SDQBound

In my experience, you are added with your Medallion status. However, it is my understanding that you can only be cleared once you are under airport control (if anyone else differs I welcome their input)

flyerCO

Goes by whatever status qualifies you for upgrades. If it's DL status, then by DL status. If partner status, then by partner status.

SouthernCanada

Excellent information.

Wife and I typically fly on Saturday's when traveling for personal. If booking a Premium Economy ticket on AF metal overseas is 40% cheaper, I can deal with DOD upgrades at the gate on domestic DL metal. If placement on the upgrade list is according to DL status, we should at least compete for the limited remaining seats available in/out of our terrible airport.

af fp

Reviving that thread: after some schedule changes I find myself on DL premium select on JFK CDG under an AF flight number with an AF ticket (057…) purchased through AmEx IAP. I call AF to upgrade with my miles (I have Flying Blue Platinum status), they say they cannot upgrade a DL-operated flight. I call DL to upgrade using Skymiles, no status, no upgrade is available.

However, AF told me DL might be able to upgrade me, like they see availability. They also say it would be easier to upgrade if I were on an AF-operated flight (maybe an option given the time change).

Is it worth changing flights (the DL-operated flight timing is actually better) just for a non-guaranteed miles upgrade? I expect my chances to upgrade at check-in to be near zero, DL elites always snag D1 seats early. Maybe the Premium Select seat will be OK for 7 hours, I read it is not as bad as AF’s premium coach. The food looks pretty bad but I need to lose weight.

flyerCO

You'll get better responses in AF/KL forum. However I believe you still can use FB miles to upgrade. AF/KL just no longer can sell DoD upgrades on flights ex-CDG/AMS on DL metal.

DL SM requires a high enough fare to use SM.

Also a bit confused. There is no free upgrades on flights with D1 (except domestic). Thus not sure about your comment re DM getting D1.

af fp

Hi. My comment about DL getting D1 is that the D1 cabin always fills up days ahead of the flight, I am assuming because DL elites. Use GUCs or miles to upgrade before AF ones are allowed to do so. Am I wrong? My fare is in S class, I suppose this is upgradeable, on paper.

flyerCO

Ok, understand. I was just concerned you thought elites got free upgrade like on domestic flights. I remember thinking that 25 years ago when 1st earned status.

af fp

Ha ha no I must be about your age then, and like you now I am ready to think about more complicated stuff.
This is what EF is showing at 31 days:
[img]blob:https://www.flyertalk.com/99b85d9b-2d70-4987-a557-3e953c0e8062[/img]

J9 C9 D9 I0 Z0 P6

If I try to book the flight with miles on the Delta app, it asks for a crazy 375k miles. So maybe there is no upgrade availability in fact, just wondering. The return flight appears at the same price a few days later but it is operated by AF with an AF code and I could upgrade it with 35k miles.

af fp

To conclude on the above, it was never possible to upgrade that flight and every time I called AF they hinted that DL just does not let this happen. The time of the flight was good for me so I slummed it in Premium Select. The seat is good, much better than AF’s hardshell premium. Everything else is horrible. Food, service, flight attendants who are better qualified to be prison wardens… this combination of circumstances is better avoided.

xliioper

You should be able to potentially upgrade AF marketed, DL operated flights with DL Skymiles using Delta Mileage Upgrade Awards (MUAs), but only from certain fare classes. MUAs are not the same as Skymiles Awards and do not use Skymiles award pricing and have fixed (unpublished) mileage prices. T&C's only mention AF/KL Y/B/M coach fares as eligible and one class upgrades. No mention of KL/AF W/S/A PE fares, so not clear if those are actually eligible at this point for one cabin MUA upgrades. You would have to go through DL (not AF/KL) in order to attempt to apply MUA to flights -- https://www.delta.com/us/en/skymiles...rades-and-more

• For flights marketed and/or operated by Air France/KLM, Mileage Upgrade Awards may be used for a one-class upgrade when the paid fare class is Y, B, or M.

There is an existing master thread on MUAs here -- Delta Mileage Upgrade Awards

af fp

I contacted DL multiple times too and they always said that there was no availability to upgrade with Skymiles. Of course I cannot tell if I would have had a better chance had I booked with DL, the flight left full in all classes.

Utskicat

If you didn't know exactly what to ask for and get properly escalated to the right support team, it is very likely you got new hire phone agents whose information cannot be relied on to any degree.

af fp

Well it is after the fact now, so too late for you to tell me exactly what to ask for and get properly escalated to the right support team.
However, you can explain to the group for future reference…