SamuelS

I'm GM on award ticket, my companion is no-status member on award ticket. Same itinerary. According to delta.com it would seem a companion upgrade is permitted:

https://www.delta.com/content/www/en...html#companion

"Companion upgrades are available for travel on paid tickets, Award Tickets, Miles + Cash tickets, Pay with Miles tickets and SkyMiles Companion Certificates.

Companion upgrades must be requested. If you and your companion are in the same reservation, you can request your companion upgrade at delta.com during the booking process, afterwards in My Trips, or during check-in prior to departure. Otherwise, requests must be made over the phone with Reservations or at the airport."

It specifically states that companion tickets are now applicable on award tickets or pay with miles tickets. 2 different medallion desk reps said award tickets are not eligible for companion upgrades - only on tickets paid 100% by cash with no miles or instruments. This is clearly not what is listed at Delta.com.

A Supervisor finally assisted, and she at first said same thing. Then she said she did see that Award tickets were supposed to be ok, but that the issue is you can't do a companion upgrade if on separate PNR's. This also seems to not jive with Delta.com which expressly lists the two scenarios - on same PNR versus on different PNR, and it seems the only difference is that on a separate PNR the companion will only upgrade 24 hours out instead of at the Gold window.

In the end, the Supervisor read the section of the website and agreed it seemed to indicate a Companion upgrade should be allowed and so she got a colleague to over-ride manually and add to upgrade list, which I appreciate. I still don't know though if I was offered a special exception, or if there is some other issue or rule that I'm not seeing online that was preventing the Medallion reps from being able to do this?

iflyalexair

The agents were wrong. I'm a DM and I purchased an award ticket for me and a non-statused companion. Our upgrades to Comfort Plus were automatically cleared.

azeckel

Is this new? My understanding has always been that in order to get a companion upgrade request, 1) you must be on same PNR and 2) If using award ticket, companion has to be eligible for upgrade on an award ticket (i.e. GM or above).

I could see things getting fast and loose if the multiple PNR thing is real. "Hey, this random person I met at the bar is cool and I called and got them on the upgrade list with me ..." At the same time, I'm almost always on a different PNR from the Mrs when we travel together because I get her ticket on miles and pay for mine. It would be awesome if they could figure out how to get multiple tickets on the same PNR at the time of booking when using different payment methods for each.

iflyalexair

It's been around for a while now. It used to be that award tickets were not eligible for upgrades unless you were GM or higher. However, now, you can upgrade on Pay with Miles, Award tickets, Amex Companion Certificates, etc. As you'll see from the link above, it's best to have the companion in the PNR. That makes them Comfort Plus upgrade eligible and most importantly, your companion is treated at the same level as you. (Meaning, you won't be dragged down to their status like the old days).

The reason that you can't have different types of tickets on the same PNR is because of how archaic airline ticketing systems are. A PNR requires that for any segment the fare class and the number of passengers booked on that segment must match the number of name fields in the PNR. In theory, if Delta utilized the same booking classes for revenue and award tickets and applied miles as a form of payment in the ticketing process, you could have them together. Since DL has separate fare classes for awards, this won't ever be possible, absent a revolutionary change in the fundamental structure of airline reservation systems.

CAETravlr

I have the same thing. My Dad is traveling with me on an award ticket booked by me, but on a separate PNR, because I didn't know he was going on the trip until a couple of days after I booked my original one. Seats were so scarce that I didn't want to redeposit the miles for my ticket and book us together. I called to have him added to the upgrade list and they said that they couldn't do it. Upgrades are unlikely for us, so I haven't pushed the issue. We are still a couple of weeks out, and after reading this, and checking the website, I am going to call them back and push the issue. The problem is that the computer isn't even completely up to date with the new rules, so if the computer won't let them do it, they think it is not doable. Definitely takes someone with the authority and proper knowledge of the rules to override it.

xliioper

There's this additional text further down (which might be a leftover):

"If you and your companion are in different reservations, upgrades to First Class and Delta Comfort+ work a little differently:

• For Delta Comfort+, General SkyMiles Members are not eligible for Complimentary Upgrades. The Medallion Member will clear for their upgrade at their respective window."

I suspect that companions must be on the same PNR for companion upgrades (to both FC and C+) if it is an award ticket, PWM ticket, or companion cert (which obviously already requires that you be on the same PNR) even though that's not stated clearly. It's only when the companion is on a revenue fare (and perhaps the Medallion as well) when companion upgrades can be requested with separate PNR's. With all the recent changes, it looks to me someone simply neglected to fully update all the existing verbiage (which only previously applied to revenue tickets).

The reality is that for FC upgrades, since their priority will be at the very bottom when on a separate PNR, the chances of an upgrade would be very slim any way.

mnredfox

DL's system was programmed to the previous terms, in that on award tickets companions are only eligible for UG's if the companion is a Medallion member. This was for both C+ and FC. I used my plat CB to UG my SO to silver simply for the perks of when we travel together on award tickets - free C+ and FC.

ATLawyer

Maybe it was that way, but it absolutely isn't now. Wife and I had no issues getting onto the upgrade list and upgraded on award tickets to FLL in July. She has no status and was right next to me on the list with my GM. Same PNR though, which is what is causing OPs issues.

paterwdb

I just did this Saturday night. I was traveling with several colleagues. I had already cleared for the upgrade to F. T-60 for the flight to take off. I called Diamond line.
First request: Could I list a companion who was on an award flight?
Answer: No, because he was not GM or higher, so he can't be listed at all.
Second request: Could I list different companion who was on a paid fare?
Answer: No, because there is no SM account for her listed. But the agent didn't say no altogether.
We added her SM account, then the agent pulled her reservation out of the PNR she was in with several other people, then added her to the upgrade list. I then went to the counter at the airport (where I already was) and the agent "activated"/ listed the companion for upgrade, which cleared.

xliioper

Right, I'm not at all convinced that the system is programmed incorrectly, but rather the T&C's have been somewhat mangled due to all the recent changes. How do you explain the fact that the T&C's still say that companions on separate PNR's are completely ineligible for companion C+ upgrades (even on revenue tickets)?

flyerCO

C+ has been done differently since the 1st day. There's been posts about how it's ridiculous can upgrade them to F, but not C+.

xliioper

Here's further proof that companions must be on the same reservation when on an award ticket, PWM, Miles+Cash, or Companion Cert (which is also required for the Companion Cert itself) ticket from the news release below. There have been no other changes announced since the April 2017 change that I'm aware of. The text in the T&C's regarding companions on separate PNR's only applies if they are on revenue tickets.

https://www.delta.com/content/www/en...-updates.html#

Now traveling with your companion is even better. Starting April 6, 2017, companions traveling with Medallion Members will be eligible for Complimentary Upgrades not only on paid tickets but Award Tickets, Miles + Cash tickets, and Pay with Miles tickets. Companions traveling with a Delta SkyMiles Credit Card Member on a SkyMiles Companion Certificate will also be eligible for Complimentary Upgrades.

Here’s what Medallion Members need to know:

A Medallion Member and a traveling companion may both enjoy a Complimentary Upgrade to First Class, Business Class or Delta Comfort+® when traveling on Delta and Delta Connection carriers, as long as that companion is a General SkyMiles Member or a Medallion Member in the same reservation.

Complimentary Companion Upgrades must be requested at delta.com during the booking process, afterwards in My Trips, or during check-in prior to departure.

To easily update your upgrade request preferences for an individual flight through My Trips:

• Log into delta.com
• Select Trips from the drop down menu under your name
• Click “Details” on the trip you want to update
• Select/Unselect the cabins you would like to be upgraded to in the Upgrade Request section
• Click “Confirm”