Upgrades not available for Diamond, but paid upgrades for Silver
Dec 17, 2023, 3:04 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2023
Posts: 9
Upgrades not available for Diamond, but paid upgrades for Silver
Hi all,
Long term lurker, first time poster. Unfortunately I cannot post photos because I haven't posted 5 times.
We're within the 5 day upgrade period. My wife and I are traveling on the same itinerary. I am Diamond, she is just a general Skymiles member. There are 8 first class seats available. Each seat is X'd out. My sister, who is on the same flight, is a Silver Medallion member. She has the option to purchase an upgrade.
Are there any reasons that an upgrade is not available for me as a Diamond Medallion member but available to Silver?
Long term lurker, first time poster. Unfortunately I cannot post photos because I haven't posted 5 times.
We're within the 5 day upgrade period. My wife and I are traveling on the same itinerary. I am Diamond, she is just a general Skymiles member. There are 8 first class seats available. Each seat is X'd out. My sister, who is on the same flight, is a Silver Medallion member. She has the option to purchase an upgrade.
Are there any reasons that an upgrade is not available for me as a Diamond Medallion member but available to Silver?
Dec 17, 2023, 3:14 pm
#2
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: DL Diamond, UA Premier Gold
Posts: 2,939
This is the new normal. Delta would rather sell an upgrade for $50 than give one out to a top tier elite member. The reason you may not be getting the same paid upgrade offer as your sister may be because your reservation has two people. They may only be looking to sell one paid upgrade at the price they are offering.
Dec 17, 2023, 3:31 pm
#3
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 603
As noted above, having two people on your PNR might not allow the upgrade offer.
As for offering paid upgrades rather than comp ones, that makes total sense from revenue management perspective. Why give something for free to someone who is already a brand captive when you can sell it to someone willing to pay for it?
I know a lot of casual delta flyers who splurge on the occasional upgrade to first class—many not realizing that the total cost of the ticket sometimes exceeds what buying first class in the first place would have cost.
As for offering paid upgrades rather than comp ones, that makes total sense from revenue management perspective. Why give something for free to someone who is already a brand captive when you can sell it to someone willing to pay for it?
I know a lot of casual delta flyers who splurge on the occasional upgrade to first class—many not realizing that the total cost of the ticket sometimes exceeds what buying first class in the first place would have cost.
Dec 17, 2023, 5:01 pm
#4
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,320
This is the new normal. Delta would rather sell an upgrade for $50 than give one out to a top tier elite member. The reason you may not be getting the same paid upgrade offer as your sister may be because your reservation has two people. They may only be looking to sell one paid upgrade at the price they are offering.
Dec 17, 2023, 6:10 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2023
Posts: 9
Thanks all. I understand from a revenue perspective how it makes sense to open up cheaper, paid upgrades. But it is curious to me that the paid upgrades aren't available to me at all.
Perhaps they are only selling one seat and the companion ticket is the issue.
Perhaps they are only selling one seat and the companion ticket is the issue.
Dec 17, 2023, 6:27 pm
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,063
The paid upgrade offers (FCM) require upgrading everyone on the same reservation. You can't just pay for one passenger to be upgraded. So that may be inhibiting offer if they are only will to sell one upgrade seat. Also, if you do not have wife's Skymiles number on reservation, that will inhibit comp upgrades (and may cause them to not offer upgrade for sale). Also, you didn't mention route. International Delta One routes are not eligible for comp upgrades for Medallions.
Dec 17, 2023, 8:54 pm
#10
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Atlanta, GA
Programs: DL 3 MM/DM, Marriott Titanium Elite, Hyatt Globalist, National Exec Elite
Posts: 4,003
Paid upgrades are still a bit of a mysterious cat-and-mouse game. Sometimes they are offered, sometimes not. Sometimes expensive, sometimes not. One still gets the feeling that they are probing and probing to create profiles on what it takes to get someone to pull the trigger.
Dec 17, 2023, 9:47 pm
#12
Moderator: Delta SkyMiles, Luxury Hotels, TravelBuzz! and Italy
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 26,543
Hi all,
Long term lurker, first time poster. Unfortunately I cannot post photos because I haven't posted 5 times.
We're within the 5 day upgrade period. My wife and I are traveling on the same itinerary. I am Diamond, she is just a general Skymiles member. There are 8 first class seats available. Each seat is X'd out. My sister, who is on the same flight, is a Silver Medallion member. She has the option to purchase an upgrade.
Are there any reasons that an upgrade is not available for me as a Diamond Medallion member but available to Silver?
Long term lurker, first time poster. Unfortunately I cannot post photos because I haven't posted 5 times.
We're within the 5 day upgrade period. My wife and I are traveling on the same itinerary. I am Diamond, she is just a general Skymiles member. There are 8 first class seats available. Each seat is X'd out. My sister, who is on the same flight, is a Silver Medallion member. She has the option to purchase an upgrade.
Are there any reasons that an upgrade is not available for me as a Diamond Medallion member but available to Silver?
Dec 17, 2023, 11:30 pm
#13
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: DTW / SJC
Programs: AA EXP, DL DM, Marriott Titanium, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 764
Are you in C+? If C+ is full, all remaining F seats will show as blocked. (I'm not sure why, seems to be some sort of IT limitation.)
If you move yourself back to Main Cabin, paid upgrades to F should appear, assuming there are at least 2 seats left for sale.
If you move yourself back to Main Cabin, paid upgrades to F should appear, assuming there are at least 2 seats left for sale.
Dec 18, 2023, 12:01 am
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,680
I've come across this multiple times. If seats are available on day of departure then I get the upgrade but selling upgrades at the 5 day mark is not something that is new.
Dec 18, 2023, 7:49 am
#15
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 57,604