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The Official - GLOBAL UPGRADE CERT success thread - Yay! I got it!

Old Sep 14, 2016, 7:42 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: flyerCO
Click below to display this full wiki and read if you have general questions about using GUCs -- they may be answered here!

Using Delta Global Upgrades


DL page: https://www.delta.com/us/en/skymiles/medallion-program/medallion-upgrades
(click or scroll to "Upgrade Certificates Overview" and expand the "Show Additional Details & Terms" sections to see T&C, especially for the specific conditions governing use on partner airlines)

"Global Upgrade Certificates, available exclusively for Diamond Medallion Members, offer upgrades on both international and domestic flights with Delta, and select flights with KLM, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, Korean Air and Aeromexico."

Delta offers Diamond Medallion members the benefit of up to 4 Global Upgrade Certificates (GUCs) per year, which each allow a one-way upgrade to business class/Delta One for one person on any route in the Delta network, as well as a limited number of partner flights under specific restricted circumstances described below. 4 GUCs is enough to upgrade the Diamond Medallion member on 2 round trips or 4 one-way trips, or the Diamond Medallion member plus one companion on 1 round trip or 2 one-way trips.

Choosing upgrades as a choice benefit
  • Upgrades are valid one year from the date of issue, usually the day of or day after they are selected in Choice Benefits -- so best to wait as long as possible to select them unless you have a specific use planned for them
  • All Diamond Medallions also receive a Platinum Medallion choice benefit, even if just renewing existing Diamond status in a year, so DMs could for example select 4 RUCs as their Platinum choice benefit and 4 GUCs as one of their Diamond choice benefit, or 4 RUCs as their Platinum choice benefit and 8 more RUCs as one of their Diamond choice benefits
  • However, it is not possible to select 8 RUCs as one Diamond choice benefit and 4 GUCs as another, nor select 4 GUCs more than once for a single year's Diamond choice benefits -- so the most GUCs anyone can currently earn in a single year is 4
  • You may select your DM benefits at different times, so it is best to select fixed-expiration-date benefits (like gifting status or SkyClub memberships) as soon as possible, but wait until you have a specific use in mind to select upgrades, so that the expiration date is as far into the future as possible. This is especially important if you are waitlisting upgrades for a particular trip, since if the waitlist doesn't clear, a later expiration date will maximize the amount of time you have to try again to use them on a different trip.
  • For status earned based on flying in 2017, upgrades can be selected until the last day that status is valid, January 31, 2019, so they could possibly expire as late as January ~30, 2020 if they are selected as late as possible.
  • Upgrades can be used after you are no longer a Diamond Medallion as long as the upgrades are still valid, though non-DM-line phone agents will be less familiar with them, so they may be harder to use or run a higher risk of being processed incorrectly, so it may be worth booking your GUC flights before your DM status expires if possible.
  • All flights to be upgraded must be flown, not just requested, by the expiration date of the upgrade certificates, though there have been some examples of short extensions offered by phone agents (for example, to the end of the month of the expiration date) as long as the upgrade is able to be confirmed before the certificates expire. In this case it is important to push the agent to make sure the ticket is reissued right away, since it will not be possible to reissue the ticket after the GUC expires. You can tell if the ticket has been reissued because the ticket number on the booking will change from what it was when you originally booked in coach, and the GUC will be marked as "closed" in your wallet on Delta.com.

Finding upgrade space
  • Delta phone agents and the @Delta Twitter account can check for available upgrade space
  • There is no general way to check for available upgrade space online
  • However there is one exception where some flights appear to be able to be checked online: for Delta flights carrying a KLM code -- for example, most flights between the US and Europe -- ExpertFlyer.com (paid membership required) shows KLM upgrade space, and will show upgrade space for those KL-coded, DL-operated flights, which based on anecdotal evidence seems to often (but not always) correspond to upgrade space made available by Delta. This can be a way to check many dates and flights easily, but confirm with Delta that the upgrade space does in fact exist before making firm plans.
  • Upgrade space is not necessarily correlated with award space
  • If upgrade space is not available on your desired flight, you can waitlist, and it is possible the upgrade may clear before departure. If not your name should appear on the upgrade list at the gate. See next section for details.
  • Upgrade space is rarely seen in advance on busy, high-upgrade-demand routes like ATL-JNB and LAX-SYD.

Requesting an upgrade
  • You must call or Tweet at Delta to request an upgrade, they cannot be requested on the website
  • If upgrade space is available, the agent will process the upgrade immediately and you will be able to select business class seats
  • If the upgrade is confirmed in advance, your ticket will be reissued in business class at some point before the flight and you will receive a new itinerary email when this happens; occasionally the ticket does not get reissued and you will not be able to check in, but a quick call to Delta usually fixes this easily
  • Occasionally an email is sent to alert you if a waitlisted upgrade has cleared, but often the best indication is if a segment of your itinerary disappears entirely from Delta.com, which usually means the upgrade has cleared on that segment. Call Delta to have them process it so that it reappears in your itinerary, and you will be able to select business class seats.
  • There have been reports of upgrades coded incorrectly by agents -- unfortunately there is no way to know for sure if your upgrade is coded correctly, and requested upgrades seem to show up a few different ways on Delta.com, sometimes with an "upgrade requested" designation on the flight, and/or with a "phantom" duplicate flight in the seat maps which will not let you select seats
  • If an upgrade has not cleared by check-in time and you do not appear on the upgrade list on the Delta app or Delta.com, call to have an agent correct the upgrade
  • In certain airports where other airlines handle Delta's flights (particularly AMS), it is not officially possible to clear at the gate; KLM does process upgrades at the gate in AMS for certificates waitlisted 24 hours in advance of departure, but this is not an officially guaranteed benefit. To be safe make sure you have your GUC certificate numbers and redemption codes written down in case the KLM agents need this information.
  • If you are connecting, for example flying MCO-ATL-LHR, and upgrade space is not available on ATL-LHR, best practice is to waitlist on the ATL-LHR leg only, so as not to waste a global upgrade on the short MCO-ATL flight, and then add the upgrade request to MCO-ATL when/if ATL-LHR clears; most agents will understand this approach and may even proactively suggest it
  • If you have selected your choice benefits very recently (within the last 24-48 hours), the phone agent may not yet be able to see your upgrade codes, but you can read the codes to the agent from the My Wallet page on Delta.com
  • The priority order of GUCs, RUCs, mileage upgrades, and complimentary upgrades is not 100% clear, but it is known that GUCs and RUCs have higher priority than complimentary upgrades, and that GUCs and RUCs appear to have equal priority. It is listed on Delta.com that GUCs and RUCs clear first by medallion level and then by time of request, which is different from the upgrade priority used for complimentary upgrades (which is also listed on the website)

Other upgrade rules
  • Upgrades are valid on Delta flights on all economy fares except Basic Economy (E)
  • It is possible to request upgrades in one direction of a roundtrip only, for example if you had 4 US-Europe trips planned and only 4 GUCs, you might decide to upgrade the eastbound flights only as they are overnight flights and remain in economy for the westbound flights.
  • On flights operated with a Premium Select cabin, Delta has indicated that it will still be possible to use a GUC to upgrade directly from economy to Premium Select or to Delta One using the same number of GUCs. However, if an upgrade is cleared from economy to Premium Select, the GUC will be considered used, and another GUC would be required to upgrade again to Delta One. The best strategy is probably to waitlist only for Delta One upgrades, and perhaps if the GUC is close to expiring or you don't expect to have another use for it, to add a request for a Premium Select upgrade close to departure if the Delta One upgrade hasn't yet cleared and/or the Delta One seat map looks very full.
  • Upgrades may be used for the SkyMiles member and up to one companion; The companion need not be in the same PNR, but must be traveling on the exact same flight as the GUC holder.
  • Unlike AA and UA upgrades, DL upgrades cannot be gifted to someone whom the SkyMiles member is not traveling with
  • As of January 22, 2018, it is now officially possible to use a certificate for a companion but not for yourself, as long as you are traveling on the same flight as the companion -- for example if you are eligible to buy a business class ticket for business travel and want to bring your spouse by buying an economy ticket and upgrading them. It is not clear if you could upgrade your companion but not yourself. In the past the question has been raised of waiting for a complimentary medallion upgrade for the main member and then using a certificate for the companion, but now that companions for complimentary medallion upgrades are processed at the same priority as the main member, this is no longer a likely concern.

Using upgrades on KLM

Dedicated thread: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delt...grade-klm.html
  • "For travel on KLM-operated, Delta-marketed flights this certificate may be used to upgrade on published fares booked in Y, B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, X or V class and all fare classes upgrade into Z class. For travel on KLM-operated flights marketed by KLM, fares booked in Y, B, M, K, H, L, Q, T, N, R, or V class are eligible to upgrade into Z class. For travel on KLM-operated flights marketed by AF, this certificate may be used to upgrade on published fares booked in Y, B, M, K, H, L, Q, T, N, R, or V class into Z class. "
  • NOTE: some of the combinations above are only (relatively) recently eligible for GUCs. Phone agents may not be familiar with the new rules, and may need to be gently pointed in the direction of the DL T&C on their own website.
  • In the course of processing the upgrade of a Delta-marketed, KLM-operated flight, Delta reissues the KLM flights on KLM flight numbers when they issue the upgrade, but the flights must be bought on DL flight numbers initially (unless buying expensive Y, B, or M fares with KLM)
  • It is not possible to waitlist for upgrade on KLM flights, nor to go to the airport upgrade list, so space must be available in advance in order for the upgrade to clear. Many agents will offer to put you on the waitlist, but putting you on the upgrade waitlist for a KLM flight will simply never clear so you're better off monitoring it yourself (see next bullets).
  • KLM upgrade space can be checked on ExpertFlyer.com (requires a paid membership). ExpertFlyer also allows users to set alerts for particular fare classes becoming available, which could be useful in lieu of being able to waitlist -- you can set an ExpertFlyer alert for "Z" availability and then call Delta to grab the upgrade if you receive an ExpertFlyer alert that it becomes available.
  • KLM upgrade space on a single segment is different if you search that segment alone vs. if you search a connecting itinerary involving that segment. So if you are looking for KLM upgrades ORD-AMS-JNB, you need to search ORD-JNB in ExpertFlyer to see the true availability; even if there is space on ORD-AMS and AMS-JNB, if it Z space doesn't show up for ORD-JNB you won't be able to upgrade. Unfortunately this means that ExpertFlyer availability alerts, which can only be set on a segment-by-segment basis, are not useful for monitoring KLM upgrade availability on connecting flights.
  • In some cases, adding a DL domestic connecting flight can change KLM upgrade availability. For example ATL-AMS on KLM may show availability but MCO-ATL-AMS may not. Example. Unfortunately some more complex routings, such as forcing an extra connection to find KLM upgrade space (flying JFK-ORD-AMS-CPT instead of JFK-AMS-CPT), do not show up on ExpertFlyer so you are at the mercy of hopefully finding Delta agents who know what they're doing.
  • Bookings with KLM ticket numbers (starting in 074) can be upgraded using the same rules as bookings with Delta ticket numbers (starting in 006). Delta-operated, KLM-coded flights can be upgraded under the same rules as any other KLM-coded flight. Delta-coded, Delta-operated flights booked on a KLM ticket number can be upgraded the same as if they were booked on a Delta ticket number, so in any fare class other than E.
  • There have been numerous challenges with KLM upgrades, so be careful, be persistent, and make sure you request the upgrade within the no-risk cancellation window of the ticket so you can cancel if it doesn't work as expected.
  • More KLM upgrade reading: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Using upgrades on Virgin Atlantic

3-year-old thread: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta-air-lines-skymiles/1779666-guc-now-able-used-virgin-atlantic-vs.html
related, upgrading VS with SkyMiles (also requires G class, so the info may be useful too?): https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta-air-lines-skymiles/1857464-definitive-thread-use-sky-miles-upgrade-vs.html
  • "Valid on Delta-marketed (DL flight number), Virgin Atlantic-operated flights for use globally on published fares booked in W, Y, B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, X or V class to G class (Upper Class). " Upgrading on Virgin-marketed (VS flight number) flights using GUCs is not possible.
  • Global Upgrades on Virgin Atlantic flights must be confirmed 24 hours prior to departure.
  • Global Upgrade Certificates may not be used to waitlist for a Virgin Atlantic-operated flight. Many agents will offer to put you on the waitlist, but putting you on the upgrade waitlist for a Virgin Atlantic flight will simply never clear so you're better off monitoring it yourself (see next bullets).
  • DL flight numbers are not available for most Virgin Atlantic flights to regions other than the US (for example LHR-JNB), so it is not possible to use GUCs on those flights.
  • Virgin Atlantic upgrade space appears to use the same availability as awards, so if a business class award is available for a Virgin Atlantic flight on Delta.com, it should be available for an upgrade (as long as that flight is booked on a DL flight number). If an award is not available, an upgrade is probably not available -- but if you notice any exceptions to this rule please share in the thread. You can also monitor G space using ExpertFlyer (see KLM section above).
  • Because G is the same code as Virgin Atlantic uses for award tickets, after you fly the tickets will register with Delta as having been awards and will not earn any miles. Watch your mileage earning carefully and you will likely have to call Delta and explain that it wasn't an award ticket but an upgrade from a paid coach ticket, and they will correct the mileage earning to be equivalent to what you would have earned on your original coach ticket.

Using upgrades on Virgin Australia

Valid on Delta-marketed, Virgin Australia-operated flights on published fares booked in Y, B, M, H, Q, K, L, U class to Virgin Australias Business Class.

Using upgrades on Air France

Dedicated thread: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delt...20-onward.html

"For travel on Air France-operated flights marketed by Air France and booked in Y, B, M, K, H, L, Q, T, N, R, or V class, customers can upgrade into A class (Premium Economy) or Z class (Business Class). For Air France-operated flights marketed by KLM, customers with a published fare booked in Y, B, M, K, H, L, Q, T, N, R, or V class can upgrade into Z class (Business Class). For Air France-operated flights marketed by Delta, customers with a published fare booked in Y, B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, X or V class can upgrade into A class (Premium Economy) or Z class (Business Class). In addition, customers traveling on an Air France-marketed and operated flight and booked in W, S or A class as well as customers traveling on an Air France-operated, Delta-marketed flight and booked in P, A, or G class can upgrade to Z class (Business Class)"

NOTE: GUC usage on AF used to be restricted to high fare classes only. Phone agents may not be familiar with the new rules, and may need to be gently pointed in the direction of the DL T&C on their own website.

Using upgrades on Korean (restricted to certain fare classes only)

Dedicated thread: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delt...ed-thread.html

"Valid on Delta-marketed, Korean Air-operated flights for use globally on Delta's published fares booked in Y or B class to Korean Air's Z class, or booked in M class to Korean Air's O class."

GUC usage on Korean requires the purchase of high fare classes, which may mean that it is cheaper to buy a discounted business class ticket than to buy an eligible coach fare and try to upgrade. Uniquely, it is possible to use GUCs to upgrade from business to first on Korean, but only if you buy the most expensive business class fares.

Using upgrades on Aeromexico

"For travel on Aeromexico operated, Delta marketed flights this certificate may be used to upgrade on Delta`s published fares booked in W, Y, B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, X or V class and all fare classes upgrade into Aeromexico`s O class."




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The Official - GLOBAL UPGRADE CERT success thread - Yay! I got it!

Old Feb 6, 2019, 2:57 pm
  #3391  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SFO/DTW
Programs: DL PM 0.5MM, Hyatt Globalist, HHonors Gold, SPG Plat, Marriott Gold, Avis PC, National EE, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,988
IMO - use EF to find space. Buy the ticket with DL flight numbers. Then call in and ask them to upgrade you. If they can't find the space, HUCA or cancel the ticket and try another flight. 24 hour risk free cancellation.
Agents get confused on the rules. This way tends to avoid less confusion since your ticket is DL and not KL marketed.
kxc262 is offline  
Old Feb 6, 2019, 3:03 pm
  #3392  
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Programs: Delta DM
Posts: 425
Thanks for the responses/info you guys. I've looked into an ExpertFlyer account as well and wondered if it would be worth it. Seems like now would be a good time to do so.

OPS
mattya9 is offline  
Old Feb 6, 2019, 7:43 pm
  #3393  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Atlanta
Programs: HH-Diamond, IHG-Plat, DL-DM, PnF Plat, Kroger +
Posts: 514
Originally Posted by mattya9
Thanks for the responses/info you guys. I've looked into an ExpertFlyer account as well and wondered if it would be worth it. Seems like now would be a good time to do so.

OPS
i used EF to get help and book my trip in November. You have to be flexible with your dates and times. I also booked with KLM.
Eddie98 is offline  
Old Feb 7, 2019, 9:50 am
  #3394  
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Programs: Delta DM
Posts: 425
Originally Posted by Eddie98


i used EF to get help and book my trip in November. You have to be flexible with your dates and times. I also booked with KLM.
We definitely have some flexibility.(September 11-25 for our whole trip). I did sign up for an EF account and it's already worked wonders. However, getting back to a point I made in my post above (and a point many other have made on here), I had to explain to the DM agent he needed to search specifically for KLM Z space; EF was showing 7 seats open and at first he didn't see it. But with some suggestions and a pushing him a little more he finally found it. It almost makes me wonder if DL is specifically leaving something out in their training on the whole "KLM Z award space" topic?

OPS
mattya9 is offline  
Old Feb 7, 2019, 10:43 am
  #3395  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Atlanta
Programs: HH-Diamond, IHG-Plat, DL-DM, PnF Plat, Kroger +
Posts: 514
Originally Posted by mattya9
We definitely have some flexibility.(September 11-25 for our whole trip). I did sign up for an EF account and it's already worked wonders. However, getting back to a point I made in my post above (and a point many other have made on here), I had to explain to the DM agent he needed to search specifically for KLM Z space; EF was showing 7 seats open and at first he didn't see it. But with some suggestions and a pushing him a little more he finally found it. It almost makes me wonder if DL is specifically leaving something out in their training on the whole "KLM Z award space" topic?

OPS
You are correct. I had the same issue with the DM line. I had to HUCA 3-4 times until I got the right agent with the correct knowledge. It still took about 30 mins on the phone but got it done. I believe is just lack of training
mattya9 likes this.
Eddie98 is offline  
Old Feb 7, 2019, 9:58 pm
  #3396  
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Programs: Delta DM
Posts: 425
So I just want to confirm... if Expert Flyer is showing Z coded seats available under the description Upgrade with DL SWU/Global Upgrades & Fare Class does that mean I Can use the GUC on that flight? Im currently trying to book LAX-AMS-LAX on 9/15 and returning on 9/24. According to EF there are 6 seats in Z on the LAX-AMS leg and 9 on the AMS-LAX leg. However, Ive talked to 4 different DL agents and Ive got 4 different answers when it comes to how you use the certificates and what fare class needs to be available. Its incredibly frustrating (Welcome to the club. I know). Maybe Im in the wrong? Someone please help.

OPS
mattya9 is offline  
Old Feb 7, 2019, 10:34 pm
  #3397  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SFO/DTW
Programs: DL PM 0.5MM, Hyatt Globalist, HHonors Gold, SPG Plat, Marriott Gold, Avis PC, National EE, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,988
Originally Posted by mattya9
So I just want to confirm... if Expert Flyer is showing Z coded seats available under the description “Upgrade with DL SWU/Global Upgrades & Fare Class” does that mean I Can use the GUC on that flight? I’m currently trying to book LAX-AMS-LAX on 9/15 and returning on 9/24. According to EF there are 6 seats in Z on the LAX-AMS leg and 9 on the AMS-LAX leg. However, I’ve talked to 4 different DL agents and I’ve got 4 different answers when it comes to how you use the certificates and what fare class needs to be available. It’s incredibly frustrating (Welcome to the club. I know). Maybe I’m in the wrong? Someone please help.

OPS
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30747592-post3391.html

Just buy your tickets with DL flight numbers - then call in to upgrade. Or ask international ticketing to help you upgrade.
kxc262 is offline  
Old Feb 8, 2019, 7:47 am
  #3398  
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Programs: Delta DM
Posts: 425
Luckily I was able to HUCA and get an agent that knew what she was doing the 5th time. I guess it's 5th time is the charm with GUC upgrade calls. Still frustrating the previous 4 calls I got 4 different answers. If anyone from DL reads these websites/message boards I hope they've been paying attention to this one. I'm not holding my breath though.

OPS
mattya9 is offline  
Old Feb 9, 2019, 6:36 am
  #3399  
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: NYC/Paris
Programs: DL Diamond
Posts: 111
Cleared immediately JFK-ZRH last week, didnt try on the return since its a day flight, but looks like it went out with three seats empty in J.

Waitlisted for DTW-NRT in two weeks. Showing seven seats available. Fingers crossed.
loratliff is offline  
Old Feb 9, 2019, 9:04 am
  #3400  
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Programs: DL DM, SPG Plat 100/LT Gold, Marriott Plat, National Executive Elite
Posts: 2,988
Originally Posted by loratliff
Cleared immediately JFK-ZRH last week, didnt try on the return since its a day flight, but looks like it went out with three seats empty in J.

Waitlisted for DTW-NRT in two weeks. Showing seven seats available. Fingers crossed.
There is a sale to Japan now in J this month that is allowing near last minute seat selection, especially very close to departure...

If the sale ends soon you'll be good (it's only for flights this month) otherwise I have seen the seats disappear up to morning of departure
btonkid12345 is offline  
Old Feb 13, 2019, 8:30 am
  #3401  
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: delta
Posts: 3
frustrated with instant upgrades to delta one

So we've got on the call with the platinum line today. Trying to go from CHS to CDG. not terribly hard, right? We are using Pay with Miles. I asked the agent to find ANY available in September/October 2019 for 14 days with instant upgrade only on the transatlantic flts with GUC to Delta One. She could find a single day Oct 7th going over but nothing coming back. She encouraged me to go ahead and book because its common for GUCs to clear at the last minute. Is this so? I wanted to get some feedback to see if this is accurate and if gambling with our GUCs on one leg is a chance we should take. This isn't really prime travel time, is it?

The other thing that kills me is that we actually are trying to go from CDG to LJU (Slovenia). If we were to forgo using the GUCs and just use award miles, this trip for the same timeframe is listed as 50,000 miles as an award in Economy right now. If we drop off the leg to Slovenia it jumps up to 77K miles, but we can't use pay with miles on the trip through LJU because that leg is by Adria. I wish there was a points/award/travel consultant that specialized in booking flights for folks with GUCs.
Marcella Reidl Whitfield is offline  
Old Feb 13, 2019, 8:37 am
  #3402  
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Brooklyn
Programs: Delta Diamond, Bonvoy something good; sometimes other things too
Posts: 5,042
Originally Posted by Marcella Reidl Whitfield
So we've got on the call with the platinum line today. Trying to go from CHS to CDG. not terribly hard, right? We are using Pay with Miles. I asked the agent to find ANY available in September/October 2019 for 14 days with instant upgrade only on the transatlantic flts with GUC to Delta One. She could find a single day Oct 7th going over but nothing coming back. She encouraged me to go ahead and book because its common for GUCs to clear at the last minute. Is this so? I wanted to get some feedback to see if this is accurate and if gambling with our GUCs on one leg is a chance we should take. This isn't really prime travel time, is it?

The other thing that kills me is that we actually are trying to go from CDG to LJU (Slovenia). If we were to forgo using the GUCs and just use award miles, this trip for the same timeframe is listed as 50,000 miles as an award in Economy right now. If we drop off the leg to Slovenia it jumps up to 77K miles, but we can't use pay with miles on the trip through LJU because that leg is by Adria. I wish there was a points/award/travel consultant that specialized in booking flights for folks with GUCs.
Delta tends to make upgrade space available closer to departure, so it's very possible that some flights you're not seeing space on now would become available later on. But, hard to know which ones exactly in advance, and while Sep-Oct is not the busiest travel period, it is a busy time for business travel when the front cabin is more likely to be full and upgrades less likely to clear.

Of course, if you wait to book your coach ticket until a month or two out, when there might be more visibility of global upgrade space, you'd probably have to pay a lot more for the coach ticket.

Best bet is to avoid busy business travel days (Sun-Mon and Thu-Fri) as much as you can, if you're going to take a risk by booking something and hoping the upgrade will clear.
bgriff is offline  
Old Feb 14, 2019, 3:37 pm
  #3403  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: DUS
Programs: DL PM (was DL DM for 3yrs), HHonors Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,067
Originally Posted by Marcella Reidl Whitfield
this trip for the same timeframe is listed as 50,000 miles as an award in Economy right now. If we drop off the leg to Slovenia it jumps up to 77K miles, but we can't use pay with miles on the trip through LJU because that leg is by Adria.
You're able to book an Adria flight using SkyMiles? I find that surprising. Does it have a KL or AF flight number?

Are you planning to eat at Hia Franko?
EZEDoesIt is offline  
Old Feb 14, 2019, 3:53 pm
  #3404  
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Programs: DL DM, SPG Plat 100/LT Gold, Marriott Plat, National Executive Elite
Posts: 2,988
Originally Posted by Marcella Reidl Whitfield
So we've got on the call with the platinum line today. Trying to go from CHS to CDG. not terribly hard, right? We are using Pay with Miles. I asked the agent to find ANY available in September/October 2019 for 14 days with instant upgrade only on the transatlantic flts with GUC to Delta One. She could find a single day Oct 7th going over but nothing coming back. She encouraged me to go ahead and book because its common for GUCs to clear at the last minute. Is this so? I wanted to get some feedback to see if this is accurate and if gambling with our GUCs on one leg is a chance we should take. This isn't really prime travel time, is it?

The other thing that kills me is that we actually are trying to go from CDG to LJU (Slovenia). If we were to forgo using the GUCs and just use award miles, this trip for the same timeframe is listed as 50,000 miles as an award in Economy right now. If we drop off the leg to Slovenia it jumps up to 77K miles, but we can't use pay with miles on the trip through LJU because that leg is by Adria. I wish there was a points/award/travel consultant that specialized in booking flights for folks with GUCs.
It all comes down to - do you want the MQMs and to sit in J? Or ok with Y?

Which, given current fares, seem better value to you? Only you can answer that.

If you land on GUCs, take the Oct 7 outbound and lock it in.

Pick a return based on your travel needs and then by # of empty J seats in cabin.

There will likely be a schedule change of some sort that might make you eligible for a free change between now and flight, possibly allowing you to modify the return should J fill up.

If you wait list now you have a decent shot of clearing.
btonkid12345 is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2019, 9:39 am
  #3405  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Smyrna, GA, USA
Programs: DL FO 1MM
Posts: 1,760
Current best practice for flexible date bookings

What is the current best practice for finding & applying upgrades pre-booking? I have a trip to Asia coming up in the fall for which I have very flexible dates, and would like to buy tickets that I can upgrade with my GUC.

Is it: Call DM desk; ask if specific flights have upgrade space; repeat until finding space or giving up; hang up; purchase; call back and request upgrades ?
angra is offline  

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