Zorak

DL looks at status at the time the event occurs, so if you book tickets now, while you are Platinum, you can select C+ immediately. As long as nothing happens to the ticket between now and the GM eligibility window of those flights, you will likely keep the seats. But if any change occurs after you drop down to Gold that involves the system doing anything seating-related (plane change or other major schedule change; might not occur if simply the flight number or time changes?) then you are subject to losing the C+ seats at that point.

some related FT threads:

Downgraded from C+ after losing status

Medallion status changes, effects on existing reservations

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta-air-lines-skymiles/1737368-lose-economy-comfort-seats-feb-10-flight-when-i-lose-platinum-status-jan-31-a.html

xliioper

Yes, upgrade window to C+ will open at booking and you should get upgrade and your class will then show as SU to indicate comp C+ upgrade and you will not be moved to lower class just because of a drop in status. C+ on DL is a separate fare class on DL and not just an extra legroom seat and the SU class is used for comp C+ upgrades. The catch is that if there is a schedule change after Jan 31st and you are put on a new flight, you won't generally be able keep your comp upgrade C+ seat (only those who have a purchased C+ fare in W or S booking class can keep seat) and you will be subject to Gold 3 day C+ upgrade window on new flight.

DriKz

thanks!

VFR

The upgrade priority list for 2024 onward was posted in another thread, and it seems that the #2 tiebreaker is going to be cabin purchased... I wonder if this means there might be a reason for PM/DM to buy Comfort+.

lowkeyflyer

I am currently sitting in a DL metal flight right now at the top of the upgrade list 1 of 5. 737-900 There are 2 seats open in F 1C and 1D (first row aisles).

We are taking off and those seats are still empty. I asked the FA and showed her that I�m at the top of the list but she curtly said that those seats are held for FAs?� Is this true?

Jprod

Premium experience 🙄

synzero

Here's a surprising thing that just happened.

I'm one of the many "moderate" flyers who flies around 15x/year, mostly short haul for work, plus a couple transcons a year and a few international long haul for vacations, who has already decided to switch to AA loyalty for most of my flying. I've got a small stash of SkyMiles I'm burning to do some domestic flying. Recently, I bought a last minute domestic short haul flight with points for my wife, she is traveling alone, and she has no status. I am just a Silver Medallion (I don't fly Delta for all flights). I have a Delta Reserve card but she is NOT an authorized user. My wife doesn't have any Delta cards whatsoever, she carries an Amex Platinum for SkyClub access.

I got her a regular Main Cabin seat, and dropped her off at the airport tonight.

Lo and behold - I happened to peek at her Delta account, just to check to make sure her flight was going off smoothly - only to find that she'd been upgraded to Comfort+ for some reason! I should note that as a Silver Medallion with a Reserve card I almost always get upgraded to Comfort+ and sometimes "first class" (which means very little on such a short domestic flight) on this particular route, but I am flummoxed to understand how or why my wife got upgraded. Yes, I bought her the ticket with my SkyMiles, but why should that matter? Or does it matter? Is this some weird Delta IT glitch? If so, it's great, of course, but I find it funny and unexpected.

synzero

I guess no one has any ideas why my non-status wife got an upgrade to C+ while traveling alone? It seems like such a weird thing, unless there were literally no other people with status or even a Reserve card ahead of her? Do they actually upgrade people with no status and no Reserve card, even if there are no other people with status ahead of her? Or does she get some sort of extra credit because I have Silver + a Reserve card?

I can't see anywhere in the Delta upgrade rules that says non-Medallion members without a Reserve card are supposed to get upgraded at all, even if there are no other people on the upgrade list (and I find it weird to think there were no other people on the upgrade list). I am more inclined to believe that Delta IT somehow got confused because I used MY SkyMiles to get the ticket, and I do have some status.

shoodawg

could have been op-up?

synzero

I guess that's the only logical explanation. Still seems like a bit of a coincidence, and odd that there would be zero other people ahead of her on the priority list.

Also I know Delta IT is confused at least a little because her reservation was showing up in MY Delta app as well as hers, but when I tried to change it a couple days ago in my Delta app, it wouldn't let me, saying I needed to be logged into the account that booked the flight (even though I was logged into the account that booked the flight - mine), AND when we tried to use HER app, it said the same thing. So somehow the reservation was in some limbo between being "my" reservation and "her" reservation because I had used my app to book it. We had to call to change the flight. As a software engineer I suspect there are two fields in the record: the SkyMiles account number of the person who booked it and the account number of the person flying, and maybe something got screwy in the algorithm around miles bookings and what the gate agent sees or something. Who knows.

beachmouse

There have been a couple of times this year when I�ve ended up with an empty C+ seat next to me. Sometimes everyone on the primary upgrade list actually clears for that.

shoodawg

I�ve seen the latent res presence. Maybe cookies?

hkcj

Is it true that on DL only 1 companion can get free C+, even for a Platinum/Diamond? I've heard reports from some Diamonds that multiple companions have been upgraded with them.

robert4travels

Yep. Worse: if there are more than 1 companion in your reservation, none will be upgraded automatically.

But at check in, or at the gate, you can always ask if it is possible to upgrade yourself and more than one companion, if there are still C+ seats available. A nice red coat could perhaps make that happen. (My wife with no status got upgraded that way once when I asked at check in, even when I was not flying with her.) Hey, asking is free.

Also in case of multiple companions, you can still ask at the gate for a C+ upgrade for you and one companion, if there is still space of course. I've done that as well and got the C+ upgrades.

BigFlyer

Delta has published the upgrade priorities for next year here: https://www.delta.com/us/en/skymiles...llion-upgrades

If we assume that the charts mean what they say and are not in error, then there is a major change afoot.

The second priority for upgrade (after Medallion Status) is currently "Fare Class Groupings: higher-priced fares are ranked above lower priced fares." This is shown at the page I linked for requests through 12/31/23.

The chart shown below the first chart is for upgrades commending January 1, 2024 which state the second priority "Cabin Purchased (Original + Paid Upgrades.)

Does this mean that as of 1/1/24 a passenger on a heavily discounted (but not Basic Economy) ticket will have the same upgrade priority as someone on a "full fare" ticket? If so, that's a major change.