anon2k2

Used to twitter to ask about RP inventory on a flight and they interpreted that to mean go ahead and apply a RUC to it. That got me cleared on the second, shorter leg, and on standby for the first (transcon) leg.

I tweeted back that I was only asking about inventory and please pull the RUC, which @Delta confirmed they did.

Six hours later, "My Trips" shows the flight with two entries for each leg, one for my original and the second as RP with "Standby" on each, and the seat selection system shows three segments instead of four or two.

Should I call to make sure the RUC was pulled off correctly?

mnbp

Yes.

bgriff

I suspect you already know that the answer to this question is yes

I'm surprised the Twitter desk was able to apply the RUCs ... I wasn't under the impression they had that much power. Could be handy to know in the future though.

rylan

Yes Twitter can apply RUC/GUCs but I've always provided them the cert number and redemption code if I had them do it.

CarmenOM

To report a positive and easy RUC experience:

I called to apply an RUC to MSP-ATL-PVD in about three weeks. Not very long flights but the certificate will expire soon and I have low expectations for medallion upgrades on any flights that involve ATL. The upgrade inventory was immediately available for both segments. Then, I mentioned that I might try to SDC the itinerary (currently a 5:20am departure ). The agent immediately pointed out that the upgrade would remain as long as F seats were available, that I wouldn't need to find upgrade inventory on the new flights. She knew her Delta rules on both RUCs and SDC!

StayingHomeIsBetter

I confess that I have not gone back to re-read the entire thread, but are folks finding poor availability for use of UG certificates?

I typically limit my use of them to longer flights and destinations where complementary UGs are problematic.

For PHL to SFO, I am finding that the only itineraries available are the last flight of the day outbound, and the red-eye or 6:10 AM departure home. Yes, I recognize that this is a tough market.

Zorak

It's sort of a self-fulfilling correlation... the markets and schedules where certs are the most valuable (i.e. bang for the buck, length of flight, heavy Medallion competition, or JFK-SFO/LAX) tend to be the ones that aren't going to clear in advance because those combinations of routes/flight times are in high demand.

Roadbob

Hope this is the right thread. Anyone have experience clearing waitliat for ATL-SFO and SFO-JFK using regional upgrade certificates?thanks

gooselee

I've used one on ATL-SFO before. IIRC it cleared at the gate. What exactly are you asking?

bgriff

I've cleared a waitlist a few weeks in advance on JFK-SFO before, but mainly at off-peak times for a leisure trip. If you're hoping to clear a Monday morning or Thursday afternoon flight, it's unlikely you'll clear in advance, and you may well not even clear at the gate since those flights often sell out.

Looking for the 767 frequencies on JFK-SFO may be helpful since there is a much higher ratio of business class seats to coach seats on those flights than there are on the 757s with only 16 J seats.

Zorak

tl;dr:

- people make stuff up (nothing new)
- if your position on the list feels low it's probably not coded correctly (also not new)
- HIBRES is fallible (no doubt also not new, they're human but new to me and mildly disappointing )

Long-winded version:

This happened on an international itinerary but has to do with the domestic segments, so posting in the Regional Upgrades thread where it might be more relevant. I'd cleared the international leg in advance but still waitlisted on 2 domestic segments, which I also SDCed upon arrival into the US. The waitlist didn't get transferred with the SDC.

Called the DM line, got a MN accent (confirmed specifically in a making-small-talk sort of way while we waited for the computer... "was it my accent?" "and also that you sounded like you knew what you were doing "). Said they re-applied the request and all good to go.

Refreshed itinerary on my phone (no smartphone) but showed up suspiciously in 5th on the list for the 1st segment. Went to the gate, who claimed that (1) GUC doesn't have priority on domestic flights, it goes by usual Medallion/fare order, then (2) everyone above you could be using a cert too (3) when I said "4 people seems unlikely", that it was impractical for him to investigate everyone else's fare status etc. (fair enough) but also (4) the gate has no control over priority anyway and can only go by what the computer says.

I wasn't asking him to investigate 4 records, just to make sure mine was coded correctly, but since he didn't seem to want to show initiative, I called the DM line again. They said the first phone agent didn't do all the steps "But I'll be happy to fix it for you and... oh, you're inside T-3h aren't you? Now only the gate can touch it." "Could you maybe check with a supervisor? Because the gate has already refused to have anything to do with this." Puts me on hold for less than 2 minutes. "OK you're all set."

Refreshed itinerary again. 1st on the list for both segments ^

I thought about going by the gate again to say something snarky. Then in a rare fit of maturity I decided not to. But then I wanted to make sure the GA knew, that I knew, that I'd moved to the top of the list (to ward off any possible Shena). So I said as neutrally/conversationally as possible, "Oh hey, I called the DM line and they sorted everything out so I should be at the top of the list now" which he confirmed.

I later dropped to #3 for both flights but got both upgrades

kbol

After an unsuccessful attempt at applying them on an MR (ATL-SLC-SEA-KTN-JNU-SEA-ATL), I was pleasantly surprised that our ATL-SJC RT flights cleared our RUCs immediately -- especially pleased with the red-eye clearing Sunday night, since I'm running a half marathon that morning and will need all the sleep I can get

Dennis88

I have two Wednesday night redeyes coming up SMF-ATL-XXX and would like to get into F on both flights so I have at least a semi-decent chance of being comfortable enough to sleep for a few hours. There are no FCM offers on either flight and F appears to be at least 5x+ my original cost right now. So, I'm trying to see if I can upgrade either using a RUC or a complimentary medallion upgrade.

I have not flown this redeye for quite awhile and certainly never since I got any kind of status so I have no idea how tough this upgrade is for a PM; There appears to be plenty of open seats in F right now, but we are still 2+ weeks way.

I have not selected my choice benefits yet since I want to see if they potentially change anything (a man can dream of 2 GUC for a PM, right?) but if it is the only way to get into F on these flights I might bite. If I do that, is there a way to ensure that they only get used if the complimentary upgrade doesn't clear? How would I handle that when I call? Is that even possible?

Zorak

You can't ask them to waitlist the RUC conditionally, if that's what you're asking. You're either waitlisted using the RUC or you aren't.

Based on your proposed strategy, you could wait and see what happens up until the day of travel. If you still haven't cleared, you can check-in and try to gauge what the upgrade list looks like (bearing in mind things can change due to last-minute purchase, SDC etc.) and call to apply the RUC if it looks like that's the only way you'll clear. You'd probably want to make your Choice Benefits selection the day before, to be sure that they are available for use on day of travel. Also, make your RUC go/no-go decision before T-3h because after that supposedly only the gate can touch the ticket.

mnbp

Just FYI, SMF is a tough market to get an upgrade. I wouldn't wait, use the RUC, and even then, no guarantees.