lucycan

Have a flight SAT to MSP on April 4th. When I booked last week it was a nice A319 and I used miles to upgrade the 4 of us to FC since DL will no longer be blocking seats. Perfect!

Today they changed the flight to 4 hours earlier and changed the aircraft to a E175. Of course the 175 is 2+2 in coach which would be perfect for us. I called DL and they said there is nothing they can do as the flight is full in coach (despite being able to book on DL.com) and the woman was verbally upset with me (mumbled something like "well that's just stupid") when I asked her for a refund on my upgrade miles.

I can just cancel the whole thing and start over but I don't think I get my upgrade miles back. Anyone know?

Other options? Perhaps I just need to call back and get a reasonable person.

MarkCron

I think your request is unreasonable, but you may get an agent who will work with you.

VFR

I believe the request is a little out of the ordinary, but understandable.

OP received both a schedule change and an equipment substitution from DL mainline to DL connection. In the contract of carriage, either of those situations is grounds for a full refund to the original form of payment. Upgrade costs are normally non-refundable, however they should be willing to refund the upgrade cost if you are receiving a refund of the fare for a change that was DL's fault.

I do not believe the contract of carriage or the conditions that accompany the upgrade offer contain any provisions for when you later want to downgrade and receive your miles back (again, upgrade costs are normally non-refundable). You may get a phone agent willing to work with you on this, but since it's an unusual case it will probably be harder for them to do.

If the cash cost of tickets now is similar, my advice is to get a refund and rebook in Main Cabin. Be sure you are searching for 4 tickets when you check for availability.

Often1

OP's sole option here is to cancel for a full refund. Both COC and US law require it for the "significant change" or change in operating carrier. The UG cost is also refundable in this situation. OP may then go ahead and book whatever it is that they want at then prevailing fares.

The agent was correct, OP was asking for something which is expressly prohibited and the reasoning is sound, e.g., that the new Y tickets will be at whatever the new fare is (which could be lower).

exwannabe

You do get the miles back if you cancel, as it is DL's fault for the 4 hour schedule change.

Does not look like you can book the non-stop on 4th though unless you want to leave early morning. Your flight is now sold out in the back (not surprising as they moved another flights pax to it).

IMO, the request to get the miles back is kind of marginal. Plus, if this is mom+dad+2 kids, the kids might be very happy in a 2-1 configuration :-)

lucycan

When I tried to cancel online the upgrade miles do NOT get refunded.

And I think there might be some confusion here. I am not asking for my upgrade miles back AND to remain in FC. I want to be downgraded. I simply want to go back to what I had since the product is no longer worth the miles.

Often1

There is no confusion.

You cannot get the upgrade miles back online. You will need to cancel online and provide the specific basis, e.g. 4-hour change and change in operating carrier. Otherwise, the upgrade is not refundable.

Once you have cancelled the tickets, you may then go and book whatever it is that you want. But, do check to make certain that the fare remains the same (or less).

D3Kingg

Don’t book any flights further out than 8 weeks out. 100% of the time I’m getting an aircraft change . departure time change , or route change with anything further out. With American , United , and Alaska. I haven’t flown delta.

GagaPilot

The only real option you have is to cancel for a full refund on the basis of the significant schedule change, as well as a change in operating carrier. In this scenario I would not attempt to cancel online, but call in and insist the upgrade miles be refunded as well (the website isn’t smart enough to do that).

However, before you do that, look at what the cost of new Y tickets would be. (Best to wait until after the weekend schedule changes process so inventory can update). You might find it’s just best to leave things as they are as it might cost more in the long run for rebooking.

I agree it’s an unfortunate schedule change, and tends to make the UG to F not worth as much, but other than a refund I don’t think there’s much wiggle room here.

Often1

This is the most important piece of advice for others. Doesn't help OP much.

Schedules more than 30 days out are entirely notional. You are simply making an interest-free loan to DL (or any other carrier).

Gabdawg

It's also possible the aircraft could swap again and another schedule change. No rush to get this sorted IMO.

sethb

Not exactly. Fares often increase between 90 and 30 days out. Even if the schedule is going to change, I'd rather pay the lower fare. (And if the change is significant, they'll work with me to fit my schedule.)

Lomapaseo

What gabdawg said is a better operating point

I'm quite happy to book early and await a significant change which then gives me a much better chance of changing to the flight schedule I really want (for no additional cost) but couldn't afford at booking
as always it's an opinion thing

D3Kingg

I’ve seen the opposite. Prices drop or are lower around 30 days out . Further out ticket prices are higher speculatively.

tardyturtle

I typically book around three months out. I have seen prices drop $30-$50 closer in over the past couple months on some flights. If you’re willing to go through the process, you can call in to reticket and get the fare difference as credits.