SDC Question
 

I'm a newly minted GM & haven't had a chance to try to SDC yet, so please forgive me if the answer to this question is obvious.

Can I SDC from a direct flight to 2 segments if there is availability? If this is possible, I could end up at my destination 3+ hours earlier.

Thanks for your help!

yes, as long as there is availability. You may have to pay a difference in taxes/fees though!

Thanks, good to know! If it were the same route (ie: direct), there'd be no cost, correct?

correct. it would be free since you're a GM

also one caveat though - if you're booked on a fare where the requirements are "nonstop only" then you can't SDC it to a connection, but this isn't the case most of the time

Gotcha, thanks for that heads up. I may inquire tomorrow rather than sit at the airport for 5 hours.

This depends a lot on the market. I see many relatively good exMSP fares that require use of nonstops.

Assuming there is availability, can I SDC to an alternate routing to get to my end destination earlier? I need to go STL-XXX-GRR tomorrow, and am currently booked STL-MSP-GRR, but Delta is show routings open for STL-DTW-GRR, STL-ATL-GRR and STL-MSP-GRR, all with more convenient schedules then my original ticket.

Availability in the same fare class / bucket, not just any seat availability.

Also, ExperFlyer shows that any of the bolded cities below ARE valid connecting connecting cities, which is also a key factor.

STL-MSP/MEM/DTT/CVG/ATL-GRR

On BOTH legs. If your original fare class is available on one but not the other, you're SOL. You could try to same day standby, but depending on which leg it is, it may be a big crapshoot.

Just to clarify, I need the original fare class on both segments of the original routing? Or any routing, so long as there is original fare class availability?

Thanks for all of the help!

The original fare class as what you have booked on your current ticket, has to be available on all segments of the routing you want to change to, to be able to SDC.

SDC Question
 

What I was trying to get across is that when you SDC to a routing that has a connection, it can be more difficult to find lower fare class availability because there are two flights involved.

You could find that STL-DTW or STL-ATL is wide open but the connection to GRR has only a few very expensive seats remaining (or vice versa). Therefore the whole thing prices out in a higher fare bucket.

Assuming availability in your fare class, yes. I was booked on a SAN-LAX-LAS last Saturday for a late flight. Got SDC'd to SAN-SLC-LAS getting me in to LAS almost 5 hours earlier.

An interesting side (for me) was that I called in 24 hours before my flight I was told nothing was available. I sent a DM to @DeltaAssist on Twitter and was offered 5 options. I told them which I wanted and they made the swap. I've grown very fond of @DeltaAssist on Twitter.

Got it, thank you for clarifying. I was able to SDC and get home 8+ hours earlier today!