NeoOfTheCRS

I am moving to PIT and do alot of international and want to avoid US. Most important to me are complimentary international upgrades. The delta.com site says Platinum members get them, but can find virtually no references to them in this forum. If PMs do get them, how many?

Platinum Medallion Systemwide Upgrade Certificates

Your systemwide upgrade certificates are automatically mailed to you in your credentials package when you qualify for Platinum Medallion status. Platinum Medallion Upgrades are valid for:

Travel on most Delta flights worldwide
Travel within or between the 50 United States, Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico on any published fare booked in Y, B, M, H, Q, or K class. For all other international travel, upgrades are valid on any published fare in Y, B, or M class.
Confirm upgrade at time of booking for Y, B, M, H, Q, K (domestic U.S.) and Y, B, M (international) fare classes. Platinum Medallion Upgrades can be used by the Medallion member or by a travel companion when traveling in the same cabin as the Medallion member. Platinum Medallion Upgrades are capacity controlled and subject to availability. See the back of your Platinum Medallion Upgrade certificate for additional terms and conditions.

DLdweeb

The good news - yes, they are real. I believe you get six each year.

The bad news - the consensus here is that they are virtually worthless. They are difficult (but not impossible) to use. They do make good bookmarks, though.....

rlaakso

I have been Platinum on Delta for many years. I have used all of my PMU's for upgrades on Int'l travel on Delta. None have been used for bookmarks or anything else but Int'l travel.^

mcjava

One reason you might not have found any references is because normally we call them PMU - Platinum Medallion Upgrade certificates, not SWU.

I have had years where I easily burned through my 6 and then started using miles to upgrade, then years like 2007 where I used only 2 and for 2008, so far nada.

While my business travel TAPC is normally flexible enough to pick flights with upgrade seats available, the M or B fares are too expensive on my current routing. Before, I flew ATL-TPE a lot, and M fares were only about 1400 - 1500, and now I fly ATL-PVG a lot, where M fares are $2500.

So, I think people who can't use them either:

1. don't have flexibility in the days they fly, so no upgrade bucket available or
2. M fares are way to high for their routes or
3. while they can justify or their company will pay the M fare as long as they truly get the upgrade, if the upgrade doesn't clear by the time you check in, DL will not let you standby at the gate. Once checked in without the confirmed upgrade seat, you won't get an upgraded seat even if there are open seats when the plane leaves.

tarajim

I too, find the PMU's very useful for ATL-PVG. I can justify the M fare vs the Discounted Y for business considerations. This makes the certificates worth $2750 each. (difference between M and I fare). The six certs are then worth $16,000 to me. If you look at it differently, 25000 skymiles are worth $739.60 dollars at .0275 cent a mile and 7% federal tax (cost to buy from DL). So at this rate, if I had to buy miles to upgrade to BE, the certificates save me $4434 over the cost to buy miles.

SO, are the certificates worth it? Yes, but only if you have the flexibility to book your own travel, buy up to M class fare, use expert flyer to be certain you will get the upgrade, and fly legs long enough to make sense. But to me, they are worth between $4434 and $16000 annually, depending on how you look at it.

15hrs ATL to PVG in BE is a luxury I could not have if I had to pay full fare, but it makes me more productive and rested when I get to Shanghai. They are a benefit well worth it to me.

Marq

For six years, I never used my PMUs; however, the last two years I have used them all. I violate common wisdom by purchasing M fares NRT ATL even if upgrade seats are not available at time of booking. So far, the upgrade has always come through. For Europe, I found choosing your city is important. Flying to FRA I had no problem either way getting immediate confirmation; BRU it didn't come through so I switched routing.

As it takes 25K miles to upgrade, I value each certificate at that amount. However, I think (and I may be wrong), that you have a greater chance of clearing for the upgrade when you are a PM.

Marc

jfulcher

I've used them in the past for domestic upgrades where I didn't want to worry - ala ATL-ANC-ATL and ATL-LAS-ATL. It let me upgrade when I booked way out which was nice. M fares international have always been too much when I looked so I haven't used them there. You just need a K+ fare for domestic PMU usage.

IRISHFLYER1

Ditto

Even have to use 600 Skybonus points to upgrade when my certs run out

Global_Hi_Flyer

Most years I use all of mine. Exception was the one year where I lost PM (I'm 'lifetime' gold) due to a job change resulting in a significant drop in travel.

I generally buy M and B fares for int'l business travel, so the fare basis is not an issue.

AA's EVIP is a better deal, but AA's mileage upgrades (once the EVIPs run out) may NOT be a better deal anymore. Note that AA is raising their copays on international mileage upgrades to $350 each way ($700 total.... and $50 each way for domestic), so the fare difference becomes less important. DL still assesses no copay on mileage upgrades.

El Boocho

Neo,
I use most if not all of mine every year. Sometimes I use them for domestic travel as the only time I would buy international Y is for pleasure travel where a J award wasn't available. Many people are able to use them, but I think they aren't as useful as AA or UAs. I hear NWA gives a very limited number to its high mileage flyers. DL management will likely be making some changes to the PMU program after the NWA merger. They claim they are going to improve the product, which always makes me nervous.

Akulashark

I have 6, and will have 6 by the time they expire. They are virtually worthless if you a. cannot find someone to help you use them (TAs have no idea how to use them IMHO) or b. cannot research the availability of Z fares for the flight you want to take and c. cannot book YBM.

Plus, they are paper which means you have to call a special number and present the cert.

hfly

A special number? You mean a RESERVATIONS number?

To the OP, for those that fly seriously across oceans on a regular basis they are still cherished. For those thatr have primarily flown domestic on highly discounted tickets and rarely fly abroad, they are not valued. That being said, over the last 18 months I have found thata lot of M and B fares have risen to almost unacceptable levels (i.e. close to I fares) which could negate their value if this trend continues.

DLfan

I'm seeing no such concensus here.

All 6 of mine were depleted in June. I have two more international itineraries currently booked into Z, for which I wish I had PMUs to use (or could use someone else's "worthless" ones) for my confirmed upgrades. Unfortunately, I'm down to using miles for upgrades until my new supply of PMUs arrive in Feb/Mar 09.

For me, this is one of the most important PM benefits and the key to successfully using them for international upgrades, IMHO, is a subsciption to ExpertFlyer, which will show the flights with available Z inventory.

Gandhi90s

The other, even more important key being the ability and willingness to pay YBM fares (for most that would mean traveling on OPM). For non-wealthy individuals, they are virtually worthless. Yes, you can use them for domestic travel, but what a waste!

Global_Hi_Flyer

Agree, unless you're traveling within the next 30 days. Then it's still a bargain for an M ticket.

I saw $2200 M fares/flights DCA to NRT for the weekend of 8/23 (2 night stay) that had Z inventory available. 22,500 MQM (and I could double for the birthday promotion, making it a 45,000 MQM run). That's $0.05/MQM, which is not too terrible. Better than Europe.... but not as good as the ANC routings I did on AA.