bsears4054

Have any other Diamonds noticed a change in their normal upgrade list position? I fly weekly and last hadnful of flights I've been 4-7 on upgrade list whereas normally been 1-3? Just curious if they've changed the algorithm again.

ethernal

If you are flying the same route at consistent times, check to see if the fare class for sale has changed. A fare rule changed on a ticket I regularly bought that changed it from an M to an H (used to be an H fare required at least 7 days advanced purchase). On an M ticket I would usually be in the top 5 of the upgrade list; on an H fare I frequently barely be in the top 15.

NoStressHere

Maybe the are bumping Platss up? Sorry.... had to ...

Fares would be one option.
Also - as you get towards the end of they year, there are more folks that have reached Diamond status and therefore increased competition for seats.

The Situation

Possible explanations I can think of:
1) People using up RUCs before they expire
2) Diamonds are booking the same fare class as you, earlier
3) You are booking lower fare classes than you used to (or others are booking higher fare classes)
4) DL is giving away selling more seats through FCM (I had a $112 offer on SEA-JFK-xxx), so the three people that were in front of you that usually cleared in advance, no longer clear in advance

For what its worth, I was thinking the opposite last week in that I was quite high on the upgrade list as a GM on a cheap ticket. I think I was 20 out of 40 for SLC-SEA. Usually, I would be down around 30 of 40 with my fare class.

Mr. Tickets

Not everyone's GUC's or RUC's expire at the end of the year. Depends when you activated them.

indufan

As the year progresses there are more of each status. The new ones are on the list and the ones that won't requalify haven't dropped off yet.

But no, I haven't noticed. I mostly have been number 1 on the list for the last month and made all but one of them.

CarmenOM

[QUOTE=NoStressHere;31733653]Maybe the are bumping Platss up? Sorry.... had to ...
/QUOTE]

If only! I have noticed that as a Plat I am lower on the lists lately. I�ve usually been in the top dozen or so, but have been around 20 lately. On a bright note, I discovered this past week that flying the relatively obscure route of PVD-ATL-MSP at night got me upgraded at the window for both flights. I think those were my only window upgrades this year.

Tedgrrrr

Two recent observations:

1) I was supposedly 8 of 12 on the standby list from LGA to Boston on a recent Tuesday (which is complete B.S. because I had purchased C+ and there was a C+ available so I should have been given a SDC, but gate agent was not the nicest guy. No way a Diamond would ever be 8 of 12 on standby? I would be fine being 8 of 30. But out of everyone wanting to standby (including non-revs) you are telling me that there are at least 8 diamonds?

2) I was 4 out of 5 on the upgrade list from LGA to DTW on a recent Saturday which also surprised me... I'm fine being 5 out of 20 - but 4 out of 5? What are the odds that four of the five people trying to get an upgrade on a Saturday are Diamonds? I had a paid C+ seat, but it was a cheap fare.

ethernal

This doesn't surprise me. LGA->BOS is a business traveler heavy route and only Diamonds/Platinums get free SDS so it is likely that most everyone on that list was Diamond/Platinum.

This is odder to me, but at the same time, with only 5 people on the upgrade list.. it's a small enough sample that it could have just been one of those days.

I've never seen my place on the list as a Diamond and been "surprised". I have been as far down the list as 41 before (out of ~130) but I was on a V fare on a business-traveler heavy day.. so even that made total sense.

Tedgrrrr

Wait - I forgot to mention two important facts. Not disagreeing with you but these may be important facts. I initially had a confirmed seat in C+ on the first flight (LGA to Boston) - let's call it DL 999 (made up flight). I was #1 of maybe 20 on the upgrade list for DL 999. My inbound flight was delayed, and so I used Facebook to SDC to the later flight - mind you, this was only 90 minutes before DL 999 was scheduled to leave. By the time my inbound flight landed, I ran to the gate and saw that DL 999 had been delayed by about 30 minutes.

The gate agent refused to let me SDC (despite one C+ being available) and put me on the standby list, suddenly I'm #8 on the standby list for DL 999... I get that the standby list and the upgrade list are different, and also, I don't know my fare class but I paid about $100 for C+, so definitely a low fare class - thoughts?

Also, as to your "everyone was a Diamond or Platinum" - which may very well be right - wouldn't most Diamonds and Plats pay the extra $14-$20 to book C+, and therefore, in theory at least should have been able to SDC rather than SDS?

Looking at 12/4 LGA to BOS for fun - the difference between Main and C+ ranges from $14 to $20.

jj243

I too was surprised tonight SJC-ATL. I fly this redeye often and as a Diamond have always been 1-3. Today I am #14 , which I find terribly odd. Maybe this focus city thing is finally taking root in the form of more Diamonds paying super high fares?

ncassler

Why are you paying for comfort plus if you are a diamond member? Just curious since diamond automatically gets the comfort upgrade immediately after booking.

xiphoid76

Not a diamond but platinum here. We are typically around 6-10 on upgrade lists from MSP to various locations, recently though we have been around 30-40. Quite a dramatic downgrade that happened suddenly around October 1st. Our reasoning is though we canceled our Delta credit card. I didn�t realize how much of a difference that may have made.

rdh0924

I'm an MSP-based platinum as well. Haven't owned a delta card in years. Noticed a similar drop over the past month as well. Last week I was like 40 of 132 or something like that.

NOLAnwGOLD

Yeah I�ve had much lower rates of upgrades and now often no where near the top including a #24 as a Diamond after all the upgrades had been processed