Question about using miles to upgrade
 

Since Delta will, hopefully, soon be giving us the ability to redeem miles online for mileage upgrades, I have the following question:

- If you were to use miles to upgrade on either a domestic or international itinerary, do you still earn miles for the purchased portion (i.e. the coach ticket that you bought)? If so, are those miles still counted as MQM?

If the answers to both these questions are "yes", I REALLY look forward to booking these mileage upgrades online. And honestly, I feel I would spend more on coach tickets to make sure they are in the proper fare class in order to use miles.

Yes to both questions. Just need a K-fare or higher for domestic or M-fare or higher international.

Just beware that just because you buy that fare, doesn't mean the upgrade is guaranteed. Check expertflyer.com first to see if the inventories are available at the time of booking.

Enjoy!

As a followup, there must be G or Z fare inventory available to get the upgrade. If Expertflyer (or now several other websites) shows G0 or Z0, the best that will happen is that you will get put on a waitlist for a miles upgrade and a separate, independent waitlist for a medallion upgrade.

So in other words, you need to find a flight that is in K, Q, H, M, or B classes domestically, or M, B, or Y classes internationally, and there must be G or Z fare inventory for the particular flight. Technically the same applies to full Y domestically as well, but most likely the instant medallion upgrade would likely take precedence (assuming that there is V or X inventory).

Confused yet? :)

I'm not excited about this. Currently, upgrading with miles is a kind of "secret art." When this thing goes public on the website, you'll find G inventory more scarce than it already is.

Not clear. This is not like the old NWA website. This is using the website to try for G/Z instead of calling.

Most of the kettle who even try this would end up just being waitlisted, and you can line-jump them by calling (or using the website) when inventory opens.

Excellent. Thanks everyone. I realize that I need to check for the inventory to make sure I get the upgrade, but good to know whether I get the upgrade or not, I am glad I'll earn miles (and MQMs) for purchasing the coach fare.

Sorry to bump a 2 month old thread, but it was the best search result I could find...

So I'm a brand new DL flyer. After about 165k UA/CO miles flown this year, I find myself needing to be in Atlanta every week for the next 7 months, so I am in the middle of a platinum medallion status match challenge. All I care about is schedule and nonstops, which is why I'm switching to DL for the immediate future, and domestic upgrades, free or with miles. I have basically no interest in international award travel, at least not through SkyTeam. I have lurked in this forum for a few weeks but have not found answers to a few questions on mileage upgrades:

- If there is no G inventory but I want to call in for a mileage upgrade, can I waitlist?
- If I do waitlist and it fails to clear prior to the complimentary medallion windows, do mileage upgrades have priority over the complimentary upgrades?
- If there is priority for mileage upgrades on the waitlist, how close to flight time can I call it in? Inside 24 hours?
- Any tips for upgrading SFO-ATL-SFO on the Monday AM/Thursday PM schedule? I am batting 2 for 6 in my first 3 weeks of flying on Delta

Yes.

Sort of... those waitlisting for G or Z do have priority over V or X.

To answer and clarify the "Sort of..." answer above: if G or Z don't open up prior to day of departure, and that usually means V or X don't either, it ends up being a "battlefield upgrade" processed at the gate. You will be automatically added to the airport standby list at time of check-in and you will have priority over those looking for complimentary upgrades... if you have an SWU. See, technically, you can't standby for an upgrade at the gate with miles, only an SWU.

That's one of the worst (certainly top 10) flights to try to get an upgrade on. Tips? Earn DM status; buy the most expensive ticket you can afford and get an AMEX reserve - or change your workdays and fly Wednesday to Saturday.

Great, thanks for the response. I'm not sure how close I'll be to DM by year end, starting from 0 now -- if it's close, I'll probably find some way to do it, but most likely it'll wait until next year, assuming I'm still flying somewhere DL is best from SFO. Have enjoyed the service and especially the wifi so far

Just to clarify something you wrote, suppose I waitlist for mileage (not SWU) upgrade 2 weeks out, and it doesn't clear prior to check-in. When I get to the gate, will I be on the airport standby list with priority over complimentary upgrades, or is that for SWUs only? Thanks

If you want to be DM by the end of the year and can't do it just by flying, consider the Delta Amex Reserve card, which will let you get another 10,000 MQM for signup and then an additional 30,000 MQM after you churn a $60,000 spend. (or 15,000 MQM for $30,000 spend).

The fee is a bit steep for this card but is cheap compared to the expense and wasted time of the "miles run" nonsense that some people do to top up their status.

You can also stack this with the Business version of the same card. And likewise, the Business and Personal versions of the Delta Platinum Amex. Depending on how many miles you need, how much cash you can run through a credit card, and your willingness to pay fees to Amex in exchange for Delta status, you can get past Platinum before you've even set foot on an airplane.