popppa

Traveling on an international itinerary with a non-status companion. I want my upgrades on the domestic segments & realize that it will come at the cost of diminished free luggage allowance. Questions:

1.) Does it matter WHEN you split your reservation? Specifically, does it impact your upgrade chances? (e.g. splitting 60 days out vs. 8 days out)

We currently have EC on more than 6 segments. Considering keeping the PNR together until just before the first sweep in case of last minute equipment changes. Thoughts? Is Pre-Check affected in any way?

2. In the case of IROPS, what are the "magic words" (if any) to get your companion routed/treated the same.

3. Will companion's EC seats "hold" after the split?

Grateful for any tips or inside (official or anecdotal)

PPP

javabytes

1. Yes, it matters. Upgrade priority is by elite level, then fare class, then Reserve card, then time of request. If you split the PNR 8 days out, your request will be dated then, as opposed to getting a bit of a boost by having done it 60 days out. Granted this is the 4th level tiebreaker, so the effect is probably only a couple slots at most, but it could make the difference.

2. Ask the agent to "link" your PNRs after splitting them. This is really just a note that you are traveling together, but it's as much as you can do with split PNRs. An agent who sees the note should try to reroute you and your companion together in the event of IROPS, but there are no guarantees.

3. The seats will "hold" but they will not be able to change to other EC or preferred seats, or to reselect them if there is an equipment swap and they are automatically reseated in standard seats. Some agents will seat your companion next to you in EC or preferred seats, but recently this seems to be limited to a spouse, not just any companion.

johndoe123

Warning: I've been told the EC seats would be removed, and it would mess up the baggage allowance on your return.

I always thought the only safe time was on the return, after clearing the international leg.

Renes Points

All spot on advice. IMO, I would not risk the split. EC for INT part more important than domestic upgrades plus you can pick EC for that as well. I never split wife and I for this setup.

SuperG1955

If you ever do split, use Twitter and ask them to keep you on the original PNR. We split every res and they never mess it up as some phone agents have.

Bowgie

javabytes is correct.

In the OP's situation, I recommend splitting somewhere like 10 days out. As noted, the time of request is the fourth time-breaker. That's EXTREMELY unlikely to make a difference in whether the OP gets or does not get an upgrade.

Less than two weeks out is also unlikely to have an equipment change killing the EC seat selection for the non-elite status partner.

Whether or not the OP should split a reservation also depends on the length of domestic segments -- ATL to MIA, probably not. SEA-ATL, hell yes.

As for linking a reservation -- mostly useless and unnecessary. Wife travels with me on a separate PNR. We've been IRROP re-routed separately, and bump offered to me but not wife. In each case, I've able to say, "Hey wait a second! I have a traveling companion with me!" Where a linked reservation is useful (in the sense of "better than nothing") is with children or inexperienced travelers who can't assert their requirements when things go wrong.

MSPeconomist

I don't understand this comment. Once the PNR has been split, it cannot be rejoined; the best you can do is to link the PNRs then.

Bowgie

I think the person posting this meant, "When you split, get reservations to assign the original PNR number to the elite, and assign the newly created PNR to the splitee. Only the Twitter folks are smart enough to do this reliably."

I with you, MSPeconomist, in the that I don't understand how it matters which traveler gets which PNR. It never mattered to me.

MSPeconomist

It can matter as the tiebreaker, which is time of upgrade request.

javabytes

+1

If they keep you on the original PNR and give your companion the new one, your original upgrade request will remain intact and won't be re-dated like it would if they did it the other way around.

popppa

Thanks a lot for the info! It gives me more information with which to make my decision. Can you or anyone else shed any light on the following comments:

The trip originates OUTSIDE the U.S. & splitting AFTER the 1st international leg will cause me to miss the upgrade window on a number of the subsequent legs. Does anyone have a different opinion based on it being a foreign originating itinerary? All flights except 1 are >4 hours. Are EC seats really removed to avoid a baggage allowance issue?

I have a very competent travel agent. (admittedly this is the first time I've needed something like this. Is splitting the PNR but making sure that I retain the original one something that can only be entrusted to the Twitter team?

I normally have the "rules of engagement" down pat. (my status is 100% BIS) This is my first trip involving a non-status companion where the tickets are not already in J (Their dime). Companion doesn't want me to miss an upgrade & we thought me in F them in EC was a good compromise. Am I correct that a subsequent request for a companion upgrade can be made DOD (Counter? Gate?)..for the off chance that there is space available on one of the legs with 20+ seats in F.

Thanks,

PPP

javabytes

You can request a companion upgrade in advance just like you can for yourself (provided you are traveling with only 1 companion). The only thing that is different is priority for you. If you are on the same PNR as your companion, your priority will be reduced to that of companions. If you split your PNR, you will clear with the Medallions if space is available, and your companion would clear at the companion window if there was still inventory available.

popppa

Thanks javabytes,
Can a travel agent do the split & control who retains the original PNR or do you have to call Delta (or is Twitter really the best)? Are there "magic words" to help make sure that the agent does the split correctly?

Any insight into the validity of johndoe123's claim about EC seating for the companion?

PPP

SuperG1955

I know that. What I was referring to is them keeping my wife on the original and giving me the new one, thereby giving her higher priority for the UG's. Not nice when I do all the work of research, ticketing, paying for the tickets, etc.

SuperG1955

Whoever is requesting the split must be very specific about who stays on the original PNR and who gets the new one(s). Even with that I have had phone CSR's screw it up a few times.

I've just abot gotten to the point where I book each ticket separately which is a lot more work then a single booking and splitting after our seats are selected and EC seats obtained.