Does the upgrade list work?
 

I have now had issues with the upgrade list on every itinerary this year that wasn't in paid F. (Though, most flights have been in paid F.)

For a flight tomorrow, I was upgraded to C+ at the window for the first leg. For the second leg, I am only showing on the list for F, although the itinerary clearly shows a C+ upgrade requested. I asked via messaging and was first told the issue was that the flight was oversold (even though there are 20+ seats available?). Next I was told I was added to the list. When I sent a screenshot showing I was still not on the list, I was told I was actually #X on the list (which was my position on the F list in the screenshot I sent).

I had a similar issue in January. I have also seen other posts about similar issues.

Are others having issues? Am I just unlucky? Has someone decided this is a good way to further increase the percentage of flights I am buying in F?

The messaging agents are outsourced and don't know/understand how the visible upgrade list works. Don't waste any more time with those idiots. You can get this fixed by the actual delta agent at the checkin counter in about 10 seconds.

Was about to make a joke in one of the threads about the outsourcing, the message rep asked me "What is a RUC?"

SC agent fixed it quickly - said I wasn't "activated" on the list. Apparently a lot of people are in that boat. 33 people on the list for first but only 5 for C+.

Did you tell them that "RUC" is an acronym used in a couple of "frequent flyer nerd" groups and not a Delta term, and that it is completely understandable that they wouldn't know it?

That'd be funny if I did considering when I was transferred from the call center in whatever 2nd-rate country I got a real Delta rep who applied my RUC immediately.

The point is that "RUC" is not a term used internally at Delta - they call it an "Upgrade Certificate". You might run into a rep who can noodle out what you mean, or one who has heard it in the past and knows what you mean, but if you get someone who is not familiar with it and they search their documentation for that 3-letter acronym, they will come up empty.

I'll give you a semi-related example - the company that I work for is a dealer for another manufacturer's printer. They have a piece of software called the "Printer Control Utility", which as names go, is simultaneously very specific and kind of vague. Our customers sometimes forget which tool to use when we are providing phone support and direct them to launch the Printer Control Utility. But the icon that the manufacturer uses for the program is very distinctive - it's a rainbow in the shape of a donut. My team of trainers have taken to calling it "the Magic Donut" - it's easy for the end user to remember and associate. But if the customer called the machine manufacturer's support line and asked for help with the Magic Donut, they would probably be put on hold until the agent could maintain a straight face.

We can't expect them to know terminology that we make up.

I've had this happen to me for my past several flights where my name does not appear on the upgrade list. Always had to sent a message to Delta to ask for it to appear or call in.

I fly mostly with a connection each time and for the last 12-18 months my name won't show up on the UG list for one leg of the trip, however I've been upgraded on those legs where my name wasn't shown - there is definitely a bug in the system somewhere.

Worked for me nicely this week
 

I was a little skeptical, but decided to take a last minute quick trip to MYR from ATL. Bought a main cabin ticket using 19K miles about 6 hours before the flight. Apparently the only Diamond on the flight as I went right to the top of the 26 person First Upgrade list per the app. About an hour before pushback, I got the one and only seat available in first.

I've had this happen a couple times when checking in on the app. In one case I called in and the agent undid the check-in, then I checked in again via the website. The second time I skipped the phone call and just redid the check-in from the website. Dunno if this always helps, but it's pretty quick to try anyway.

I’ve heard so many ridiculous statements in the past 2 months from the DM agents including:

”Only Delta flights are eligible for GUC upgrades”
”This itinerary isn’t eligible for SDC (it was a paid F domestic ticket)”
”There is a change fee associated with this ticket (it wasn’t BE)”

It’s really sad that DL let go of the best service providers during Covid and now we’re stuck with folks who just don’t know anything or care (or both!)

Are we getting genuine DM agents? Or does the phone system just send us to the first random available agent but with a wait time priority? DM agents should get enough calls about upgrades to learn the basic rules very quickly.

Who knows?

I don't trust anything about the system right now, including the system itself and the agents who handle inquiries.