ATOBTTR

Borrowing from the AA and UA FT Sub-forums and starting a "Newbie Lounge - Ask DL Newbie Questions Here - Flame Free Thread". As I find myself taking a few trips on AA and UA in the past and upcoming months, these "Newbie" threads have provided a great way to ask "veterans" of the respective program questions to things that may not be easy to find or not always easy to discern and I thought it would be a great resource to bring to the DL Forum.

The Newbie Lounge is a place for newer and less experienced members (or even veterans) to ask their questions about Delta and the Skymiles program and have answered by more experienced and knowledgeable members. Feel free to ask any question related to Delta Air Lines and the Skymiles Program or Medallion Status here. Again, this is meant to be a "Flame free" thread. Please do not respond to another user's question with a "use the search function" or "this has been discussed a million times in this forum."

I did confer with the DL mods and recommended starting this thread as a separate thread from the Delta Forum Lounge Thread, as while some members have used that thread to ask Delta and Skymiles program related questions, sometimes the question and response can get lost in the other discussion(s) ongoing in that thread that often have little to do with Delta or the Skymiles program.

Zorak

I agree this seems like a great feature of other FT forums and can be a good resource for newcomers!

EDB99

I'll start with the first question.

As an DL elite having booked main, it seems I was upgraded to a seat on a 767-400 that is declared to be Comfort+ but it actually looks like a Premium Select (i.e., premium eco) seat.

Is that possible or do I have the wrong seatmap? Seat is 20B, it's a flight between the West Coast and JFK.

Just curious as an aviation geek...

ATOBTTR

Nope - not the wrong seat map. If an aircraft has a Premium Select cabin but is operating a domestic flight segment, the PS seats are marked as Comfort Plus since DL does not sell any PS fares on domestic itineraries. It’s a nice perk for those with PM/DM status. Additionally, the seats that are actually C+ then become the “preferred seats” and even Silvers or those who can select preferred seats can select those seats for free at booking and get the extra legroom seats on these aircraft when they operate domestic segments.

Recently had the same on AA where I have AA Plat and was on a 787 and was able to select a Premium Economy seat as it was marketed as “Main Cabin Extra”.

Yakolev

Would I get more MQD from paying for a better seat?

Or is it based on the cost of the original fare? I'm considering upgrading to Delta One for a $139 fee, it seems worth it to lie flat on a 6 hour overnight flight.

After this flight I'll be $322 MDQ away from Medallion Gold (without upgrading) and don't have any more trips on Delta planned for the year. If I earn more MQD I figured it might be worth it to push me closer to gold and then do a quick mileage run.

ATOBTTR

As long as this offer isn’t at check-in but rather in advance then you’ll earn MQDs and MQMs based on being in the premium cabin as you’ll be ticketed in the new fare class. And you’ll earn the Premium Cabin MQD rate for the Status Accelerator promo as well.

SuperG1955

The $139 in a Premium cabin would earn $243 in MQD which is $79 short of your requirement BUT you'll also get 1.75 instead of 1.5 as a multiplier on your base fare so if the original base fare is at least $315, you should have sufficient MQD.

$315 + 139 = $454 * 1.75 = $754 MQD

SpinEcho

I am so ashamed of asking such a newbie question... But I didn't find any clear answer...
As a Skyteam Elite+ FF (Flying Blue platinum) traveling in Delta Domestic First between NY (LGA) and Washington (DCA), will I be able to access Delta Sky Club lounge for free? Or any other lounge?

majorsv

Recently became Gold Medallion. Earlier this year, I booked 6 tickets for an international (Caribbean) flight for 2022 when I didn't have status.

Should I call and separate out two of the tickets to have a chance to get upgraded to F/C+? As it stands, I can't upgrade any of the tickets because I have 6 on one reservation.

EDB99

Unfortunately, neither your elite status nor your domestic first ticket will provide you with lounge access on this itinerary.

For lounge access based on your frequent-flyer status, you'd need an international flight on the same day as LGA-DCA. And the class of travel does not come with lounge access, either (only certain premium domestic flights in which business/first class is marketed as Delta One are good for lounge access).

​​​​​​Certain premium credit cards such as an Amex Platinum would give you Sky Club access (along with a DL flight). There are some other ways to obtain Sky Club access such as paying for a Sky Club membership, but seeing you are a Flying Blue member, these may be kind of a long shot.

SpinEcho

Thanks! That's what I was fearing...

ATOBTTR

Whether you should is ultimately up to you. There's no technical issue doing it. You would just have to call DL and ask an agent to do it. To answer whether you should is knowing what the potential issues are should you split the reservation.
- You would be on separate tickets and may be rebooked separately if IROPS (or even advance schedule changes) occurs. While you can try to switch to the same flights and DL would accommodate the request if space is available, while you're waiting to get through to an agent, space could fill up and disappear quickly, especially if dealing with day-of IROPS.
- By having GM status, all of your companions are entitled to sit in preferred seats, if you're already in them (including exit rows). Anyone currently in preferred seats should remain there even if you split yourself off. However, if you separate you as the GM and one other person from the rest and there is a schedule change, those who do not have status could be booted from those seats and assigned non-preferred seats. You would have to call DL to get them back to the other seats which they should do but there's the time involved and the risk that the seats may be taken by the time you could get through.

What should be a non-issue is an agent should waive baggage fees (if applicable) for your companions even if on separate reservations.

davesmunroe

I haven't been getting credit for WestJet flights on my Skymiles account when I use it on flights in Canada, and it's been going on for months now. Requesting missing mileage online also gets me nothing (no miles, nor any acknowledgement/explanation/rejection of the request)

Does DL just have terrible customer service right now, or did I miss something that WestJet flights no longer earn Skymiles?

majorsv

Thanks for the insight. Much appreciated.

jimrpa

I’m sorry, I SHOULD know the answer but…
I’m currently a MM Silver (sigh) flying domestically on a Comfort+ (purchased) ticket. At some airports (MCO), I’ve been explicitly directed to the Sky Priority checkin line by the lobby agent who told me that, since I’m Silver, I’m SkyTeam Elite and thus allowed to use the Sky Priority Check in desks. Delta’s website is conflicting (surprise). They expressly state only Gold and above can use Sky Priority, but they also state that SkyTeam Elite and Elite Plus on any SkyTeam member operates flight can check in at Sky Priority. So, which is it? (And hopefully, with the accelerator, I won’t ask this question after this year as I should hit 2MM &#128516
Thanks!