I posted this question on a couple other threads earlier this month but never received an answer, so here goes a brand new thread..

I am looking to book a Delta One flight from ATL to HNL in mid-November using miles. I read on another post, that if you book a cheaper First Class flight, with connections, there is a good chance of a schedule change that will allow you to switch your itinerary to the nonstop Delta One flight for no extra cost. I just want to make sure I understood that correctly, and any other information or tips would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I think I've read here somewhere that someone else tried that ploy and it didn't work out.

Sometimes it's worth just booking the thing you want.

I was worried about that, and thankfully have enough miles to hold both for the time being. I'll just cancel one based on what does (or doesn't) happen.

Let's us know how that works out.

I've seen other threads that said they'd catch that.

Several years ago I was flying from the east coast to HNL via LAX in F. The flight to LAX went mechanical so I tried to get an ATL connection for the D1 cabin to HNL. No dice. They rerouted me through SEA in F, but they weren't willing to release the D1 seat when an issue arose on the day of travel. I'd put the odds of getting into D1 with a regular schedule change, announced weeks or months in advance, close to zero.

While you might get pushback, there's no policy that prohibits this. Its a well discussed option and usually works.

It used to be more frequent an issue when D1 and domestic F used different fare classes. Nowadays both use the same fare classes.

just because FTers post about occasionally having been the beneficiary of �no policy that prohibits� does not in any way mean that it�s a �usual� occurrence

Doesn't Delta tend to cancel one of two overlapping reservations?

For Normal domestic were Delta is using widebodies it should not be an issue. I recently did it for PHX were every other flight has D1 seats, but it is called F. For Hawaii or HFK that actually offer Domestic D1 I can see it being more challenging, but call and if they won't do it call back later and try again. At the end of the day Delta has to do something to make you whole, I often say I do not consider this a First class experience, and they will do something.

I'd be curious to see what DL.com offers in these instances. Last fall I had an LAS-BOS booked in domestic F. Following a schedule change, the website was giving me the option to switch it to LAS-LAX-BOS with LAX-BOS in D1 for $0 fare difference due to the schedule change.
(I don't know if the change would have processed if I selected that option as it wouldn't work for me but point being it was given as an option so I wonder if someone had an XXX-LAX/SLC/SEA-HNL itinerary in Domestic F that had a schedule change if XXX-ATL-HNL would come up as an option on DL.com when processing a change).

All that said OP, while the "Schedule Change" gamble can usually work out, it's always still a "gamble" - always be prepared to fly the itinerary you paid for or be prepared to pay to switch to a preferred itinerary if you really do want to switch since the schedule changes are not guaranteed or may be too insignificant for DL to waive the fare difference to switch you to a new routing.

Its been discussed and happened very often. Just because an agent tries to enforce a rule that doesn't exist doesn't mean others will also.

one more time:all of which can be neatly summed up in FT-speak as "YMMV"

I've done this successfully twice (1 stop narrowbody F to nonstop D1 seat). Both times the change to my flight were pretty egregious (IE additional connection added, multiple hours longer travel, etc).

Not so long ago, it was easier to get what you wanted by simply utilizing "HUCA" even if you didn't get what you wanted the first time. HUCA was an okay strategy for those with status when you could get through to an agent in 5 minutes or less in most cases. This probably resulted in more FTers have a bit more "consistency" in getting what they wanted since it may have taken 2-3 calls but you could eventually get an agent to process the change you wanted, be it within policy or not (those who required a "HUCA" probably noted that it took a HUCA to get what they wanted). However, with wait times now one has seen since the start of COVID of 1-2 hours even for high-level elites, "HUCA" is a less effective strategy. You're almost "stuck" with the "policy" as defined by the first agent you get, unless you want to go through the whole call process again. It becomes "luck of the draw" and probably has led to a wider variation in what FTers are experiencing as "policy" (again regardless of what policy actually is since as you note, "policy is what's practiced, not what's written."