tvnwz

I am not so sure. I have more miles in my DM status than all my business associates I travel with. I have always been ahead of them on the upgrade list if we are traveling on the same fare--paid the same---and they purchased first. The only way I am below them is if they have purchased a higher class fare.

This happens every time. There are no special credit cards involved etc. Just internet transactions. It really p****s them off too when I snag the last seat.

Might be some other metric, but I am at a loss as what it would be.

grahampros

It's not your millage balance that has any effect. It's not something the system looks at to process upgrades.

Sez_Who

Are you saying all of these others are also Diamonds or just traveling on the same fare as you? Actually I would wonder about same fare, at least all the time. If you purchased later for the same flt, you might have had a more expensive ticket even if the bucket had not yet closed.

grahampros

That seems to really be the question. What is 100 % sure is that he has more miles banked in his account does NOT have an impact on his upgrade. Now if he's diamond and they are not it's easily explainable.

mnredfox

DM on Award beats PM on B fare.

Then again 49K of rollover is nice. I say it depends on what you plan on flying next year.

grahampros

What we need to be clear about, There are many reasons why a person is higher on the upgrade list. However, that you have you have more miles in your account or earned more for the year ( other then the status you currently have) does not have an impact on your upgrade priority.

tvnwz

All four of us are DM. I am not talking balance in the account, I am talking about accrued MQMs as a DM. Last year I accrued the most miles and my associates less. We ranked ourselves and ---all things being equal--the upgrade list seems to be determined by the total MQMs achieved for the year.

Our flying is pretty much in the same rank order every year. This appears to be the only constant. There might be another reason, but we are at a loss as to what it would be. Just a curiosity on our point.

MSPeconomist

This is only for B and lower fares. All elites with Y are higher than DM with B. Also, it's time of upgrade request, not time of check in or time of ticket purchase.

NapaPatTours

Your chance at UGs is determined more by your fare type than your status. Ex: A GM, traveling on an M fare will be upgraded before a PM traveling on a T fare. It's more about what was paid for the individual seat on the particular flight than the number of miles you've flown prior to that flight. As a Silver, I've been UG'd over DMs because I was on a full fare.

Vuelos

Uh, where did you get your Economics Degree, the University of Phoenix?

124,929 + 250 = 125,179 > 125,000.

aubreyfromwheaton

This is mostly wrong. In your example, the PM with the T fare would be upgraded first.

GM with M fare:

Upgrade Window:
Three (3) calendar days before departure and subject to fare class V availability.

Your rank is lower than:
DM | Y
PM | Y
GM | Y
FO | Y
DM | B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, E, N
PM | B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, E, N
GM | B,

Tiebreak for GM with M fare
#1 If you are a Delta Reserve Amex card holder.
#2 Time of request usually at ticketing. Ex 2130-FEB-28 (TTTT-MM-DD)

Your rank is higher than:
GM | H, Q, K, L, U, T, E, N
FO | B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, E
DM | B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, E using a companion upgrade to upgrade non-elite (within 24 hrs. of departure).
PM | B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, E using a companion upgrade to upgrade non-elite (within 24 hrs. of departure).
GM | B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, E using a companion upgrade to upgrade non-elite (within 24 hrs. of departure).
FO | B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, E using a companion upgrade to upgrade non-elite (within 24 hrs. of departure).
Non-elites purchasing an upgrade (ticket must be in Y, B, M, H, Q or K class) - done by time requested.

You probably were on a Y fare when you got the FO UG over the DM's, which is correct.

http://cwsi.net/mupc/


FO with Y fare
Upgrade Window:
Immediately at ticketing and subject to fare class V availability.

Your rank is lower than:
DM | Y
PM | Y
GM | Y

Tiebreak for FO with Y fare
#1 If you are a Delta Reserve Amex card holder.
#2 Time of request usually at ticketing. Ex 2130-FEB-28 (TTTT-MM-DD)

Your rank is higher than:
PM | B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, E, N
GM | B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, E, N
FO | B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, E
DM | B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, E using a companion upgrade to upgrade non-elite (within 24 hrs. of departure).
PM | B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, E using a companion upgrade to upgrade non-elite (within 24 hrs. of departure).
GM | B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, E using a companion upgrade to upgrade non-elite (within 24 hrs. of departure).
FO | B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, E using a companion upgrade to upgrade non-elite (within 24 hrs. of departure).
Non-elites purchasing an upgrade (ticket must be in Y, B, M, H, Q or K class) - done by time requested.

aubreyfromwheaton

Thus getting booked into Y or rebooked into Y is really a bonanza for lesser medallions.

DM don't benefit nearly as much on average, because their starting position is so much higher on average that the marginal benefit of Y is much more rarely realized. (they had a higher chance that they would get UG anyway at any fare).

MSPeconomist

Your statement about fare mattering more than status is largely incorrect for DL's FF program, although it might reflect the priority ordering used by a different carrier. Elites on Y fares are at the top, then DMs on all other fares, then PMs on all other fares (including T), then GMs on all other fares (including M), etc.

yohanson

You are correct MSP. One thing I would add is the observation that it seems on the heavy business flying days (at least to and from the west coast), upgrades come down to the fare class of the DMs that are on the upgrade list. I haven't even been seeing PMs get upgraded at the gate and I haven't gotten upgraded at the window for awhile now.

Edited to add that most of the time I've been booking inside the window although I did book my trip to SFO for this week 14 days out.

NapaPatTours

...and thank you for explaining, and providing the detail. I took the information I was given during "gate chatter" at face value, and appreciate the clarification. Jeez, is that matrix complicated! Imagine trying to track that without our friends, the programmers.

Yes, I was booked in Y on the flight in question, and your matrix explains how my UG over everyone else was possible. ...although the DM I jumped was still very annoyed.

However, his DYKWIA attitude is a different story, for another day...