Fare Class No Longer a Factor in Upgrade Priority
 

There is some discussion of this in various threads - but I think it is so significant that it deserves its own thread.

For years, one of the factors in determining upgrade priority within an elite status has been fare class - a Gold in a higher fare class would get upgraded before a Gold in a lower fare class. As of January 1, fare class will cease to be a factor/

Current Priority 2: Fare Class Groupings: higher priced fares are ranked above lower priced fares.

New Priority 2 as of January 1, 2024: Cabin Purchased (Original + Paid Upgrades)

The full list of the priority criteria before and after January 1, 2024, is here: https://www.delta.com/us/en/skymiles...%20the%20order

I remember years ago when a Y, B, and M domestic fare would auto upgrade into F space pending.

With over 74% premium cabin purchased these days, comp upgrades are pre-pandemic.

I have posted in the previous threads when this was announced last week that it will encourage ‘buying up’ to comfort plus now, but it is unknown the FCM offers that DL revenue management will offer— as I suspect will be very aggressive now considering that MM status is the #3 tiebreaker.

To be fair, a lot of discounted domestic F fares these days are likely cheaper than the Y/B/M fares of yesteryear, and while not refundable, can still be changed without a change fee.

MQDs earned in the current calendar year is listed as Priority 6. So basically all medallion members will be tied at the cabin tier, then the next 5 tiers will decide who gets the upgrade?

Interesting.

So come February 1, 2024 "natural" Gold and Silver Medallion members are really in trouble because 1MM become Gold. A 1MM in coach on a LUT fare will outrank any other non-1MM Gold on a YBM fare (well, any coach fare) for a complimentary upgrade. Of course we can all LOL about how Golds will never be upgraded in the first place :)

I look forward to seeing my name much higher on the list and much lower than ever having a chance of an actual upgrade.

-RM

It will get more complex now with the MQDs into play.

The option to pay more to get ahead on the upgrade list has always existed, but I doubt many people actually take advantage of it.
Doesn't seem to make much sense to pay more money for the mere chance of getting an upgrade. You could very well find yourself with nothing to show for all the extra dough you shelled out.

Question for Delta Flyers. I mostly gave up on DL about a dozen years ago. Thinking about going back.

Under the new system, what are the overall odds of complimentary upgrades as a Diamond/2MM. I'm guessing I would get upgrades on 99 out of 100 flights.

Well, yes, to Comfort+ assuming that they book early. However, I don't think that that is what you meant... With F purchases in strong demand, F upgrades for Diamonds are few and far between, depending on the route and day/time of day. I think that most Diamonds have a less-than-50% F upgrade score these days, and that is not going to improve much in the new system (many Diamonds have a lot of MQMs saved up and will continue to be Diamond for years at 100K MQM/year).

But I'm asking because with the new MM rules, MMs go ahead of all the other non-MM Diamonds, and 2MM puts you ahead of all the 1MM Diamonds. So I'm assuming I would always be at the very top of the UG list.

So much of this is moot these days when I am so often number 1 of 69 for 0 FC seats.

C+ is not its own cabin. It is an "enhanced experience" within the main cabin. Confusion has rained on this for years. DL acts like it is a separate cabin to control upgrades. However they've been clear it is not. (This is why disabled passengers can get C+ for free, as the main cabin bulkhead row is a C+ row)

The wording reflects fact PS is now a cabin on some domestic flights.

Honestly, with the changes Delta made giving million milers upgraded annual status if you want first buy first. If you’re 360 you might get upgraded the rest of us better be writing checks.😀

not quite so high, but much better than non MM diamonds who will now maybe see a FC upgrade on 1-10 of 100 flights.

With all the recent MM adjustments 360 is now the new DM.