Ny76

I apologize if this has been discussed before, but I searched and did not find anything. When checking in for my flight JFK - ZRH for tomorrow (Sunday) eve, I was offered a $750 upgrade for BE. I had never seen this done before with Delta, so I took it and now have a boarding pass confirmed in the BE cabin with the fare class OP. I was originally on a T fare. Is this a new thing? I was under the impression that I would be consigned to the back as the flight appears to be no where near oversold shrinking my slim chances of an Op-up as a GM down to zero.....

rwoman

There have been some recent reports of this happening...



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

Ny76

I might add for those trying it that it did not come up the first time I tried to check in (I was out at dinner and did not have my passport # handy). When I got home I checked in again and it came up, but for some reason the credit card numbers in the My Wallet were my old expired ones. I went onto the regular computer (I had been using the app on my phone) and updated my wallet, but to my absolute horror when I went back to the phone it wouldn't come up. I called the medallion line and they said it was an online only fare. While on hold for their tech support I kept repeatedly trying to re check in on my phone and it came back on the fifth or sixth try. This time the payment went through no problem. I waited for the tech support to come back to tell them everything was solved (I find just hanging up when someone is trying to work for you to be the height of rude). I remember when I booked this ticket back in early June it offered me BE roundtrip for about $1700 above the T fare. I believe this was in Z. I have been kicking myself for not taking it, as it would have been about a $3000 roundtrip - not bad for summer.

MSPeconomist

So how much did you pay for the upgrade and was it the same amount as was offered when you tried to check in earlier?

Ny76

$750 - and yes the amount was the same both times I saw it.

howtofreetravel

Honestly i think it's not worth it . I would just use $200 and go to the best restaurant or something .

mot29

I probably wouldn't take it either, if my seat was already in EC and just JFK-ZRH; maybe if from the west coast or to Asia? And it coded into OP which won't carry the mileage bonus for either, I think. Does it count toward MQD?
But to each his/her own.

Ny76

Good question on the MQD's - I will report back in a few days. I was 50/50 on whether it is worth it for the $, but I was intrigued by the novelty - which now makes me wonder if this random offering on the app is intentional to induce an impulse buy from those of us lucky enough to be "chosen." The fact that it might not come back makes it even more effective - no time to think about it, just spend.

rwoman

I'm also curious as to whether DL will give you the RDM/MQM based on your original booking or a higher fare...assuming it'll be the original booking, but please report back.

Often1

This has been reported a good deal. It appears to be part of a targeted offer used by DL through it's upgraded CRM software. Effectively, OP has been identified as a person likely to pay for a BE seat in the future if he gets a "taste" now.

DL hadly loses money on a $750 UG, it's not something OP or anybody can count on so those motivated to fly BE will still pay for it, and if DL can marginally increase its BE paid flying base, that is a good thing.

Whether there is "value" in a $750 UG is simply a matter of personal preference. Maybe OP will spend the $750 and also $200 on a great meal in ZRH !

MSPeconomist

If it's booked in T and flown in OP, then DL seems to be treating it almost like a SWU/GUC/miles upgrade. I'd be shocked if this got 150% MQMs. In fact, I bet the total fare is less than M exUSA.

rwoman

I'd be shocked as well. It would provide a sense of how DL "values" SWU/GUC's.

MegatopLover

Is there any correlation between these offers and oversold situations where DL is likely to have to do OpUp's? If a flight is oversold in Y but has seats in J and DL knows they will have to OpUp pax for free (unless willing to IDB someone), then it would make sense to see if anyone is willing to pay for what DL otherwise would have to give away.

qmiro

Bearing in mind that $200 doesn't go very far in zrh

SCEflyer

I agree with you, but it is the OP who is putting his $$ on the line.

My concern would be that I would have paid the $750.00 but had a lousy in flight experience. I would be second guessing myself for several days thereafter.

Also, it being Zurich, you might want to consider raising the cost of the dinner up to $250.00 or so.