5DMarkIIguy

Hi,

I made Gold for the first time a few days ago.
I have a graduation trip in June next year. Going with two other FOs.

Which of the following routes have the highest chance of an upgrade for GM and FO? All routes are T fare and during weekdays.

SFO-MSP-BDL 6:10am - 5:05pm

BDL-DTW-SFO 6:00am - 10:32am
BDL-ATL-SFO 6:10pm - 12:15am
BDL-ATL-SFO 7:30am - 4pm
BDL-ATL-SFO 3:30pm - 12:15am

TIA.

mersk862

Slim to none on all. DTW-SFO and ATL-SFO are going to be tough for Platinums, and not even a sure thing for Diamonds. Find a flight with a good coach seat for a shot.

The earlier ATL might be slightly better as it won't have many TATL connections into it, but it's still a longshot.

stylo4444

The earlier the better your chance. I just recently hit GM and have been 4/4 on UG so far, but I am based out of MCO.

Keep your fingers crossed, everytime I've been told slim to none by people on here on various routes, I end up clearing at the window. So who knows, I hope you have the same experience.

DCATraveler

I agree, it will be tough for all of those. You're best bet to is to find something early in the day and mid-week or on a weekend for those routes and even then, it's a long shot.

kersie

There's a 9:45 flight out of MSP to SFO. If you connect on that one, I have had some success upgrading midweek as a gold.

mnredfox

ATL-SFO, the later the better. Showing up at midnight helps.

5DMarkIIguy

I'm just going to be there for the weekend. Fly in Friday, fly out Monday.
Looks like I have the worst routes for an upgrade. What a drag!
Does Expert Flyer tell you which route is your best bet? Or all of this knowledge is from tried and true experience?

rwoman

The above is from experience. I do not think GM and FO do not tend to get a lot of transcon upgrades from SFO, especially to a DL hub. I'm not sure if OAK or San Jose could be better for upgrades.

EF will provide availability of seats and upgrades (if seats are released) for each flight. You could look at the difference between the lowest Y fare class (L,U,T, etc.) and a K fare - if DL released seats, you could use miles to upgrade.

Ultimately, if you want to sit up front on this routing for Friday-Monday travel, you may want to check out fares to just book F seats.

rwoman

May be helpful:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...ve-thread.html

kss5555

As another posted stated, the late night 9:30 PM bank from MSP to the west coast usually has open seats and they are selling upgrades. Another option, fly into Sacramento and drive into the bay area if the upgrade is really that important to you.

As for DTW, the early AM is your best chance, the 3PM and the 7PM are almost always full up front anyday of the week, alot with paid F or FCM fares. Enjoy the trip!!

fujiteam

I am based at BDL (FO). I have had a lot more success being upgraded into/out of DTW than ATL. Early morning is probably your best bet, do you know if the 6am is a MD or a CRJ? Also a head up, the lines for security can be very long at 6am in BDL.

obnoxoid

If you want to fly into SJC instead, ATL-SJC was a pretty simple upgrade when I was a GM. I'd give that a shot, particularly if you're going to rent a car while visiting the Bay Area anyway.

SJC ORD LDR

As both a gold and silver, upgrades on ATL-SJC and MSP-SJC are both tough to get these days. ATL-SJC is back down to a 738 with only 16F. Last time, I was next to a couple of Golds on my row.

Landonhm85

I'm about to transfer to Seattle and I'll be commuting to Boston on a weekly basis through at least July. I'll probably fly out on the Sunday night redeye and back on Thursday evening.

Because I'll be landing and going directly to the office after the Sunday-Monday redeye, getting upgraded out of coach will make a huge difference. I'm starting from scratch, but just got the Delta Reserve AMEX and my few remaining flights to Asia will get me Silver by early Feb Gold by March, and Plat around May.

Question is, does anyone have experience with getting upgraded at different status levels on either of these flights? Any idea of my chances of getting upgraded at lower status, especially for the Sunday redeye?

Thanks in advance!

cfischer

I have done a few SEA-BOS flights on Sunday nights last year and SEA-MSP usually cleared but MSP-BOS is a no-go for a PM. SEA-ATL is worse. I recommend booking the best price and then going for SDC (if UG has not cleared) based on the load the DTW/JFK/ATL flights.