R is not an upgrade from coach. It is a first class fare for all intensive purposes. IROPs, SDC, etc would all rebook into first/business class.

I have SDC many times and always had to go to the gate. How does that work?

If you are SDCing to an itinerary with two (or more) segments, and the second segment is more than 3 hours away, and the second segment has V or X open (shows as 'Upgrade Available' on delta.com), then you will immediately clear on the second segment.

Any purchased F fare will SDC into F, if there is an F seat available. (UP fairs usually don't work the same, they SDC into coach.)

So my major point was a simple one and apparently a valid one... that you could look at time T-3:05 and see wide open upgrade inventory, call your medallion line to get the SDC right at T-3H, and ZAP!, the upgrade inventory has zeroed out at the three hour mark and one must subject themselves to the gate lottery. I suspect that it is not a simple coincidence that SDCs are allowed at the three hour mark and that is when the upgrades become part of the gate process.

Certainly the point made by bennos is a valid one, but then it is longer than three hours until the connecting flight.

Out of SFO, as a PM, its not uncommon to be in the high 20s to 30s on the Upgrade list. Usually 10-15 Diamonds don't clear to DTW or ATL. Very tough for upgrades here.

UP fares most certainly are supposed to SDC into F.

If you are talking about A and P fares, they do not SDC into F. They SDC into coach unless A or P inventory is available.

I have been told this multiple times, and been denied several times.

David

Several times I have SDC'd onto flights within 3 hours of departure that had V inventory available and was upgraded immediately. There was even one time when they had trouble reticketing me because the system kept trying to upgrade me before the ticketing process completed.

I have also been upgraded sometime between then and the normal gate upgrades. And, of course, I got gate upgrades. If I have a choice about whether to SDC I usually check EF for upgrade chances before calling.

DiverDave is correct, UP fares do not SDC into first class unless the discounted fare class (A or P) required for the upgrade is still available on the flight you want to switch to.

Agents can (and do) still make the magic happen if you ask nicely though...

FC monetization to get worse summer 2012? - From DL investor day
 

Saw this on Twitter feed....

http://milecards.com/3112/delta-adju...free-upgrades/

Verbatim quote is in the link but basically that Delta said at its investor day it may push harder with FC monetization when Economy Comfort is complete, moving from 30% today to 50-60%.

Need to look for the transcript of this later; forgot the event was taking place. Usually some gems come out of it on a number of fronts.

Yup I saw this. What this really comes down to is the reduction/near elimination of free upgrades for FO/GM and to some extent Plat. last year when this started I said "slippery slope"....Get out your sled folks. If you are not top tier upgrades will soon be a thing of the past. This will not impact me yet when I said it people jumped in to say that it was just a minor adjustment to what they have been doing for a long time. Next year at this time I would be surprised if GMs hit 25% UGs and FO's maybe 10%. Think I am kidding? Wait and see. BTW, this is not just DL...generally upgrades for free are going away unless you are a 100k+ flyer.

Yup... as many of us feared and are upset about, FCM continues to expand. Sounds like DL will definitely get more aggressive with it, and upgrade percentages will drop across the board as they already have.
The #1 perk of the medallion program is getting watered down more, and once you dilute domestic upgrades it doesn't leave anything else to the DL program to distinguish it from other airlines.

I suspect in the not to far future complimentary medallion upgrades will be to EC, not FC. "Best in class" will be replaced with "first to the worst".

Right on spot. However, this may mean FC becomes properly priced. With the exception of the BE transcon service are there any domestic first classes worth paying so much more for?