sorka

I see 7 seats available in First for SFO-ATL on 5/19 @ 10.40pm (DL1749). I would have (kind of) hoped to be upgraded (Plat / H fare) now that we are almost 24hrs from departure (I purchased my ticket yesterday, on 5/17)...

USirritated

Okay, I can respect that, but if you do not feel that you DESERVE upgrades, then why are you a DM, and what benefits do you feel that you do deserve?

readywhenyouare

That is awful, especially for a DM. I feel a little bad since my upgrade % as a GM is way higher. Although I stay off the beaten path and avoid ATL, MSP, DTW. I'm surprised at the JFK stats since I haven't missed any upgrades when connecting there; they've always cleared at the window too.

nwrep2009

The benefits that I think I deserve as a DM:

1) Priority in seat selection in the cabin I purchase my ticket in
2) Priority in boarding
3) If something goes wrong, IRROPS, Delta is fantastic and blows away the competition. Last year when I missed a connection, they put me up in a great hotel, comp'ed everything, upgraded on the next day's flight and gave me 10000 bonus miles on top of that.
4) Delta phone support for DM is great - never more than a minute's wait.
5) Boarding priority on partner airlines

I think that is it. Anything more than that is gravy. I don't much care about Skyclub access for domestic flights as connections are usually tight.

sorka

and I am #10 out of 15 on the upgrade list for 7 seats... tough (Plat/H fare)!

us2

Ouch. I think my %age while flying NRSA (no Shena!) is higher. I also fly on revenue tickets for business, but usually buy F or J (or the discounted equivalent thereof).

sorka

Gold between 01/01 to 05/13 => 0 upgrade for 12 R/T SFO-ATL-CLT (sunday evening 10.40pm) and CLT-ATL-SFO (thursday 5pm)

PM since 05/14 => 0 upgrade for 1 R/T SFO-ATL-CLT-ATL-CLT

Tonight I am (so far) #11/16 for 6 seats (SFO-ALT) and #7/29 for 2 seats (ATL-CLT) but for that flights there always 50+ people on the upgrade list so I don't even think I will ever make it

USirritated

That is really very interesting. I was PM until 2011, then GM for 2011, then did not travel in 2012 due to illness, and now GM again. I got upgraded almost all of the time when I was PM, and still quite a bit as a GM before 2012. I can see a marked difference in upgrades since I became GM again for 2013, and FLL is not a PM and DM heavy city, at least not compared to the hubs. I know there were changes to the upgrade scheme, but I can't put my finger on what they did to make the upgrades so much stingier, while still managing to fill all or almost all of the F seats. What did I miss in 2012 which was such an earthshaking change?

I had IRROPS only probably three, maybe four times before 2012, and they were all handled same day, so no opportunity for them to put me up in a hotel overnight. They gave me a food chit for the airport once, it was for $7, and after begging, they increased it to $10, and for that, I was able to get a sandwich and half a large drink, so I must be missing something in that area too. The actual rebooking generally went smoothly.

bcj1949

I've similar. Even a AX Delta Reserve and doing better on UG"s as AA PLT. I fly out of MSP and am always #2/3 on UG and then sink over the 8 hours before departure. Doing better again at AA as PTL although I have to pay for stickers. OK by me.

USirritated

This is why I am thinking so seriously about re-attaining Plat with DL this year, and then status matching over to AA. The only question is, since I was elite with US for 23 years before I moved to DL in 2008, what will happen after the merger is completed, and how will it affect my status after the match.

GregL

I was PM through 28-Feb. Dropped back to GM from then until mid-April and back to PM since mid-April.

Of 36 domestic flights, 35 were on planes with First Class and I've gotten upgraded 32 times. Most of my travel is on weekends in L, T, X and V classes.

2 of the 3 misses involved flights where I was looking to be in good shape for an upgrade at the gate only to have another flight cancel and have passengers rebooked on my flight.

Additionally, I'm 1 for 2 doing companion upgrades with a non-elite companion.

Interestingly, I was 100% for upgrades while I was a GM and "only" 91% as a PM.

Greg

GW McLintock

SLC-LAX (V) on Sunday -- just got the email
LAX-JFK (X) on Sunday -- didn't get it (got EC though)

2nd upgrade of the year... out of 6 flights (including those... although two of them I went on rev standby so maybe out of 4 eligible).

Also, I booked this as a single multi-city ticket, but had to check in for each flight separately, and the 3-bag F benefit only went as far as LAX (i.e. could only check up to two bags to JFK).

-J.

Bradhattan

Hey Everyone:

I hope I am posting this in the right place. Searched and this seemed logical.

Anyway, I am newly FO. I am gunning for GM by years end. Have the opportunity to buy a couple cheap 5500 MQM runs.

Starting in GRR to ATL. What are my chances of getting upgrade ATL to SFO vs. DTW, MSP, or even CVG? Looking in September. Same price to fly through any of them. Also, should I go for ATL to get max. MQMs or other hub for better upgrade chance?

Thank you all very much! Your knowledge is appreciated! Thanks for such a great forum FT!

-B

USirritated

Which is more important to you, the upgrade or the MQM's? We can't know what you value more. ATL and CVG are probably the elite heaviest hubs, so if upgrades are your preference, try the other airports.

I live in Florida, and personally, I always try to route through DTW, both for better upgrade chances, and for more MQM's, but everyone is different, both for preference, and for elite heavy routes/city pairs.

Good luck and safe travels.

Bradhattan

Thanks for the hub info! I guess since I have made it to Medallion the whole point is to get an upgrade (but I will settle for free luggage) so I guess an upgrade at this juncture would be nice!