SDC - Did I miss something?
 

I was under the belief that if you were in a premium cabin (paid or upgraded with cert or miles ahead of time) that you could change to a flight earlier or later in the same day as long as there was a seat available in the premium cabin of the flight you wanted to switch to.

I used a RUC and cleared a week ago for a flight tomorrow XXX-JFK-SFO. I'm trying to change the XXX-JFK flight to an earlier flight in the day and I called in and have spoken with 4 different DM agents, 3 of which looped in their "Help Desk," and all are saying that even though there are seats available there's no upgrade space, so I'd have to be waitlisted. Is this the way it's always been or should I be able to switch with no problem?

You can SDC when you have a PAID premium cabin seat to another flight, if there is availability.

That doesn't apply to RUC's or complimentary upgrades that have already cleared.

You shouldn't need upgrade space since your RUC cleared. Was your ticket actually reissued however and the receipt showing RP/OP for class instead of your original coach bucket? If its re-ticketed, it should be treated as a paid first class ticket and so you can SDC to another available seat.

There is a big difference between an upgrade instrument (RUC/Miles etc) and a medallion upgrade. The medallion upgrade can only SDC based on the original coach bucket. With a RUC it is treated as a first class paid ticket. The upgrade instrument is the method of payment, just like if you had a first class award ticket you can SDC to another seat.

THIS!

Okay I'm not going crazy as that's what I thought as well. Yes, my RUC cleared when I booked the ticket Monday night and immediately reissued that evening. My ticket shows XXX-JFK (RP) and JFK-SFO (OP).

I'm all for playing the HUACA game, but when Help Desk gets looped in and even they are saying no, I feel stuck. Help!

Ask for a supervisor, or keep calling until you get MSP or SLC. You are entitled to change, no matter what some idiot at the help desk says.

You might want to re-think your handle. A Delta road warrior would know better :D

As others have stated, THIS is the correct answer.

I just went through this earlier this week flying back from overseas. The moment I landed, I called up the Diamond line to SDC to a different connecting domestic flight. Both legs (int'l+domestic) had cleared weeks ago with an RUC. The phone rep pushed back saying the RUC is just like a complimentary upgrade and, thus, the same fare class as originally purchased must be available to SDC. But I held firm and asked for a supervisor and the rep said she would check and get back to me. When she came back on the line, she said I had been put into first on the flight I wanted and was good to go.

I know I'm like the umpteenth person to say this, but DL seriously needs to provide their agents with proper ongoing training. It's so frustrating that so many people have to deal with this on an ongoing basis.

Yes. It may take asking for a supervisor but you can SDC if you used an RUC or miles to UG because you are treated as having a First/Business/Delta One ticket. Last week a phone agent initially tried to tell me I couldn't SDC to another flight since the UG space wasn't available, but when I pressed and said that since I had been confirmed into the premium cabin with the RUC and therefore should be treated no different than any other premium cabin SDC which only requires an open seat, she put me on hold, spoke with someone, and then processed the change I requested.

Update:

I decided to try for a 5th attempt and this time I started the call with the DM agent by politely explaining I'd spoken with a few other DL reps and believe I was told inaccurate info, so was hoping she could please look into it. After explaining what I was looking to do she initially came back with the exact same response as the previous 4 agents. However, this time I told her that because I cleared the GUC earlier this week the way it should be looked at is the same way as if I had a premium award ticket and wanted to change flights - there didn't need to be premium award inventory to do a SDC, just a premium seat available. At that point something clicked with her and she said "let me see if this is something I need to manually re-issue," and she put me on hold.

Four to five minutes later she came back and said she was still working on it. Another minute or so later she came back and said you're all set and confirmed. So in the end it finally worked, but really wish it didn't take 5 calls, 3 of which included the Help Desk.

DELTA - if you're reading this post - please, please, please train your agents better. The fact the one's working the DM line aren't informed about your benefits to medallions is scary for your business. These are your elite customers, treat them as such. Get them educated agents at a minimum.

It doesn't apply to complimentary upgrades--where you must SDC based on availability of the original coach fare class and then either recapture RU/OU space on the new flight or go onto the (gate) upgrade list for the new flight--but it does apply to confirmed instrument supported upgrades into RP/OP inventory. However, if the ticket hasn't yet been reissued into first/business class, this might cause trouble when you call to SDC.

So I have to wonder how it works if the RUC is confirmed on one leg and wait-listed for another. Say I wanted to fly BOS-JFK-LAX. If you can't get advance inventory on JFK-LAX, most would say only wait-list for the JFK-LAX leg so that the RUC isn't "wasted" on a segment like BOS-JFK, but could you clear it on the BOS-JFK leg, and then if your RUC doesn't clear in advance on JFK-LAX, SDC to any BOS-JFK-LAX segment(s) with open space in D1? Anyone have any experience with this one?

Watch them take that benefit away next instead.