StangGT909

the situation I�m asking about is cancelling the entire trip, so if this is eligible for a full refund that�s great.

also didn�t realize until now, it says it�s an Air France delta connection. If still booked through delta direct , does the same cancellation policy apply ?

Zorak

Yes, if booked with Delta miles then Delta's cancellation policy applies.

StangGT909

thanks. It all sounds great except no mqm code share with Air France. The insanity !

FindingFoodFluency

Hi DLers,

With a piddling 60,000 miles, what are your best recommendations to redeem them for international routes?

Ideal starting point is U.S. or Mexico, but I'm open to your thoughts.

Thanks,
FindingFoodFluency .com

ATOBTTR

Do you have a DL branded AmEx that allows for "Pay with Miles" at $0.01/mile (so every 10K Miles = $100 off of the ticket)? That could be an option (though you could only book to cities DL flies to since you cannot use Pay With Miles on a ticket with partner operated segments). But your 60K miles would allow for knocking $600 off of a cash ticket if you have access to Pay With Miles.

That said if you are willing to start in Mexico, you may be able to find some "sweet spots" for Skymiles redemptions from MEX to Europe that are operated on partner metal though I'm not sure how it would all price out.

xliioper

With only 60K miles, it's probably not worth spending much to reposition. There are coach awards on JFK-LHR from 42K miles roundtrip in August for midweek travel. It's hard to provide advice without knowing base or travel interests. 60K Skymiles won't get you a trip in international business class.

FindingFoodFluency

Thanks for your reply, ATOBTTR .

Yep, I noticed that about Mexico sweetspots. Even found a rare Boise to Jakarta for 72K last-minute, and a SEA-CGK for 37.5K, but that one disappeared like D.B. Cooper.

I really have no idea where to best spend (waste?) these miles, given how greatly the award amounts can vary.

I don't have a branded CC, but am looking to go either to East/SE Asia, or Sub-Saharan Africa.

Thanks for your reply, xliioper .

42K r/t NY-LON? In the summer? That sounds good. However, I haven't thought to do a roundtrip, given that rules might change again for whatever excuse pans out later this year (vis-a-vis entry requirements). Unlikely to be any regression in those requirements, but still trying to plan for cynical eventualities.

xliioper

Booking awards as one-way's has a couple of big drawbacks with Delta Skymiles. The cheapest Skymiles awards between US and EU on DL metal require roundtrip bookings and you will not get anywhere near 42K miles roundtrip if you book EU awards as one-way's. The cheapest one-way coach awards to/from the EU will almost always be on partner flights at 35K each way or 70K miles total for a roundtrip. You will also get hit with carrier-imposed surcharges on one-way award bookings from the EU that are in the $100 - $150 range for coach awards. Roundtrip award bookings originating in the US do not have additional carrier-imposed surcharges added to them.

FindingFoodFluency

You have some good advice here ... FlyerTalk was a good find!
Oh, yes, I noticed the painful surcharges on ex-Europe legs. Found a fun 40K from U.S. to Reunion, but they still require a test. Plus, leaving that island isn't cheap. Next time.

Not wanting this convo to be so one-sided, if you ever need advice on traveling around Mexico or East/SE Asia, please let me know!

WGM

Unless you are really wanting to use them now, I would wait. Reward fares are just like cash fares this summer: high. In the meantime get a Delta Amex with a Skymiles sign up bonus. Hit the minimum spend and increase your balance by 40-50k.

nethead25

I have an economy TATL ticket on Delta booked using AF miles. I understand that because it's booked on AF ticket stock it won't earn MQMs. Delta is offering a paid upgrade to Premium Select, however. If I buy this upgrade, will it cause the ticket to rebook into a fare class that earns MQMs? Was actually surprised to see the option as I can't imagine DL would reissue the AF ticket into the new cabin, so not quite sure how it all works in the backend.

xliioper

The DL FCM buy-up offers do not result in a ticket re-issue which is likely why you are seeing it as they don't actually need to touch the ticket. These buy-up offers are non-refundable and non-changeable (unless there is a schedule change or cancellation) as part of the terms which are shown when you select the offer. They do change the booking class, but they do not use the same booking class for buy-ups on awards that they use on revenue fares so I would not count on getting MQM credit.

Stoney18

Definitely a noob question but first flight with first time Gold status. 72 hours from flight. Does Delta automatically upgrade to Comfort+ if I've requested that or do I have to change seats myself? Plenty of open Comfort+ seats on the flight.

Zorak

In theory an automatic sweep will occur, provided there is upgrade inventory available (which could be fewer than the number of open seats). However there is little to be lost by trying to select a seat on the seat map, and if it says FREE then you can effectively self-upgrade before the sweep occurs.

Stoney18

Thanks Zorak, was able to choose the FREE seats.