Need help using SWU
 

I am Delta platinum (had few flights on business class for work last year) and have 4 SWU certificate expiring in Nov.

My Mom would be flying from Mumbai, India to Phx, arizona in early Aug and would like to use the SWU certificate to upgrade her. Her return date would be in 1st week of Feb.

I have 184K miles but don't mind paying for the ticket and upgrade using SWU. Which class ticket should I search for to use the SWU certificate for upgrading international segment to business class (From Bom to Europe and Europe to US).

Even though my upgrade certificate expires in Nov, can I use them now to upgrade her for the return travel which would be in Feb.

Appreciate any input from the experts.

You cannot upgrade her using a SWU unless you are flying with her on the same reservation.

In addition, SWUs can only be used on a Y, B, or M fare for international flights, which tend to be pretty expensive.

Recent thread on angst over using them:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...on-policy.html

Called Delta and agent said that I can use SWU to upgrade my Mom without me travelling but the fare she gave me was significantly higher then normal. Based on the link you gave me, that agent did not know what she was talking about.

Take advantage of this. When you are ready to book, play phone roulette, meaning keep calling until you get the answer you want. You won't get any better fares though. Upgradeable fares are high.

I'm not so sure this is good advice.

http://www.delta.com/skymiles/about_...erts/index.jsp

Sounds like a surefire way to end up with a very expensive coach ticket. Go with the miles instead, either upgrading with them or buying an award ticket.

To use a SWU, the person gas to be in the same reservation as the PM/DM.

If you purchase a YBM fare, you could use miles to upgrade if there is availability.

Only reason for using Delta was to use SWU to upgrade otherwise prefer BA from BOM - LHR and LHR to PHX. I have around 70K BA miles but don't believe that's enough for anything in BA :(

You can't use an SWU for somebody else when you aren't flying. You can use miles to upgrade somebody else in this case.

The required fare class is M or higher, which is why you got a very expensive quote from the agent. The M fare is probably in the 3-4k+ range compared to the lowest coach ticket.

Thanks a lot everyone. I'll try some other airline (united or AA) to see if there are any options.

You could also look at Premium Voyageur on Air France.