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 Australia’s 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."

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

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Mar 1, 2014, 6:26 am

davetravels

In memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist

Original Poster

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

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

FIRST DAY!!!

Flying CDG/ATL on Wednesday on a cheapo V fare.

I called the DM hotline about 2 hours ago to check availability - PLENTY, she said.

Logged in and chose my GUCs.

It took about 1 1/2 - 2 hours for the certs to pop into my account.

Just called the DM hotline from Berlin via Skype - and - SUCCESS!!!

I'm no longer in 17B - - -

I'm in 1D on the 76W!!!

Yay! Let's hope this is a trend for future GUC usage!

(My connecting flight ATL/ORD already cleared at the DM window!

)

edited to add . . . .

THANX Delta!!! Keep up the good work!

UPDATE:

Terms & Conditions:

DL - RP,OP Delta Agent
DL - R,O Travel Agent
KL - Z
AF - A,O
Cabin Of Service: First / Business Class

Valid On:
DL Designated Flights Operated by DL,KL,AF,9E,CP,EV,OO,RP,S5,G7
KL Designated Flights Operated by KL,DL,WA
AF Designated Flights Operated by AF,DL,WX

This certificate entitles you to a complimentary one-way upgrade to Business Class/First Class with the purchase of a published applicable Economy fare for flights worldwide operated by Delta Air Lines and certain Delta connection carriers as well as certain flights operated by Delta's airline partners Air France and KLM. Exception: If booking on KLM, this certificate is valid for a one-way upgrade to Business Class. If booking on Air France this certificate is valid for a one class upgrade only; from Economy to Premium Voyageur or Premium Voyageur to Business.

VOID IF SOLD, BARTERED OR EXCHANGED FOR COMPENSATION

Redemption Instructions

To redeem this upgrade, you will need the reference code, certificate number and redemption code specified above. Please refer to the terms and conditions for further details.

Terms & Conditions

Upgrade Offer: This certificate is valid for upgraded one-way travel on flights operated by Delta Air Lines, including eligible connecting flights, between the origin and destination of a ticketed fare for the named SkyMiles member or a travel companion pursuant to the terms and conditions of this offer. This upgrade offer may also be available on certain Delta Connection carrier flights. Air France and KLM as set forth in "Applicable Routes" below. Only one companion per SkyMiles member may be upgraded on each flight segment. Any stopovers are governed by the fare rules, and an additional certificate will be required for broken fares. All rules of the fare purchased will apply except as changed by this offer. SkyMiles mileage credit based upon purchased fare class. Space is limited and subject to availability. Seats may not be available on all flights or in all markets.

Expiration Date: Certificate expires twelve months from date of issue; all travel must be complete prior to certificate expiration date. Certificate may not be extended, reissued or returned for credit under any circumstances.

Refunds & Cash Value: This certificate is nonrefundable and has no cash value. Certificate will be deemed fully used upon surrender and will not be honored retroactively or in connection with the exchange of any wholly or partially unused ticket. Ticket refunds are permitted only pursuant to the rules of the fare purchased. Any full or partial refund of the underlying Economy-fare ticket after upgrade will render this certificate void.

Not Combinable: This certificate may not be combined with any other promotional or discount offers or SkyMiles program awards. Valid only with a published qualifying fare.

Valid Carrier: Valid only on Delta Air Lines, Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and certain Delta Connection carrier operated flights. If a non-permitted carrier accepts this certificate, such carrier agrees to pay Delta, within 45 days of certificate acceptance, the sum of $1000USD per certificate accepted, and Delta shall not be liable to such carrier for any reason whatsoever.

Applicable Routes: Valid only for travel on routings with published upgradeable Economy class fare. Valid for use on one-way travel on published fares and routings systemwide for flights operated by Delta Air Lines or Delta Connection carriers. For travel on KLM: valid for use on one-way travel systemwide. For travel on Air France: valid for one-way one cabin upgrade travel between US and Paris (CDG) operated by AirFrance flights equipped with Premium Voyageur cabin. Air France flights operated by 747 equipment are not eligible.

Applicable Fare Classes: Certificate may be used to upgrade on Delta Air Lines or certain Delta Connection operated flights only on published Economy fares booked in Y, B, M, S, H, Q, K, L, U, T, X or V class and upgrade into RP/OP class. Certificate may not be used to upgrade other published fares including those booked in E class, Award Tickets or Pay with Miles tickets. For travel on KLM this certificate may be used to upgrade only on published fares in Y, B or M class, all fare classes upgrade into Z class. For travel on AF this certificate may be used to upgrade only on published fares in Y, B, M, W or S class. Y, B, M fares upgrade into A class (Premium Voyageur class) and W or S fares upgrade to O class (Affaires or Business Class).

Upgrade Reservations and Ticketing: Upgradeable Economy Class ticket must be purchased according to the applicable fare rules. After booking Economy Class tickets eligible for upgrade, the SkyMiles member whose name appears on the certificate must contact Delta to book the upgrade reservation for the member and, if applicable, his or her travel companion. Delta representatives must book in "RP/OP" class and travel agencies must book in "R/O" class; reservations must be booked in "Z" class on KL, and reservations on AF Premium Voyageur must be booked in "A" class and Affaires Class must be booked in "O" class. Seats are subject to limited availability and may not be available on all flights or in all markets. Once confirmed, boarding pass can only be issued by the operating carrier on day of departure. Tickets must be validated for travel on Delta. Travel on carriers other than Delta, when permitted, must be ticketed separately. Upgrade reservations on AirFrance or KLM operated flights must be booked by Delta a minimum of one day before the departure.

Reservation Waitlist: If the upgrade is not available at the time of request, a SkyMiles member and travel companion holding confirmed Economy Class reservations on a flight may request to be placed on the upgrade waitlist. Passengers on waitlist will be accommodated according to Delta's priority rules, which Delta reserves the right to change at any time. Waitlist is not available on Air France or KLM operated flights.

Airport Standby: If an upgrade for the SkyMiles member and companion (if applicable) is not confirmed from the reservation waitlist at least three hours prior to departure, then the SkyMiles member and companion may request to be placed on the Airport Standby List, provided that request is made no less than 60 minutes prior to flight departure. Passengers on the Airport Standby List will be accommodated according to Delta's priority rules, which Delta reserves the right to change at any time. Airport standby is not available on AirFrance or KLM operated flights as well as Delta operated flights originating from AMS, BOM and CDG.

Flight Irregularities: In the event of flight cancellation or itinerary change, previously confirmed upgrades are subject to cancellation.

SkyMiles: Mileage accrued based on fare purchased.

Transferability: Certificate may be used only to upgrade tickets for travel by the SkyMiles member or one companion in the same reservation and confirmed in the same cabin as that member. Each person in the reservation requires a certificate for a one-way upgrade. Certificate may not be transferred for cash or any other consideration.

Changes: Voluntary changes in reservations on ticketed itineraries are permitted only pursuant to the rules of the fare purchased, but upgrade is not guaranteed and will depend on availability and these terms and conditions. Where permitted, changes may require payment of a change fee and/or any difference in the applicable fare. Any refund or cancellation will result in the loss of the upgrade certificate. All reissues must be completed by Delta reservations. If you are re-accommodated on another carrier you will be seated in Economy Class.

Travel Companion Changes: Companions no longer traveling with the SkyMiles member after changing their itinerary are no longer eligible for upgrade pursuant to this certificate. The travel companion's reservation will be changed to reflect original Economy Class of service for the new itinerary.

Sale/Barter Prohibited: This certificate may not be sold or bartered. Delta reserves the right to terminate the SkyMiles account and/or deduct mileage from the account of any SkyMiles member who sells or barters this certificate, or who sells or barters mileage credit, vouchers, Award certificates or Award Tickets. Improperly obtained certificates/tickets are void and will be confiscated. Persons trying to use such tickets must pay the applicable fare to Delta to travel. Purchased or auctioned certificates are subject to confiscation and travel will not be permitted.

Other Terms & Conditions Apply: This certificate and transportation pursuant to it are subject to all terms and conditions of Delta's contract of carriage, fare rules, rules and regulations and the SkyMiles Membership Guide and Program Rules. Any tax liability or government-imposed fees are the responsibility of the user. For certain destinations, additional taxes may apply for travel in Business Class. Copies of Delta's current contract of carriage and the SkyMiles Membership Guide and Program Rules are available at delta.com.

Rule Changes: Delta reserves the right to change its contract of carriage, fare rules, rules and regulations and the SkyMiles Membership Guide and Program Rules at any time and without notice. Without limitation, Delta reserves the right to modify or eliminate the Global Upgrade Certificate program or change the rules for certificate usage. This certificate is the property of Delta Air Lines and must be surrendered or returned upon request.

No Replacement: Lost, stolen or otherwise destroyed certificates are void and will not be replaced.

Ticket Designator: PU590
Delta Agent Instructions: Refer to KM Global Upgrades

Travel Agent Instructions: Confirm a qualifying Economy Class fare and issue the Economy e-ticket. End and retrieve the PNR and rebook in the applicable upgrade class. Tickets must be validated on Delta/006 ticket stock and the PNR must contain a Delta operated or marketed flight. If changing a previously upgraded flight - call Delta Reservations to reissue. The upgrade is applicable for the SkyMiles member and one companion traveling in the same PNR. You must add an OSI remark for each one-way upgrade for each passenger in the PNR. Enter the following information exactly - otherwise Delta will not receive the request. Only Delta can reissue an upgraded itinerary.

OSI DL GLOBAL UPGRADE

If flight is DL designated and you are using Amadeus: OS DL UPGD. 006065xxxxxxx 99999999X PU590 ORGDST
If flight is DL designated and you are using another GDS: OSI DL UPGD. 006065xxxxxxx 99999999X PU590 ORGDST
If flight is AF designated and you are using Amadeus: SK UPGD AF HK1-006065xxxxxxx 99999999X PU590 ORGDST
If flight is AF designated and you are using another GDS: OSI AF UPGD. 006065xxxxxxx 99999999X PU590 ORGDST
If flight is KL designated and you are using Amadeus: SK UPGD KL HK1-006065xxxxxxx 99999999X PU590 ORGDST
If flight is KL designated and you are using another GDS: OSI KL UPGD. 006065xxxxxxx 99999999X PU590 ORGDST

Note: 006065xxxxxxx is the Certificate Number, 99999999X is the Redemption Code, PU590 is the Reference Code, ORG is the origin of the first segment that is being upgraded, DST is the destination of the last segment that is being upgraded.

Once you send this request, you will receive an SSR OTHS from Delta within 2 business days with either the new ticket number or a reason the request was denied. If the request is denied, Delta will rebook the passenger into Economy Class. The standard agency commission will be based on actual fare collected.

Last edited by davetravels; Mar 1, 2014 at 12:02 pm

Mar 1, 2014, 6:41 am

emrdoc

Join Date: Jun 2011

Location: USA

Posts: 1,400

Great to hear! Hopefully availability will remain high.

Enjoy your trip!

Mar 1, 2014, 6:46 am

Renes Points

Suspended

Join Date: Aug 2009

Location: Look up - On a ✈ DELTA ✈ jet NOW!

Programs: Blogger & Delta Diamond Medallion Million Miler

Posts: 4,174

Quote:

Originally Posted by emrdoc

Great to hear! Hopefully availability will remain high.

Enjoy your trip!

Not for all:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...delta-com.html

Mar 1, 2014, 6:53 am

baccarat_king

Join Date: Jun 2005

Location: Charlotte, NC, USA | CLT, formerly LHR & AMS (with just a bit of PSP)

Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton Diamond, BonVoy Titanium, (soon former) Caesars7*, (former) Wynn Black, HR "Icon"

Posts: 8,172

If there was NOT availability; would the Global Upgrade have waitlisted in the same way as SWUs?

What bucket were you upgraded to? OP? (Same as SWUs?)

Mar 1, 2014, 7:06 am

davetravels

In memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist

Original Poster

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by baccarat_king

What bucket were you upgraded to? OP? (Same as SWUs?)

My res summary shows me in "OP"

Mar 1, 2014, 7:13 am

baccarat_king

Join Date: Jun 2005

Location: Charlotte, NC, USA | CLT, formerly LHR & AMS (with just a bit of PSP)

Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton Diamond, BonVoy Titanium, (soon former) Caesars7*, (former) Wynn Black, HR "Icon"

Posts: 8,172

Quote:

Originally Posted by davetravels

My res summary shows me in "OP"

Great. Thanks, that is what I figured; so "basically" same situation as we have been dealing with vis-a-vis SWUs or mileage upgrades (of which, I've had decent success ex-AMS).

Now, perhaps, someone has asked (or knows the answer),

Diamond with a companion booked in the same PNR. Can you also apply the Global Upgrades (for use by the companions)? How about two companions in the same PNR?

Mar 1, 2014, 7:30 am

lindsey1

Join Date: May 2009

Location: PHX

Programs: DL DM, 2.5MM; HH:Diamond; HGVC

Posts: 61

Quote:

Originally Posted by baccarat_king

If there was NOT availability; would the Global Upgrade have waitlisted in the same way as SWUs?

What bucket were you upgraded to? OP? (Same as SWUs?)

I have been waitlisted for 2 March's DXB-ATL flight. There are about a dozen seats open according to EF yet no upgrade inventory available yet. I am fairly confident I'll receive the upgrade at this point though.

Mar 1, 2014, 7:46 am

mspnwa

Join Date: Sep 2003

Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA (DL: Plat)

Programs: Delta: Diamond

Posts: 10

Been on hold for 10 minutes! Thats's never happened with the DM line....

Mar 1, 2014, 8:05 am

bennos

Join Date: Dec 2008

Location: Mostly living in the basement

Programs: Newly minted free agent; MR LT(!)TE, HH SE, BA SECM, DL MM, UA PS, 2V Fanboi, CBP GE

Posts: 5,106

Quote:

Originally Posted by mspnwa

Been on hold for 10 minutes! Thats's never happened with the DM line....

There are two (!) more weather waivers up. Bad winter for calling.

Mar 1, 2014, 10:01 am

#10

slipbeer

Join Date: Apr 2009

Location: Center City, MN

Programs: DL Diamond, MM, Hilton, Marriott, Priority Club, etc

Posts: 436

I just selected mine. I am flying a lot of international stuff this year and have schedule flexibility to do some mid week flights which should help me use them.

It will be interesting to see how this goes.

Mar 1, 2014, 10:18 am

#11

MSPeconomist

A FlyerTalk Posting Legend

Join Date: Sep 2009

Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM

Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM

Posts: 100,369

T&C for new GUCs?

Can someone who has already selected the GUCs please post the T&C. This would be very useful. Thanks.:-:

Mar 1, 2014, 11:02 am

#12

whammerkid

Join Date: Mar 2010

Programs: DL charter DM2MM, UA Silver, marriott lifetime titanium hilton lif diamond , national exec elite

Posts: 76

has anyone had success on other carriers...

like AF (S or W fare class to biz)?

Mar 1, 2014, 11:04 am

#13

MSPeconomist

A FlyerTalk Posting Legend

Join Date: Sep 2009

Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM

Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM

Posts: 100,369

Quote:

Originally Posted by whammerkid

has anyone had success on other carriers...

like AF (S or W fare class to biz)?

Now that DL GUCs can be used on any (nonE) fare, using upgrade certs on AF to go from expensive premium economy to Affaires is less attractive than it was before AF upgrade inventory dried up.

Mar 1, 2014, 11:11 am

#14

whammerkid

Join Date: Mar 2010

Programs: DL charter DM2MM, UA Silver, marriott lifetime titanium hilton lif diamond , national exec elite

Posts: 76

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSPeconomist

Now that DL GUCs can be used on any (nonE) fare, using upgrade certs on AF to go from expensive premium economy to Affaires is less attractive than it was before AF upgrade inventory dried up.

true but that is only on DL metal( to my understanding) no?

if i want the upgrade on the Euro legs i would need minimum of S on AF...or am i misinterpreting the GUC's?

Mar 1, 2014, 11:20 am

#15

MSPeconomist

A FlyerTalk Posting Legend

Join Date: Sep 2009

Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM

Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM

Posts: 100,369

Quote:

Originally Posted by whammerkid

true but that is only on DL metal( to my understanding) no?

if i want the upgrade on the Euro legs i would need minimum of S on AF...or am i misinterpreting the GUC's?

That's my point. If you have a GUC, you're better off using it on any X+ fare on DL to get into BE than to use it on AF with an expensive premium economy fare to upgrade into AF business class.

Similarly, I think the old fare class rules still apply for the upgrade from coach to premium economy on AF, which is an even worse deal.

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