NRT-SEA-MSP questions
 

I'll be flying NRT-SEA-MSP in a couple of days. I've arranged a long stopover in SEA by taking the SEA-MSP redeye (DL 1014, departs 12:55 am). This will be my first time in Seattle, and I'm looking forward to meeting friends while I'm there. This is not the last leg of this trip, so I'd really like to land the upgrade SEA-MSP for a chance at a little more restful flight. Right now I'm a lowly FO but the NRT-SEA leg will push me past the GM threshold.

I have two questions for the collective wisdom of FT:

1. What time should I arrive at SEA to make the 12:55 am departure? (That is, how bad are the security lines at that hour?) The friends I'm meeting have told me to expect horrible lines departing SEA, but none of them have flown the redeye out.

2. Is there anything I can do to improve my upgrade chances SEA-MSP? (Upgrading with miles isn't really an option; this is a T fare and I've already flown the outbound.) Is the 17-hour stopover enough time for DL's computers to figure out that I've made GM and automatically give me a better shot at an upgrade? Or can I help the process along with a phone call?

Thanks!

Move To DL GM
 

Congratulations on your almost move to GM. My experience is that the DL IT folks move us from one level to another rather quickly. With that said, and others may know better than I, much seems to happen over the weekend when some batch-loading may take place.

Regardless, I see no harm in making a copy of your SkyMiles home page and taking it to the SkyClub or the GA to see if something can be done. More than anything, not being a PM/DM and having a T-fare are strikes against an upgrade. The positive side is the time of the flight: fewer high flyers on the redeye, I think. Good luck.

Security lines are very short that time of nite. Are you checking bags? If not then 60-75 minutes would be more than enough time. Check DL site about the bag cutoff time....i never check bags so dont really know.

My experience is that your status should update at midnight EST on the day you arrive in the US. So..... If your NRT-SEA flight arrives into SEA at 12:50pm PST, which is 15:50pm EST, your status should be updated the sameday when Atlanta gets to midnight. So you should have gold showing at about 9:00pm PST on your day of arrival into SEA.

Errrr - since when? There are a LOT of redeye flights from SEA (not just DL either) - unless your status has been changed to gold (and it shows on your BP), and you can use the Sky Priority lane, 90 minutes would be the minimum...

An hour before at that time should be fine at that time of the night. I would just print your gold status from Delta.com if you have a chance. The person checking the priority lane (if it is even open at that time) is really relaxed on who they let through so

I usually carry my old Platinum cards with me when I am traveling with people and just give them the card. Basically the priority line screener just glances at the card and lets you through ... I have never actually been stopped and had my ticket examined.

Good luck on the upgrade too

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone.

I will have a checked bag (it's hard, at least for me, to spend four weeks in mainland China without one...) so it looks like I'll need to arrive about 90 minutes early. That's not quite as bad as I had been led to expect, even if it's longer than I would have liked.

NRT-SEA gets in at 7:35am PST, so if DL's computers really acknowledge status changes at midnight EST, that should be plenty of time for them.

Fingers crossed for the upgrade... the seat map looks pretty good, with 14 F seats open and many preferred Y seats open, suggesting a medallion-light flight. But we all know how reliable the seat map is.