week and Zurich in June) and one trans-pacific (Beijing in May). By talking with an agent in advance of booking the ticket (my reservations have to be made by corporate travel), I have selected days and routings that have Z availability. I never had to change my departure/return dates by more than +/- 1 day to find Z availability. I am in the situation described above where any booking in Business is not allowed by the corporate travel policy but a YBM booking is OK.

The DL SWU are pointless to me, they do not work ever for me. If I want a cheapo fare and still get the upgrade I book on AA and use an eVIP which have worked for me 100%. I know there's a reason I still stay with DL and I think it is really AF, since DL doesn't even have lieflat beds on the routes I fly, though low fare availability is decent.

Yep...tried all that and still no dice. I had one particular flight reserved, called the elite line to confirm that I could use the SWU, bought the ticket immediately and then was told by another elite agent that I couldn't use the SWU.

I never used any PMUs until this year. I burned one in January and just burned two last night. All were to guarantee upfront seats on LAX-ATL 777 flights.

But I still have 3 of my 2009 PMUs which apparently are good until July 1st, and haven't claimed any of my 2010 choice benefits yet.

David

My thoughts exactly!

I've never had to have the ticket reissued at the airport nor have I had to hand in the certs. My tickets normally automatically reissue a day or so before the flight.

I'm 0 for 4 on international flights this year simply because I could not get an M fare as the lowest fare (which I am requried to buy). I always try many booking "tricks" to get an M fare but none has worked this year.

For my flight next week thru CDG, I was able to buy an M ticket but I'm on the upgrade wait list there and back.

The sad part of my 0 for 4 experience is for 7 of the 8 segments, the flights were 99% full with only a few open seats in coach.

Fortuantely, I figured out to only claim one of my choice benefits. No sense claiming SWU's and starting the 1 year clock on SWU's I can't use.