Changing a ticket with a paid seat upgrade...
Nov 29, 2018, 11:02 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 1999
Location: CVG
Programs: DL DM 4MM, Lifetime Marriott Plat Elite, HH Diamond
Posts: 1,429
Changing a ticket with a paid seat upgrade...
Learned something new today, as did the Diamond agent helping me! If you use the upgrade seat choice in your reservation under "My Trips", it is considered a "seat upgrade", and yes, it will get the 1.5 MQM and get you a first class seat for the amount listed. And yes, as a Diamond you can still SDC to FC on another flight.
BUT, if you ever need to cancel or change the ticket, say to another day outside of the SDC, that "seat upgrade" fee is non-refundable, so you lose the amount you've paid. And yes, you still need to pay the $200 change fee plus applicable fare differences. Now, the Diamond desk was very helpful and could see the "challenge" that this creates and waived the fee loss and changed my ticket to two days earlier for just the $200 change fee as a courtesy for me being a Diamond and 3+ million miler. I thought that was very nice of them as I had calculated the Change fee and fare difference as $245 assuming the seat upgrade fee would become part of the base ticket. Now this was a one time courtesy, but there is an easier way to do this to avoid the problem!
Lesson learned: Don't use the Upgrade within the app. Call DL and get them to reprice to First Class. I've done this many times as the price in the my trips for the seat upgrade is often higher than the fare difference between coach and reduced fare first class (G,A,P). And while there is a fee of $50 to re-issue an agency generated ticket, that fee is almost always waived as you are spending money to upgrade to a first class fare basis. It is best to call the Diamond line and have them reprice and reissue the ticket into the reduced fare bucket class. Yes, it takes longer, and you often have to ask them to manually re-price the ticket, but it gets the amount you pay to move to first class into the ticket cost, thereby allowing the extra cost to be included in the ticket, versus being a non-refundable "seat upgrade fee".
BUT, if you ever need to cancel or change the ticket, say to another day outside of the SDC, that "seat upgrade" fee is non-refundable, so you lose the amount you've paid. And yes, you still need to pay the $200 change fee plus applicable fare differences. Now, the Diamond desk was very helpful and could see the "challenge" that this creates and waived the fee loss and changed my ticket to two days earlier for just the $200 change fee as a courtesy for me being a Diamond and 3+ million miler. I thought that was very nice of them as I had calculated the Change fee and fare difference as $245 assuming the seat upgrade fee would become part of the base ticket. Now this was a one time courtesy, but there is an easier way to do this to avoid the problem!
Lesson learned: Don't use the Upgrade within the app. Call DL and get them to reprice to First Class. I've done this many times as the price in the my trips for the seat upgrade is often higher than the fare difference between coach and reduced fare first class (G,A,P). And while there is a fee of $50 to re-issue an agency generated ticket, that fee is almost always waived as you are spending money to upgrade to a first class fare basis. It is best to call the Diamond line and have them reprice and reissue the ticket into the reduced fare bucket class. Yes, it takes longer, and you often have to ask them to manually re-price the ticket, but it gets the amount you pay to move to first class into the ticket cost, thereby allowing the extra cost to be included in the ticket, versus being a non-refundable "seat upgrade fee".
Nov 29, 2018, 11:56 am
#2
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: 27,042
1)Agency take over fee (external ticket reissue) is rarely waived. It is not by policy waive due to upgrading, only the change fee is.
2)Purchase in the DL APP of an upgrade for all flights do carry over. In that case you're upgrading to a F fare. However if you choose to simply upgrade only one flight that fee doesn't carry over. It's simply a seat assignment fee in that case.
2)Purchase in the DL APP of an upgrade for all flights do carry over. In that case you're upgrading to a F fare. However if you choose to simply upgrade only one flight that fee doesn't carry over. It's simply a seat assignment fee in that case.
Nov 29, 2018, 12:00 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SEA (the REAL Washington); occasionally in the other Washington (DCA area)
Programs: DL PM 1.57MM; AS MVPG 100K
Posts: 21,371
had the exact same issue today ... my fault for misreading the upgrade offer on the app late last night (it was for the return flight, and I wanted to apply it to the outbound); called the PM line when I noticed an email receipt for a non-refundable seat upgrade fee this morning, and that I was still in Q on my outbound ... the agent was able to get it refunded, and the best result was that to do so she had to take over the ticket from Concur anyway, so she only charged me the upfare
