andy4192

I'm 21 mqms short of Gold for the year, and rather than a straight mileage run, I found a good deal on a ticket to go visit family the last week of December. I'm bringing my 7-year-old with me, paying cash for my ticket and using miles for her's. I know this means that we'll be on separate PNRs, but I'm wondering if anyone has some thoughts/experiences on the ramifications of buying basic vs. standard economy tickets for both of us. Here's how the prices breakdown: Dec. 23-25, CVG-TPA rt - cash, $189 basic/$259 main cabin; miles, 12,500 basic/17,500 main cabin.
I called in and booked the main cabin tickets for the extra cash and miles, because I wanted to make sure that we sit together and because the CSR that I spoke to explained that, because my daughter's over 6, we likely wouldn't be seated together. Still, we can't take advantage of being upgraded, because my daughter wouldn't be moved with me. And I could care less that we board earlier. I'm still within the 24hr window to cancel and buy the basic tickets, so, what would you do?

NHFL9

I would stick with Main Cabin. They should let you board together based on your status/ zone. Traveling around the holidays especially, it's even more difficult to get seated together on a Basic Economy fare. Depending what upgrade availability to C+/F looks like, I might even do same PNR and spend the cash if I were in your shoes. (You could always clip $175 off the second ticket with 17,500 miles).

MCO Flyer

Definitely do not book BE in this case. Since your daughter is on a separate PNR, there is no way for the GA to know that you are traveling with each other unless. Also note that because your daughter is under 15 and on a stand alone reservation, you will not be able to do OLCI and must manually check in at the counter so take this into consideration when getting to the airport.

andy4192

Thank you, this is a good point

That would be great, but how do I convert miles to dollars for the second ticket on the same PNR?

bloc0102

You need a DL Amex card to pay with miles, it is an option at check-out.

andy4192

Ok, I have the DL Amex Plat. and I've gone through to the checkout page on delta.com, but I still don't see that option.

andy4192

I looked at the American Express portal. I would need to use a "Membership Rewards® program-enrolled American Express® Card." As the Delta Amex cards accrue miles and not points, I can't use it.
Good idea, though.

andy4192

One last question... I have the "manage complimentary upgrades" box unchecked on my ticket, so I don't get automatically moved and my daughter doesn't. Any thoughts on how to possibly still get us both upgraded?

ajggiant

If you are logged in (and presumably card is properly accounted for in your SkyMiles account), you should see a Pay with Miles box towards the bottom of the Express Checkout screen:

MCO Flyer

This is not true, the poster above was mentioning PWM (“Pay With Miles”) which is a DL branded Amex benefit. On the old DL.dumb booking page, the option to use PWM was continently located below the total price. On the new booking site, it is hidden below where you enter your CC information and above the trip protection box. Also make sure that you are logged into your SkyMiles account while booking your flights as it won’t show up at all if you are not logged in.

ajggiant

If you are on separate PNRs, you can still put a companion on this list, but their upgrade priority goes to the bottom of this list (and are only eligible for First, not C+). Here's the excerpt from Delta's complimentary upgrades page:
https://www.delta.com/us/en/skymiles...llion-upgrades

• If you and your companion are in different paid ticket reservations that have been linked, upgrades to U.S. 50 domestic Delta One, First Class and Delta Comfort+ work a little differently:
  • For domestic Delta One and First Class, your upgrades will clear based on your individual Member Status and confirmation windows, if available. For example, if Platinum and Silver Medallion Members are traveling together, the Platinum Medallion Member will clear at the Platinum window and the Silver Medallion Member will clear at the Silver window. If your companion is a General Member who does not have Medallion Status, their upgrade will clear no sooner than 24 hours prior to departure.
  • For Delta Comfort+, General SkyMiles Members are not eligible for Complimentary Upgrades. The Medallion Member will clear for their upgrade at their respective window.
  • Linked reservations are reservations that have been booked separately, but have been linked to one another by Delta Reservations. If you would like to request a companion upgrade for a SkyMiles Member that is not already in your reservation, you can call to link your reservations at 1-800-323-2323 in the U.S. or view worldwide phone numbers – be sure to have both confirmation numbers handy. You can also request to link your reservations at the airport.

MSPeconomist

I don't think this is right as pay with miles has nothing to do with MR.

It should work if you're logged in to your DL FF account and if your DL AmEx card is linked to your DL FF account, ideally as your primary card if there's more than one on the list. They IIRC would need to pay with that DL AmEx product. The option tends to show up quite far down on the page as you're purchasing the ticket.