May 27, 18, 12:36 pm
Last edit by: audidudi
DRAFT WIKI: I've started this on May 27, 2018 as a first pass, but need to pull more info from the rest of the thread. Feel free to add!
What flights are eligible to be upgraded?
As relevant to this thread, original booking must be:
- DL ticketed (006 stock)
- DL marketed (DL flight #)
- VS operated
NOTE ON MIXED CABIN BOOKINGS: If you are booked in coach for a domestic portion on Delta and then connecting to a VS Premium Economy segment, and trying to upgrade only the VS PE segment with DL miles, the upgrade request may be rejected by Virgin when the DL agent attempt to process it. Ask to be transferred to the international reissue desk. Explain that they will need to remove the domestic coach portion of your flight, then process the upgrade, and then reattach the domestic Y portion. VS will accept the upgrade only when the coach segment has been removed, and this all needs to be done manually by Delta.
How do I know mileage upgrade space is available?
You can either call Delta and ask the agent to check or check online. If you are going to call, see note below about how to explain this to the phone agent. Or, follow instructions in the next section to check inventory online.
X
Checking online In advance:
- Upgrades on VS pull from the same inventory as award bookings. Upgrading to Upper Class requires G class inventory, upgrading to Premium Economy requires P class inventory. Note these are Virgin fare classes that will not display on delta.com. Delta's G and P fare classes are different and should not be considered for this purpose. Only a subset of G class inventory (and presumably also of P class inventory) is available for upgrades, so merely finding G availability via the Delta or Virgin websites, or via ExpertFlyer or other sources, does not necessarily mean an upgrade will be available. Unfortunately there is no public data source that can be used to double-check what Delta agents tell you about availability.
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At the Airport Day of Depature:
How do I request the upgrade?
What should I see if/when my upgrade is correctly processed?
Need more information on reticketing, seat selection, etc.
How much do upgrades cost?
Reports of upgrade costs are as follows (current as of May 2018):
- US<>UK, PE>UC = 25k RDM each way
- US<>UK, Y>UC = ???? each way
- US<>UK, Y>PE = ???? each way
When going from Y to PE/UC, you may need to pay the UK luxury tax (in USD or GBP) for flights exiting the UK.
When going from PE to UC, the luxury tax should not apply as it has already been charged on the PE fare.
A note about earning miles
Your upgraded ticket should still earn DL RDMs/MQMs/MQDs based on the originally purchased fare. However, the systems regularly get confused because the rebooked ticket will be identified as VS award inventory, ineligible for mileage earnings.
Keep your original (non-upgraded) receipt and monitor your miles earnings carefully. Calls or written requests via DL.com comments/complaints will result in proper mileage earnings being applied, but you may need to be persistent.
Need information about crediting flights to VS or other programs.
What flights are eligible to be upgraded?
As relevant to this thread, original booking must be:
- DL ticketed (006 stock)
- DL marketed (DL flight #)
- VS operated
NOTE ON MIXED CABIN BOOKINGS: If you are booked in coach for a domestic portion on Delta and then connecting to a VS Premium Economy segment, and trying to upgrade only the VS PE segment with DL miles, the upgrade request may be rejected by Virgin when the DL agent attempt to process it. Ask to be transferred to the international reissue desk. Explain that they will need to remove the domestic coach portion of your flight, then process the upgrade, and then reattach the domestic Y portion. VS will accept the upgrade only when the coach segment has been removed, and this all needs to be done manually by Delta.
How do I know mileage upgrade space is available?
You can either call Delta and ask the agent to check or check online. If you are going to call, see note below about how to explain this to the phone agent. Or, follow instructions in the next section to check inventory online.
X
Checking online In advance:
- Upgrades on VS pull from the same inventory as award bookings. Upgrading to Upper Class requires G class inventory, upgrading to Premium Economy requires P class inventory. Note these are Virgin fare classes that will not display on delta.com. Delta's G and P fare classes are different and should not be considered for this purpose. Only a subset of G class inventory (and presumably also of P class inventory) is available for upgrades, so merely finding G availability via the Delta or Virgin websites, or via ExpertFlyer or other sources, does not necessarily mean an upgrade will be available. Unfortunately there is no public data source that can be used to double-check what Delta agents tell you about availability.
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- Waitlisting is not available for mileage upgrades on Virgin Atlantic or any other partner flights.
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At the Airport Day of Depature:
- VS regularly offers DOD upgrades at the airport.
- Upgrades are available for cash (generally not the best value at ~$800 one way) or VS miles (same # miles as advance upgrades).
- DOD upgrades using miles can only be done with VS miles, not Delta Sky Miles.
- VS miles can be transferred from Amex MR. Transfer is usually instantaneous if you have linked your MR/VS accounts in advance, but as always Amex does not guarantee this so there is some risk involved in relying on the transfer while at the airport.
How do I request the upgrade?
- You'll need to call Delta. Be prepared to spend some time and persistence, and HUCA if necessary. Know that agents are likely to be confused about this, so be patient and call when you have time for them to research this and possibly speak with a supervisor.
- Consider saying something along these lines to the phone agent to help clue them in that this may be something they need to look up or get help with: "I am calling to upgrade, using Sky Miles, my Virgin Atlantic flight that I booked through Delta. I understand that this is a newer benefit that is now available through the Delta/Virgin Atlantic join-venture. I know from previously calling that this is not something all agents do regularly, so thanks so much for helping me figure this out."
- Remind the agent to check the VS flight # (not DL #) for upgrade space. Many agents may tell you you are already in a premium cabin if you're booked in VS PE, without realizing that DL's G class is not the same as VS's G class. Some may also insist that it is not possible to upgrade a VS flight with Sky Miles (it was not possible before July 2017). Be polite, but ask for a supervisor.
- Agents seem to find the correct instructions about all this when they look up the DL/VS joint venture notes in whatever system they use.
- Waitlisting is not available for mileage upgrades on Virgin Atlantic or any other partner flights.
What should I see if/when my upgrade is correctly processed?
- Your upgraded flight will now be a VS-marketed flight #.
- You will be rebooked into the appropriate VS fare class.
Need more information on reticketing, seat selection, etc.
How much do upgrades cost?
Reports of upgrade costs are as follows (current as of May 2018):
- US<>UK, PE>UC = 25k RDM each way
- US<>UK, Y>UC = ???? each way
- US<>UK, Y>PE = ???? each way
When going from Y to PE/UC, you may need to pay the UK luxury tax (in USD or GBP) for flights exiting the UK.
When going from PE to UC, the luxury tax should not apply as it has already been charged on the PE fare.
A note about earning miles
Your upgraded ticket should still earn DL RDMs/MQMs/MQDs based on the originally purchased fare. However, the systems regularly get confused because the rebooked ticket will be identified as VS award inventory, ineligible for mileage earnings.
Keep your original (non-upgraded) receipt and monitor your miles earnings carefully. Calls or written requests via DL.com comments/complaints will result in proper mileage earnings being applied, but you may need to be persistent.
Need information about crediting flights to VS or other programs.
Definitive Thread: Use Sky Miles to upgrade on VS
Jan 19, 23, 4:24 am
#256
Join Date: Nov 2022
Posts: 2
Jan 19, 23, 5:32 am
#257
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 20,951
Fare classes are based on the marketing carrier of a flight (the first two letters of the flight number), not the ticketing carrier. A VS coded flight with a G class mean you are in Upper Class as it is an Upper Class award class on VS coded flights. DL uses P/A/G classes for revenue Premium Economy fares (VS uses the W/K/S/H fare classes for revenue Premium Economy fares). By the way, you won't get any miles/MQMs for flight due to DL seeing VS G class as an award class. You'll need to retroactively request credit. Good luck finding an agent who understands this.
Last edited by xliioper; Jan 19, 23 at 5:37 am
Jan 19, 23, 7:58 am
#258
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Brooklyn
Programs: Delta Diamond, Bonvoy something good; sometimes other things too
Posts: 4,904
Fare classes are based on the marketing carrier of a flight (the first two letters of the flight number), not the ticketing carrier. A VS coded flight with a G class mean you are in Upper Class as it is an Upper Class award class on VS coded flights. DL uses P/A/G classes for revenue Premium Economy fares (VS uses the W/K/S/H fare classes for revenue Premium Economy fares). By the way, you won't get any miles/MQMs for flight due to DL seeing VS G class as an award class. You'll need to retroactively request credit. Good luck finding an agent who understands this.
One more thing you can check is to go into the receipt details for this trip. It will show G fare class either way, but if it still shows a Delta flight number, that means it hasn't been reticketed yet and that process will need to happen before you can check in, and the miles will likely be deducted at that time. If it shows a VS flight number on the receipt, then you may have gotten the freebie.
Mar 17, 23, 12:22 pm
#259
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Berkeley, CA
Posts: 2,287
Has anyone tried changing an itinerary which contains an upgraded Virgin flight? I am trying to make a simple time change on the return leg — which is not upgraded — but global ticketing support insists that I would also have to switch to a revenue Z fare on the outbound. I can't find anything in the (very liberal) fare rules about this, and I feel like the upgrade is causing some confusion...
Apr 13, 23, 11:40 pm
#261
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: San Antonio
Programs: DL DM, Former AA EXP now AY Plat, AC 75K, NW Plat, Former CO Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 25,699
Has anyone tried changing an itinerary which contains an upgraded Virgin flight? I am trying to make a simple time change on the return leg — which is not upgraded — but global ticketing support insists that I would also have to switch to a revenue Z fare on the outbound. I can't find anything in the (very liberal) fare rules about this, and I feel like the upgrade is causing some confusion...
You would also likely need to reclear the upgrade, despite no change to it.
Apr 14, 23, 7:37 am
#262
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 3,023
Has anyone tried changing an itinerary which contains an upgraded Virgin flight? I am trying to make a simple time change on the return leg — which is not upgraded — but global ticketing support insists that I would also have to switch to a revenue Z fare on the outbound. I can't find anything in the (very liberal) fare rules about this, and I feel like the upgrade is causing some confusion...
have you considered just waiting until you’ve flown the outbound before you change the return. I have often found that is much less cumbersome on Delta and sometimes less expensive.
