Feb 1, 2022, 4:17 pm
Last edit by: Zorak
Index of DL forum threads on how to sit up front
Complimentary Upgrades
How do comp upgrades work?
This is the thread you are currently reading
for questions including but not limited to
Use this thread for posting or researching data points pertaining to complimentary upgrades (how many were on the list, your position, whether you cleared, etc.)
Upgrades on AeroMexico flights (Consolidated Thread)
Certificate Upgrades
Global Upgrade Certificates (GUCs)
Regional Upgrade Certificates (RUCs)
Buying Up Using Cash
First Class Monetization, or FCM: The Definitive Thread
Using SkyMiles for Upgrades
Upgrading With Companions
Upgrading w/companions, eligibility, timing, Sep 2020 onward (consolidated)
Complimentary Upgrades
How do comp upgrades work?
This is the thread you are currently reading
for questions including but not limited to- I'm new to status and upgrades, how do I request a comp upgrade?
- when will my name appear on the list? when will I clear?
- do I need to do anything if my status went up since I booked?
- when will my name show up on the list?
- why is my position so low?
- oddities/anomalies involving the upgrade list
- and so on
Use this thread for posting or researching data points pertaining to complimentary upgrades (how many were on the list, your position, whether you cleared, etc.)
- 2023 Upgrade Success (Or Lack Thereof) Thread
- 2022 Upgrade Success (or lack thereof) Thread
- 2021 Upgrade Success (or lack thereof) thread
- ... and so on
Upgrades on AeroMexico flights (Consolidated Thread)
Certificate Upgrades
Global Upgrade Certificates (GUCs)
- Using Global Upgrades on Delta (GUCs) post 2/1/2022 Changes
- OLD 2014-2021 version of the thread (davetravels, RIP
): The Official - GLOBAL UPGRADE CERT success thread - Yay! I got it! - Global upgrades on partners (see also the wiki at the top of the main GUC thread, which has good "executive summary" info for using GUCs on partners, including some that don't have their own dedicated threads):
- Air France (AF): Using GUC on AF - Consolidated Threads 2020 Onward
- KLM (KL): Using Delta Global Upgrade (GUC) with KLM Consolidated
- Korean Air (KE): Using GUC on KE bookings - Consolidated Thread
- Virgin Atlantic (VS): GUC now able to be used on Virgin Atlantic (VS)???
Regional Upgrade Certificates (RUCs)
- Using Regional Upgrades on Delta (RUC) post 2/1/2022
- OLD 2014-2021 version of the thread: Using Regional Upgrades
Buying Up Using Cash
First Class Monetization, or FCM: The Definitive Thread
Using SkyMiles for Upgrades
- Mileage Upgrade Awards (NOT the same as Upgrade With Miles, see thread wiki for explanation of the difference): Delta Mileage Upgrade Awards
- Air France (AF): Question re: upgrade with Miles on Air France
- Virgin Atlantic (VS): Definitive Thread: Use Sky Miles to upgrade on VS
Upgrading With Companions
Upgrading w/companions, eligibility, timing, Sep 2020 onward (consolidated)
Complimentary Upgrades on Delta, the Definitive Thread
Jan 10, 2022, 8:36 pm
#16
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: New York, NY USA
Programs: DL DM/ 2MM, BA Silver, Amtrak Select Executive, SPG Life Plat/Amb, Fairmont Preferred
Posts: 1,056
Team,
Do we have a thread covering how upgrade priority works between those who "qualified" via MQD/MQM/etc. vs. those who got rolled over in their current status?
Curious to re-read the details (I just squeezed in a full Diamond re-up in NOV before getting Omnicron in December).
Also--will there be precedent here to deprecate value of lifetime Gold in the longer term--e.g., you're sorta Gold but those who earned it via MQD/MQM trump you?
Do we have a thread covering how upgrade priority works between those who "qualified" via MQD/MQM/etc. vs. those who got rolled over in their current status?
Curious to re-read the details (I just squeezed in a full Diamond re-up in NOV before getting Omnicron in December).
Also--will there be precedent here to deprecate value of lifetime Gold in the longer term--e.g., you're sorta Gold but those who earned it via MQD/MQM trump you?
Jan 11, 2022, 9:18 am
#17
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,678
I don't think there's a dedicated thread, just thread(s) discussing the status extension.
Status is the most important factor in prioritizing upgrades. Starting February 1st, the hierarchy will be earned DM, extended DM, earned PM, etc.
Your comment about lifetime is interesting. It's already the case that MM status only (without earned FO via MQMs/MQSs and MQDs/waiver) doesn't entitle one to rollover in normal years.
Status is the most important factor in prioritizing upgrades. Starting February 1st, the hierarchy will be earned DM, extended DM, earned PM, etc.
Your comment about lifetime is interesting. It's already the case that MM status only (without earned FO via MQMs/MQSs and MQDs/waiver) doesn't entitle one to rollover in normal years.
Jan 16, 2022, 9:15 pm
#18
Join Date: Jul 2019
Programs: DM Delta; VS Gold; HA Platinum; HHonors Diamond
Posts: 63
Weird thing happened on the upgrade list. I booked an award ticket (NX) for companion (Plat) and me (DM). Because the price of the ticket went way down (V fare), we decided to cancel the award tickets and instead pay with eCredits, drawing from both accounts. At one point, because of some miscommunication, we ended up twice on the same upgrade list by checking in the wrong itinerary. The weird thing is that the award ticket was 5/6 for 5 whereas the paid-by-eCredit ticket showed 8/9 for 5. I wondered if eCredit-paid tickets are somehow treated differently than award/cash tickets? Any thoughts?
Jan 16, 2022, 9:23 pm
#19
Moderator: Hyatt, American Express; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Marriott Plat, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester
Posts: 19,282
Weird thing happened on the upgrade list. I booked an award ticket (NX) for companion (Plat) and me (DM). Because the price of the ticket went way down (V fare), we decided to cancel the award tickets and instead pay with eCredits, drawing from both accounts. At one point, because of some miscommunication, we ended up twice on the same upgrade list by checking in the wrong itinerary. The weird thing is that the award ticket was 5/6 for 5 whereas the paid-by-eCredit ticket showed 8/9 for 5. I wondered if eCredit-paid tickets are somehow treated differently than award/cash tickets? Any thoughts?
Jan 17, 2022, 10:35 am
#21
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,544
Awards have different classes just like revenue fares (NY, NB, NM, NH, NQ, NK, NL, NU, NT, NX, NV for coach awards). It's possible they might rank an NX award higher than a V revenue fare, but I doubt they rank awards higher than revenue fares in general. I've been on a number of award and revenue flights recently and haven't seen much to suggest that awards rank higher (although the bulk of my award bookings have been in NV).
Jan 18, 2022, 7:48 pm
#22
Join Date: Mar 2021
Posts: 237
The way I understand it, is that a paid ticket in the same fare class has a higher priory than an award ticket in the same fare class. So for example, T (Cash) > NT (Award) > X (Cash) > X (Award). Does that help?
Jan 18, 2022, 11:56 pm
#23
Moderator: Hyatt, American Express; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Marriott Plat, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester
Posts: 19,282
That would plausibly explain things, but pretty sure this would be a change from a few years ago when IIRC they specifically said all award tickets come after all cash tickets. For a while now however the web site has said "fare class groupings" without spelling out what that means exactly, and while there's been reasonable speculation, I don't know that I've seen anything conclusive...
Jan 19, 2022, 7:33 am
#24
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Programs: DL Platinum, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 152
Checked in this morning for a LGA-ATL-TUS trip tomorrow. My upgrade to F had cleared on LGA-ATL, but I wasn't even showing up on the upgrade list for ATL-TUS, despite being a PM and requesting the upgrade at booking.
Took 15 minutes through messaging just to explain that I knew I had requested an upgrade, but I wasn't showing up on the list.
Took another 15 minutes and two tries to uncheck me in so I could be rechecked in... and then finally appeared on the list.
30 minutes wasted to find out I'm 10/13 for an upgrade with 1 seat left. Oh well.
Took 15 minutes through messaging just to explain that I knew I had requested an upgrade, but I wasn't showing up on the list.
Took another 15 minutes and two tries to uncheck me in so I could be rechecked in... and then finally appeared on the list.
30 minutes wasted to find out I'm 10/13 for an upgrade with 1 seat left. Oh well.
Jan 21, 2022, 4:05 pm
#25
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 172
Question about GUC/RUCs. Let's say I apply an upgrade certificate to a Skymiles flight in the future (I am diamond medallion, if that matters). I then cancel the Skymiles reservation. Does the GUC/RUC get returned to my account? Is it the same behaviour whether the upgrade has cleared or not?
Basically, I am wondering if there is no downside to applying GUCs to Skymiles flights I have booked months from now.
Basically, I am wondering if there is no downside to applying GUCs to Skymiles flights I have booked months from now.
Jan 22, 2022, 12:10 am
#26
Moderator: Hyatt, American Express; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Marriott Plat, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester
Posts: 19,282
Question about GUC/RUCs. Let's say I apply an upgrade certificate to a Skymiles flight in the future (I am diamond medallion, if that matters). I then cancel the Skymiles reservation. Does the GUC/RUC get returned to my account? Is it the same behaviour whether the upgrade has cleared or not?
Basically, I am wondering if there is no downside to applying GUCs to Skymiles flights I have booked months from now.
Basically, I am wondering if there is no downside to applying GUCs to Skymiles flights I have booked months from now.
Jan 26, 2022, 3:48 pm
#28
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: PIT, BWI, or IPT
Programs: Dividend Miles, WorldPerks
Posts: 1,318
Agents will tell you the former when the website refuses to upgrade you for IT/ticket error reasons. However the later is how it works in practice.
Jan 26, 2022, 4:55 pm
#29
Moderator: Hyatt, American Express; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Marriott Plat, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester
Posts: 19,282
Yes. If you tend to book further out when the cabin is empty then it amounts to an instant upgrade, but there have been past reports from people whose work patterns etc require booking a few days out, not getting upgrade availability at booking despite there being open C+ seats.