Jun 12, 2015, 7:09 pm
Last edit by: audidudi
This wiki covers basic info and common FAQs. For full terms and conditions, see the relevant DL web page: Same Day Travel Changes
Same-Day Confirmed
To request an SDC, you can
Online SDC does not seem to present all the options available to you, especially when you are SDCing a GAP fare and there is no inventory in your fare bucket. Calling in is best. People have had success with Twitter but that may depend on how "involved" the SDC is.
You can SDC starting 24 hours before your initial departure. You can SDC to any flight leaving the same calendar day. There is a $75 fee for SDC ($50 for tickets issued before March 15th, 2017), waived for GM and higher. This fee, and the waiver, applies for each person, although for GM+ traveling with companion the companion fee is sometimes waived.
Q. Does the same fare class need to be available (main cabin)?
A. Yes (whether revenue or award ticket). Note there is sometimes inventory in a fare bucket even though it may not be offered for sale on the web site. SDC on V or N (low award) fare is not unheard of.
Q. Does the same fare class need to be available (Comfort+)?
If booked into W (not WU) there only needs to be an available seat in Comfort+ regardless of fare class.
Q. Does the same fare class need to be available (First/Business/DeltaOne)?
Q. What about SDC with RUC/GUC/mileage upgrades (that have already cleared)?
As of November 2017:
It is unclear how this affects SDC if you are confirmed in RY/OY.
Q. I have a premium cabin fare, can I SDC to an itinerary with a single-cabin aircraft?
Written reply received from Delta, Dec. 2015:
Q. What about Medallion complimentary upgrades?
A. These do *not* count as premium cabin fares even if you already cleared. The main cabin rules for SDC regarding fare inventory will apply, and if it goes through you will SDC into a main cabin seat (but you are eligible to be upgraded again -- make sure you appear on the upgrade list on your new itinerary)
Q. Can I change the routing/connections?
A. You cannot SDC from a connecting itinerary to a non-stop itinerary. In all other cases the answer is unclear. The SDC rules do not explicitly prohibit routing changes. However ticket fare rules usually contain a clause that additions/changes to connections must be permitted by the fare rules. These are apparently in conflict, and practically speaking it depends on the agent/supervisor you speak with. Some refuse, some allow anything reasonable.
Q. Can I change the origin/destination?
A. Technically no, but there is an unwritten rule that DMs can make co-terminal changes. (There are some unintuitive gaps in what DL considers co-terminal, e.g. DAL and DFW do not count.)
Q. How are SDC flights credited?
A. You will earn MQMs for the route you actually fly.
Q. Can I SDC onto a red-eye later the same day, that connects to a flight the following morning?
A. Yes (though the agent may need to process it manually)
Q. I have a red-eye flight or a flight leaving shortly after midnight; can I SDC to a flight the next day/day before?
A. Officially, no. In practice, some people have reported success (with no real pattern to status). Can't hurt to ask.
Q. Can I SDC on an international itinerary?
A. Officially, no. In practice, you can SDC remaining domestic flights after all international flights have been flown; if you have onward checked bags it is best to do this before you re-check them. There are non-zero reports of SDC of domestic flights before connecting to an international flight but this should not be counted on.
Q. Can I SDC an Alaska Airlines codeshare?
Same-Day Standby
"Same-day standby is only offered if same-day confirmed is not available."
"You can use the same-day standby option for travel within the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Delta and Delta Connection flights."
SDS can be requested 24 hours before your initial departure. GM+ can SDS to any flight departing the same calendar day; others can only SDS for an earlier flight. No routing changes are permitted.
SDS costs$75 ($50 for tickets issued before 15 MAR 2017) but only if you clear the standby list (waived for GM+) SDS is now free for all passengers as of August 4th, 2021
Upgrades are not preserved -- if you already cleared the upgrade on your original flight you must still standby for the main cabin.
Q. Is it possible to get upgraded after a standby?
A. Almost always no, whether because it is explicitly forbidden or because the standby list is processed after the UG list and it is rare for any F seats to be leftover after that happens. So, maybe sometimes?
Same-Day Standby Upgrades
"The same-day standby upgrade option allows you to upgrade your flight for a small fee, provided space is available and your ticket is eligible. This option applies to specific flights and routings [...]"
This is not the same as upgrading after successfully standing by for a main cabin seat (see above).
SDSU fee chart (may be out of date):
All flights within and between the Domestic 48 States and Alaska
All flights to and from Hawaii
All eligible other flights
Same-Day Confirmed
To request an SDC, you can
- Use the Same Day Change function on the Today screen in the Delta app (recommended, but with some peculiarities -- may not show all routings, and if changing to an earlier or later flight will only show the option within 24 hours of the target flight)
- Click the "Change" button during OLCI (after you click "Check in" on the first screen)
- Call a phone agent (recommended if app does not work)
- Use Delta's chat functions via the app (hit or miss)
Online SDC does not seem to present all the options available to you, especially when you are SDCing a GAP fare and there is no inventory in your fare bucket. Calling in is best. People have had success with Twitter but that may depend on how "involved" the SDC is.
You can SDC starting 24 hours before your initial departure. You can SDC to any flight leaving the same calendar day. There is a $75 fee for SDC ($50 for tickets issued before March 15th, 2017), waived for GM and higher. This fee, and the waiver, applies for each person, although for GM+ traveling with companion the companion fee is sometimes waived.
Q. Does the same fare class need to be available (main cabin)?
A. Yes (whether revenue or award ticket). Note there is sometimes inventory in a fare bucket even though it may not be offered for sale on the web site. SDC on V or N (low award) fare is not unheard of.
Q. Does the same fare class need to be available (Comfort+)?
If booked into W (not WU) there only needs to be an available seat in Comfort+ regardless of fare class.
Q. Does the same fare class need to be available (First/Business/DeltaOne)?
Q. What about SDC with RUC/GUC/mileage upgrades (that have already cleared)?
As of November 2017:
* If your original ticket is a Delta OneTM ticket, you may move to any other flight with a premium cabin seat available
* If your original ticket is a First Class ticket, you may move only to other flights with a First Class seat available; you may not move to a flight with a Delta One experience, even if seats are available.
* If your original ticket is a First Class ticket, you may move only to other flights with a First Class seat available; you may not move to a flight with a Delta One experience, even if seats are available.
Q. I have a premium cabin fare, can I SDC to an itinerary with a single-cabin aircraft?
Written reply received from Delta, Dec. 2015:
f the aircraft does not support a First/Business/Delta One cabin you are still eligible to change to the flight as long we are still selling seats on the flight.
Q. What about Medallion complimentary upgrades?
A. These do *not* count as premium cabin fares even if you already cleared. The main cabin rules for SDC regarding fare inventory will apply, and if it goes through you will SDC into a main cabin seat (but you are eligible to be upgraded again -- make sure you appear on the upgrade list on your new itinerary)
Q. Can I change the routing/connections?
A. You cannot SDC from a connecting itinerary to a non-stop itinerary. In all other cases the answer is unclear. The SDC rules do not explicitly prohibit routing changes. However ticket fare rules usually contain a clause that additions/changes to connections must be permitted by the fare rules. These are apparently in conflict, and practically speaking it depends on the agent/supervisor you speak with. Some refuse, some allow anything reasonable.
Q. Can I change the origin/destination?
A. Technically no, but there is an unwritten rule that DMs can make co-terminal changes. (There are some unintuitive gaps in what DL considers co-terminal, e.g. DAL and DFW do not count.)
Q. How are SDC flights credited?
A. You will earn MQMs for the route you actually fly.
Q. Can I SDC onto a red-eye later the same day, that connects to a flight the following morning?
A. Yes (though the agent may need to process it manually)
Q. I have a red-eye flight or a flight leaving shortly after midnight; can I SDC to a flight the next day/day before?
A. Officially, no. In practice, some people have reported success (with no real pattern to status). Can't hurt to ask.
Q. Can I SDC on an international itinerary?
A. Officially, no. In practice, you can SDC remaining domestic flights after all international flights have been flown; if you have onward checked bags it is best to do this before you re-check them. There are non-zero reports of SDC of domestic flights before connecting to an international flight but this should not be counted on.
Q. Can I SDC an Alaska Airlines codeshare?
"Same-day standby is only offered if same-day confirmed is not available."
"You can use the same-day standby option for travel within the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Delta and Delta Connection flights."
SDS can be requested 24 hours before your initial departure. GM+ can SDS to any flight departing the same calendar day; others can only SDS for an earlier flight. No routing changes are permitted.
SDS costs
Upgrades are not preserved -- if you already cleared the upgrade on your original flight you must still standby for the main cabin.
Q. Is it possible to get upgraded after a standby?
A. Almost always no, whether because it is explicitly forbidden or because the standby list is processed after the UG list and it is rare for any F seats to be leftover after that happens. So, maybe sometimes?
Same-Day Standby Upgrades
"The same-day standby upgrade option allows you to upgrade your flight for a small fee, provided space is available and your ticket is eligible. This option applies to specific flights and routings [...]"
This is not the same as upgrading after successfully standing by for a main cabin seat (see above).
SDSU fee chart (may be out of date):
All flights within and between the Domestic 48 States and Alaska
Code:
Traveling Y/B/M Fares S/H/Q/K/L Fares U/T/X/V Fares 0 to 500 miles $49 $119 $169 501 to 1,000 miles $79 $149 $199 1,001 to 1,500 miles $99 $209 $259 1,501 to 2,000 miles $149 $249 $319 2,001 to 3,000 miles $239 $269 $359 3,001 miles and up $329 $369 $399
Code:
Traveling Y/B/M Fares S/H/Q/K/L Fares U/T/X/V Fares 2,001 to 3,000 miles $239 $269 $359 3,001 miles and up $329 $369 $399
Code:
Traveling Y / B / M / H / Q / K Fares 0 to 500 miles $50 501 to 1,000 miles $75 1,001 to 1,500 miles $100 1,501 to 2,000 miles $150 2,001 to 3,000 miles $225 3,001 miles and up $350
Same-day confirmed and same-day standby options
Apr 20, 2017, 10:20 am
#3031
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,394
This was from ExpertFlyer, not from the delta site or app. I just looked at the site/app to determine what seats were open. 
Married segments show L0 in ExpertFlyer but individual show L9. A call in last night was a no-go but not sure if there was something to tell an agent that would allow them to do it.
Married segments show L0 in ExpertFlyer but individual show L9. A call in last night was a no-go but not sure if there was something to tell an agent that would allow them to do it.
For whatever reason DL is willing to offer L fares from AAA to BBB and from BBB to CCC, but they are not willing to offer an L from AAA to CCC.
Airlines look at it O/D not segment by segment. We may not like it at times, but it does work in our favor with lower priced connections rather than additive costs of flights.
MCI to MSP may be $450, MSP to GRR may be $300, but MCI/MSP/GRR may be $500 or even $400 instead of $750.
Apr 20, 2017, 10:47 am
#3032
Join Date: Nov 2012
Programs: Delta DM, SPG Plat, Marriott Plat, IHG Spire
Posts: 1,021
They won't typically break married segments for SDC (or much else for that matter).
For whatever reason DL is willing to offer L fares from AAA to BBB and from BBB to CCC, but they are not willing to offer an L from AAA to CCC.
Airlines look at it O/D not segment by segment. We may not like it at times, but it does work in our favor with lower priced connections rather than additive costs of flights.
MCI to MSP may be $450, MSP to GRR may be $300, but MCI/MSP/GRR may be $500 or even $400 instead of $750.
For whatever reason DL is willing to offer L fares from AAA to BBB and from BBB to CCC, but they are not willing to offer an L from AAA to CCC.
Airlines look at it O/D not segment by segment. We may not like it at times, but it does work in our favor with lower priced connections rather than additive costs of flights.
MCI to MSP may be $450, MSP to GRR may be $300, but MCI/MSP/GRR may be $500 or even $400 instead of $750.
Sadly, booking the current K fare (K9 but L0 on EF) directly would be $100 cheaper than the upcharge to change my ticket to that K fare. Online option doesn't even offer that, but the phone agent did on request yesterday.
Apr 26, 2017, 3:14 pm
#3033
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Stuck Between the Moon and CLD or SAN, Your local Taco Bell
Programs: AA EXP/LT PLT, DL PM, UA Silver, SPG Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 3,510
SDC from F to DeltaOne?
Trying to change from FLL-DTW-LAX in F (paid, on a non-broken fare) to FLL-JFK-LAX in F/DL One using SDC within the time window.
First call was met with transfer from PM line to "manual reissues" and got push back from them because this was an an upgrade - claiming the policy for Same-Day Standby Upgrades applied and that prohibited JFKLAX and JFKSFO.
Did HUCA and ultimately got the change made, but are there some magic words I need to use to get the change done? Or is it agent roulette?
First call was met with transfer from PM line to "manual reissues" and got push back from them because this was an an upgrade - claiming the policy for Same-Day Standby Upgrades applied and that prohibited JFKLAX and JFKSFO.
Did HUCA and ultimately got the change made, but are there some magic words I need to use to get the change done? Or is it agent roulette?
Apr 26, 2017, 3:20 pm
#3035
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: MEM
Programs: DL DM, Hilton Gold, Marriott/SPG Gold, Hertz PC
Posts: 424
It's HUCA. However, I prefer to use twitter and give them the exact routing/times/flight numbers I want. If I get any pushback, I have a canned response that I can copy/paste that says (politely) something like "I do this quite often and the rules state that as long as there is a seat in F on a domestic itin and I am on a paid F itin, I should be allowed to make a confirmed switch."
Benefit being that it keeps me from having to HUCA and spend time on hold while they manually redo everything.
90% of the time, it works every time.
Benefit being that it keeps me from having to HUCA and spend time on hold while they manually redo everything.
90% of the time, it works every time.
Apr 26, 2017, 3:22 pm
#3036
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: MSP
Posts: 164
I think you got away with one. I checked a half dozen F fares from FLL/LAX and none of them showed JFK as a valid connection point.
I by no means checked everything, in this case agents lack of knowledge very likely played to your favor
I by no means checked everything, in this case agents lack of knowledge very likely played to your favor
Apr 26, 2017, 3:28 pm
#3037
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: MSP
Posts: 164
It's HUCA. However, I prefer to use twitter and give them the exact routing/times/flight numbers I want. If I get any pushback, I have a canned response that I can copy/paste that says (politely) something like "I do this quite often and the rules state that as long as there is a seat in F on a domestic itin and I am on a paid F itin, I should be allowed to make a confirmed switch."
Benefit being that it keeps me from having to HUCA and spend time on hold while they manually redo everything.
90% of the time, it works every time.
Benefit being that it keeps me from having to HUCA and spend time on hold while they manually redo everything.
90% of the time, it works every time.
Apr 26, 2017, 3:30 pm
#3038
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Stuck Between the Moon and CLD or SAN, Your local Taco Bell
Programs: AA EXP/LT PLT, DL PM, UA Silver, SPG Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 3,510
No one seemed to have a problem with routing rules, the only issue I ran into was the insistence that F -> DL One = was two different cabins vs. the definition of them both as "Premium Cabin" on the flight. Also don't see any reference to routing rules in the SDC published policy, though it's obvious why they'd want to prevent things like going LAX-SFO via JFK.
Going to try it on the redeye return if there are seats available, so it sounds like HUCA is the approach.
Apr 26, 2017, 4:00 pm
#3040
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: MEM
Programs: DL DM, Hilton Gold, Marriott/SPG Gold, Hertz PC
Posts: 424
May or may not matter to anyone, and polite or not, and it may just be me, but when anyone told me anything to the effect of "I do this all the time" or "the last guy let me do it" my blood boiled. Maybe it's because I really did have a good handle on the rules and virtually every time it was told to me it was BS. Sorry Rant over
I tried to find the exact wording that I used, but I deleted all my DM's on Twitter with DeltaAssist, which was the last time I had to use it. I was paraphrasing above, so I'm not sure if I said "do this quite often" and am sure I wouldn't have said "last guy let me do it" --- I just know I mentioned I was a frequent SDC'er and the fare bucket rules thing didn't apply, would they mind checking again.
Apr 26, 2017, 5:20 pm
#3041
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Stuck Between the Moon and CLD or SAN, Your local Taco Bell
Programs: AA EXP/LT PLT, DL PM, UA Silver, SPG Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 3,510
I'd like to check my specific fare rules to see if this might have been the issue, but can't seem to find a way to access them when viewing my reservation. Is that possible or are they only available at booking?
Apr 26, 2017, 5:32 pm
#3042
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 2,881
May or may not matter to anyone, and polite or not, and it may just be me, but when anyone told me anything to the effect of "I do this all the time" or "the last guy let me do it" my blood boiled. Maybe it's because I really did have a good handle on the rules and virtually every time it was told to me it was BS. Sorry Rant over
Apr 26, 2017, 6:13 pm
#3043
In memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2005
Location: PIT
Programs: DM life is over 2MM PM now & NW MillionAir Wyndham Rewards Plat -Hotels.com Silver -Accor Silver
Posts: 15,408
Widgets, when I entered the LAX SC yesterday, a guy with female companion was trying to get her in for free (using some sort of Amex credentials). They told him it was gonna be $29. He said, Oh, I've NEVER had to pay for a companion before! The agent said - Here, at LAX? We're VERY careful about this! He started listing about 15 different airports where he claims he never paid!
Guess what.....
He paid the $29.
I think they probably hear that cr@p all day long!
He was also trying to get her UG'ed, somehow. I didn't hear the end result of that!
Guess what.....
He paid the $29.
I think they probably hear that cr@p all day long!
He was also trying to get her UG'ed, somehow. I didn't hear the end result of that!
Apr 26, 2017, 6:27 pm
#3044
Moderator: Hyatt; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Caesars Diam, Marriott Tit, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester
Posts: 18,946
I don't think even the fare rules link during the checkout process shows the permitted routings, does it? Having ExpertFlyer helps for something like this.
Apr 26, 2017, 6:30 pm
#3045
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SEA (the REAL Washington); occasionally in the other Washington (DCA area)
Programs: DL PM 1.57MM; AS MVPG 100K
Posts: 21,375
... So, you think the agents at the airport will do a "NEXT DAY" "SDC" at the airport upon arrival thru Customs without any grief? ... Now that I think about it . . . I won't be able to, because I arrive thru Customs in SEA around 8AM - - My flight the next day isn't til 11:45 AM, so, I won't be within the 24 hour SDC window til I get to LAX from SEA.