The ultimate guide on how to get upgraded on a Delta flight – The Points Guy

December 6, 2023 NewScore 360

Delta Air Lines’ Medallion elite status has plenty of perks, including same-day confirmed changes, international lounge access and Choice Benefits. Still, one perk sits above all others when it comes to chasing status: the allure of a free seat upgrade.

There’s nothing quite as magical as paying for one class of service and being upgraded into a superior cabin, be it premium economy, business or first class. However, the upgrade process remains shrouded in mystery. For example, who is eligible for upgrades? When do these upgrades process?

From complimentary elite upgrades, SkyMiles upgrades and Global and Regional Upgrade certificates to understanding the upgrade priority process, we’re here to demystify it all. So, buckle up and keep reading to find out how you can snag a seat in the front of the Delta plane.

Complimentary Delta upgrades

ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

All Delta Medallion elite members are eligible for day-of-departure unlimited complimentary upgrades to the Delta One experience on flights within the U.S., including flights to Hawaii.

While it pays to understand the intricacies below, it’s worth mentioning that Delta is systematically selling more first-class tickets. Its revenue maximization models are pricing first-class tickets to encourage more people to buy them outright, and according to quarterly earnings reports over the years, it continues to sell more of its forward cabin rather than give it away via an upgrade. You may notice this when you view a Delta reservation and are offered a buy-up upgrade.

Unfortunately, the more first-class tickets Delta sells, the fewer are available for complimentary upgrades.

Below are the Delta products that are eligible for complimentary upgrades, including paid tickets, SkyMiles award tickets, Pay with Miles tickets and SkyMiles Companion Certificates:

Delta Comfort+ (all Delta-operated flights)
First class (all Delta-operated domestic flights and select short-haul international flights)
Delta One (all Delta-operated domestic flights, including Hawaii and Alaska)

Of course, Delta’s top-tier Medallions (Diamond) get preference over lower-tier Medallions, and timing is everything. Diamond and Platinum Medallion members can clear from Main Cabin into Comfort+ immediately upon booking if space is available. At the same time, Gold members must wait until 72 hours before departure to clear into Comfort+, and Silver members must wait until 24 hours before departure.

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For flights with heavy passenger loads — New York to San Francisco, for example — the Comfort+ cabin is often full when Gold and Silver Medallions are eligible to clear. However, last-minute upgrades at the gate can happen.

For Delta One domestic upgrades, Medallion members will clear on the day of departure following the same clearance priority hierarchy as first-class upgrades, subject to upgrade availability.

You may still clear at the gate even if your upgrade doesn’t clear in advance. If an upgrade is still not confirmed at your upgrade window or when you check in, your pending upgrade request will automatically be added to the airport standby list for a potential upgrade at the gate before you board. You may view your spot on the standby list in the “My Trips” section of the Delta app and at the gate information display at the airport.

Medallion members are also eligible for complimentary upgrades on Aeromexico-operated flights within Mexico and between Mexico and the U.S., Central America, the Caribbean, Colombia and Ecuador. Upgrades are available to Class Premier, but not Aeromexico Plus. Once a SkyMiles number is added to an eligible AeroMexico reservation, Medallion members will automatically be added to the upgrade list.

Complimentary upgrade hierarchy

Here’s how Delta will determine your spot on the upgrade list:

Medallion status
Fare class groupings — higher-priced fares are ranked above lower-priced fares per the following order: B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, X and V, then SkyMiles award tickets, then Pay with Miles
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card cardholders
Delta corporate travelers (ticket must include your employer’s corporate ticket designator)
Cobranded credit cardmembers who earned the Medallion Qualification Dollars waiver in the current calendar year
Million miler status
Date and time of upgrade request

All Medallion members with Y-class tickets are eligible for instant upgrades and will appear ahead of all other complimentary upgrade requests. Typically, passengers do not book Y tickets unless it’s very last minute or demand is unusually high, such as the last available seat on a weekend flight to the Super Bowl host city.

If two members are identical at a given level, it goes down the above list until the tie is broken. For instance, if two Platinum Medallion members are traveling on K-fare tickets and one has a Delta Reserve credit card, and the other does not, the card-holding passenger will be prioritized.

Diamond and Platinum Medallion members will clear first-class upgrades beginning 120 hours (or five days) before departure. Gold Medallion members will clear beginning 72 hours (three days) before departure, and Silver Medallion members will clear beginning 24 hours (one day) before departure, subject to upgrade availability.

It’s also worth noting that upgrade certificates (Regional Upgrade Certificates and Global Upgrade Certificates) and upgrades with miles are prioritized ahead of these complimentary upgrades; we’ll cover these wrinkles in the sections below.

Exclusions and fine print on Delta upgrades

Unfortunately, not all tickets are eligible for complimentary upgrades — here’s what’s excluded:

Basic economy (E) fares are not eligible for paid or Medallion complimentary upgrades, regardless of Medallion or other elite status.
Delta Premium Select is not eligible for a complimentary Medallion upgrade.
Delta One seats on flights that start or end outside of the U.S. do not qualify for a complimentary Medallion upgrade.
Complimentary upgrades are not available for selection by any passenger while aboard the aircraft, regardless of status or fare class.
For companion upgrades, both passengers must be ticketed, and upgrades must be requested at least three hours before the scheduled departure of the flight.
Except for eligible Pay with Miles tickets and eligible award tickets, complimentary upgrades are not eligible on fares that do not earn miles.
Companions who change their itinerary and no longer travel with the higher-tiered Medallion member after the change are not eligible for a complimentary upgrade at the higher-tiered member’s clearance window. If an upgrade was confirmed before the itinerary change, a reservation for a companion without Medallion status would be changed to reflect the original class of service for the new itinerary, and they will no longer be eligible for a complimentary upgrade. If the companion is a Medallion member, the reservation will be changed to reflect the original class of service. It will continue to be eligible for an upgrade at the companion’s own clearance priority. If the Medallion or partner airline elite member is no longer traveling on their original reservation, the companion traveling on the original reservation will no longer be eligible for complimentary Delta Comfort+ seating. Their Delta Comfort+ seat assignment may be removed.

Improving your chances of a Delta upgrade

Beyond racing for a higher tier of Delta’s Medallion status, you can better your chances of receiving a complimentary upgrade by opening a Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card or Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card. These cards also net you complimentary access to Delta’s global network of Sky Club airport lounges when flying Delta.

Effective 2/1/25, Reserve Card Members will receive 15 Visits per year to the Delta Sky Club; to earn an unlimited number of Visits each year starting on 2/1/25, the total eligible purchases on the Card must equal $75,000 or more between 1/1/24 and 12/31/24, and each calendar year thereafter.

If possible, consider booking a corporate ticket through your employer. Also, if you’re a Platinum/Diamond Medallion with free same-day change abilities, you can sniff around and change to a less popular route on your day of departure. ExpertFlyer — owned by TPG’s parent company, Red Ventures — is an excellent tool for searching flights. You can use the “Flight Availability” functionality to understand how many seats remain open/unsold.

You’ll often have a better shot at an upgrade if you avoid peak business travel periods. This lets you compete with fewer frequent flyers. Generally, this means avoiding flying on Sunday night, Monday morning and pretty much all day Friday if you want to sidestep top-tier business travelers.

Delta Upgrade certificates

Delta offers two types of dedicated upgrade certificates, known as Global Upgrade Certificates (GUCs) and Regional Upgrade Certificates (RUCs). The only way to get them is to earn Platinum or Diamond Medallion status and select them using your Choice Benefits.

Upgrade certificates have a higher priority than complimentary upgrades and may be requested and, subject to availability, cleared when you book your ticket. In other words: They’re a hyper-exclusive and extremely powerful way to sit in the front of the plane.

GUCs, available exclusively for Diamond Medallion members, offer upgrades on both international and domestic flights with Delta, along with select flights with KLM, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Korean Air and Aeromexico. RUCs, available for Diamond and Platinum Medallion members, offer upgrades on the same routes as complimentary upgrades, including all flights with first class and the domestic Delta One experience.

As a Choice Benefit selection, Diamond Medallion members may choose any of the following three options as one of their selected benefits:

Four global upgrades
Eight regional upgrades
Two global upgrades and four regional upgrades

Platinum Medallion members may choose four regional upgrades as their single Choice Benefit.

So if you want one of the coveted GUCs, you’ll need first to achieve Diamond status, Delta’s highest published Medallion tier.

Important notes about Global and Regional upgrade certificates

Of course, these certificates have several quirks and nuances you must know.

These certificates only offer confirmed upgrades for one cabin higher than originally purchased. Main Cabin tickets will upgrade to Premium Select on flights with a Premium Select cabin. Then, the elite member processing the upgrade will be placed on a Delta One upgrade waitlist 24 hours before departure. The good news is that there will be last-seat upgrade availability in Premium Select on international flights. Likewise, last-seat availability will be when you use your GUC to upgrade to a domestic flight, even on Delta One routes.

An RUC or GUC is for one-way travel, so you’d need to burn four to take you and a guest on a round-trip itinerary. You can apply an RUC or GUC to a paid ticket, a SkyMiles award ticket, a Pay with Miles ticket and a companion ticket. Crucially, you cannot apply an RUC or a GUC to a basic economy (E fare) ticket regardless of your Medallion status level.

While these certificates are not fully transferable to others, Delta will allow you to apply your RUC or GUC to a guest’s ticket if that person is traveling on the same flight as you. Even if you’re booked on separate reservations (e.g., your company books your economy ticket, and you book your spouse’s economy ticket later), you can use your upgrade certificates for both passengers.

Each GUC or RUC expires one year from the date it’s issued. Upgrades are valid through the end of the following elite year. Each certificate may be used to upgrade flights operated by Delta Air Lines or Delta Connection booked in the P, A, G, W, Y, B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, X or V fare classes, and may also be used to upgrade on SkyMiles awards, Pay with Miles tickets and companion certificates.

Upgrading to Delta partner flights with certificates

You can also use GUCs to upgrade select partner flights. GUCs applied to Air France and Virgin Atlantic flights will only move you from economy to premium economy unless you book a premium economy ticket outright. Note that all partner upgrades must be confirmed 24 hours before departure.

These are the rules for upgrading partner-operated flights:

Upgrading KLM flights

Delta-marketed, KLM-operated flights: Main Cabin seats booked in Y, B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, X or V to Z class (business class). This is because KLM does not offer a premium economy cabin on many flights.
KLM-marketed, KLM-operated flights: Economy seats booked in Y, B, M, K, H, L, Q, T, N, R or V class can be upgraded to Z (business class).
Air France-marketed, KLM-operated flights: Economy seats booked in Y, B, M, K, H, L, Q, T, N, R or V class can be upgraded to Z class (business class).
For flights departing Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), Global Upgrade Certificates must be applied prior to check-in with a KLM ticketing agent or at a KLM Crown Lounge.

Upgrading Air France flights

Air France-marketed, Air France-operated flights: Economy seats booked in Y, B, M, K, H, L, Q, T, N, R or V class can be upgraded to A class (premium economy) or from W, S or A class to Z class (business class).
KLM-marketed, Air France-operated flights: Economy seats booked in Y, B, M, K, H, L, Q, T, N, R or V class can be upgraded to A class (premium economy) or from W, S or A class to Z class (business class).
Delta-marketed, Air France-operated flights: Economy seats booked in Y, B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, X or V class can be upgraded to A class (premium economy) or from W, S or A class to Z class (business class), or from P, A or G class to Z class (business class).

Upgrading Virgin Atlantic flights

Delta-marketed, Virgin Atlantic-operated flights: Economy seats booked in W, S, Y, B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, X or V class can be upgraded to P class (premium economy), or from P, A or G class to Virgin Atlantic’s G class (business class).

Upgrading Aeromexico flights

Delta-marketed, Aeromexico-operated flights: Economy seats booked in W, S, Y, B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, X or V class can be upgraded to O class (business class).

Upgrading Korean Air flights

Delta-marketed, Korean-operated flights: Economy seats booked in Y, B or M class can be upgraded to J class (business class).

How to use a Delta upgrade certificate

Until recently, you had to call to apply a GUC or an RUC to a Delta-operated ticket. Now, you only have to do this for existing tickets, as new tickets can be upgraded online.

Upgrading a new Delta booking with a certificate

Delta allows you to upgrade new bookings online (but not on the Fly Delta app). You’ll see the option to upgrade your ticket with a GUC or an RUC on the checkout page.

Look for the “Upgrade Certificate Request” box and select the flight you’d like to upgrade. Then, select the type of upgrade certificate you’d like to use.

The upgrade certificate will be automatically applied when you complete your booking.

Upgrading an existing Delta booking with a certificate

For existing bookings, you must dial the phone number given with your associated Medallion tier or the general hotline at 800-323-2323 and make the request. Be sure to call at least three hours before departure to apply your certificate, though 24 hours before departure is strongly recommended.

If you want to confirm an upgrade immediately, search for your flight on the Delta website. Upgrade availability is shown underneath the flight times. Make sure you’re logged in to your Delta account, as upgrade availability only shows on elite accounts.

If you can avoid waitlisting, do so. Waitlist upgrades are not guaranteed to clear, and they’re known to rarely clear on particular routes — such as West Coast gateways to Hawaii.

On itineraries with connections, ask the Delta agent to place upgrade priority on the leg that matters most to you. If you don’t clarify this, upgrades can clear on relatively unimportant/short legs, while you remain waitlisted on the long leg. The upgrade certificate is considered used if you don’t prioritize the hard-to-get leg and the upgrade clears on any other leg of your itinerary.

For example, you don’t want to burn a valuable GUC on a 45-minute domestic positioning leg when the leg that matters is the long-haul ride from the U.S. to Europe, Asia, Oceania, etc. Remember, there’s no way to “undo” an upgrade clearing. Once it’s burned, it’s burned.

While upgrade requests on the waitlist can be cleared before you get to the gate, it is more likely that they will be cleared at the gate before departure. If your certificate doesn’t clear, it will be automatically reissued to your account and can be used on a future flight.

Delta SkyMiles mileage upgrades

Delta One Suites aboard an Airbus A350. ZACH HONIG/THE POINTS GUY

While we typically recommend storing up SkyMiles until you can exchange them for a true award ticket, that’s not always practical for infrequent flyers. Delta allows its passengers to upgrade their existing tickets with SkyMiles regardless of status.

You can use Delta’s Upgrade with Miles feature to upgrade to Delta One, Delta Premium Select, first-class or Delta Comfort+ for eligible flights. If your reservation is eligible for an upgrade, you’ll see the option to upgrade in your trip summary.

Delta typically prices mileage upgrades by placing a value of roughly 1.07 cents on each SkyMile. In other words, if Delta is charging $60 for a particular seat upgrade, it’ll also allow you to part ways with roughly 5,600 SkyMiles to achieve the same upgrade. Just note that you may be able to achieve marginally higher value by booking an award ticket outright.

Buy-up upgrades can come in handy if you’re chasing elite status too. You’ll earn Medallion Qualification Dollars on the cash or SkyMiles you spend on an upgrade, boosting you toward the next status tier. If you use SkyMiles to upgrade, you’ll earn MQDs on award tickets. Every 1,000 SkyMiles you spend equal 10 MQDs, so a 10,000-SkyMile upgrade would earn 100 MQDs.

Bottom line

Getting upgraded for “free” is a glorious thing, and you can better your chances by climbing Delta’s Medallion elite ranks and holding a Delta SkyMiles Reserve card or Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business card. You’ll also be wise to choose flights that aren’t during peak business travel periods, and if there’s a connection involved, avoid Delta’s largest hubs like Atlanta, Minneapolis, New York (LaGuardia and JFK) and Los Angeles.

Using a stash of SkyMiles to upgrade can be a great way to boost your flight experience. Still, you’ll want to think carefully before using Upgrade with Miles — Delta will only allow you to extract roughly 1.07 cents per SkyMile via this method.

Upgrade certificates are the most exciting option, but you must reach Platinum or Diamond status to secure them. If you’re fortunate enough to have a few in your account, you can strategically plan a dream trip, pay cash for an OK seat and fly there in a great seat.

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