Delta will be changing its upgrade hierarchy as of 2024, and it’s interesting to see what the airline is now prioritizing (and conversely, what’s being deemphasized).
In this post:
Airlines put a lot of thought into upgrade priority
Historically, one of the biggest perks of elite status with a US airline has been complimentary first class upgrades. Unfortunately these kinds of upgrades are going from being a common occurrence to being a rare treat, given how much better airlines are at monetizing first class cabins.
For example, Delta has gone from selling 14% of first class seats in 2011, to now selling 74% of first class seats. If you ask me, this general trend of first class upgrades no longer being a consistent perk, even for top tier elites, really makes you wonder what the point of loyalty is.
Since upgrades are a zero sum game, it makes sense for airlines to put some thought into the order in which they upgrade people, so that the company’s highest value customers are getting upgrades.
Almost across the board, airlines prioritize upgrades first by elite status. But what should the tiebreaker be after that? After all, you’ll have plenty of flights where there might be one first class seat left to upgrade to, but 10 top tier elites who are all hoping to get that seat…
Delta updates upgrade priority as of 2024
Delta will be making changes to its upgrade priority as of January 1, 2024. Both before and after these changes, Medallion elite status will be the number one metric by which upgrades clear. However, priority beyond that is changing.
Under the current system (through December 31, 2023), here are the tiebreakers beyond Medallion elite status (in order of priority):
- Fare class groupings, with higher-priced fares being ranked above lower-priced fares
- Whether you have the Delta SkyMiles Amex Reserve Card
- Delta Corporate Travelers
- Those who earned the MQD waiver with a credit card in the current calendar year
- Million Miler status
- Date and time the upgrade was requested
Under the new system (as of January 1, 2024), here are the tiebreakers beyond Medallion elite status (in order of priority):
- Cabin purchased, including what you originally booked, or what you paid to upgrade to; in other words, for flights with a premium economy cabin, those upgrading from the cabin receive priority
- Million Miler status
- Whether you have the Delta SkyMiles Amex Reserve Card
- Delta Corporate Travelers
- MQDs earned in the current calendar year
- Date and time the upgrade was requested
I find these changes to be quite thoughtful and logical. Who are the winners and losers here? Here are the biggest implications:
- Those who frequently buy expensive economy fares will lose with these changes, as they’ll no longer get upgrade priority; conversely, those who buy premium economy fares will win with these changes
- Million Miler members are much better off with these changes, as that will be the next most important metric for upgrade priority
I think it’s great to reward those who have shown long term loyalty to the airline, so I like to see Million Miler members receive higher upgrade priority. I think it’s ridiculous how currently, Million Miler status is prioritized under being a Delta Corporate Traveler.
Bottom line
As of 2024, Delta will be changing its upgrade priority. The fare class you book is becoming much less important, while having Delta Million Miler status is becoming much more important. Objectively I think this is a positive change in terms of encouraging long term loyalty. Then again, with more and more first class seats being sold every year, at some point upgrade priority will just be a theoretical exercise.
What do you make of Delta’s upgrade priority changes?
From Delta's website...."As a Medallion Member with a Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card or Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card, you are eligible for Upgrade Priority over others in your Medallion Tier, cabin purchased and Million Miler milestone."
This is the only place I've seen this information. Looks like Reserve cards have pretty high priority.
Anyone know what happens if you have a personal and business delta reserve card? And what does corporate traveler mean? You signed up for the Delta Corporate account tied to your skymiles or you have to book it a certain way?
I agree with the author of this article. Delta's changes give more priority to their best customers. I am both a Diamond and a million miler, and I have the Delta Reserve card. All I have to do is buy comfort seats and I am practically guaranteed to be at the top of the upgrade list. I am very happy with the changes.
I'm Platinum Medallion in an AA/SW hub city, only time I'm not on top of the priority list is when I'm flying through ATL. These changes seem to have a greater impact on Diamond in hub locations.
I would like to see updates on the useless and worthless GUC which used to be the biggest incentive to keep Diamond
Lately I have been buying first so I am wondering what is the point of keeping status.
What determines whether Delta releases upgrades to empty seats? Just returned from a trip. I got upgraded to Economy plus on the first flight nothing on the return flight all while there were 4 empty seats in economy plus….
It would have been nice if Delta would have done something for million milers while on-board. Hell, would it be too much to provide a complimentary alcoholic beverage? That is the minimum that they could do for those that have demonstrated true loyalty.
Upgrades are not zero sum game.
I hope Delta follows thru what this article says. To my great disappointment, lately, Delta has been treating loyal customers (e.g., million milers) just like pieces of cheap luggage. I am a 3.5 million miler and was about to switch to a different airline due to Delta's disloyalty.
What upgrades? They sell most of their premium seats and they aren’t increasing capacity, not improving their products, and not expanding their networking or improving their poorly planned and executed joint ventures.
No MQMs means no loyalty. They don’t care if we fly them, so we shouldn’t!
i think elite/top tier flyers think they are oh so special. and crave being catered to.. .but they have NO idea just no idea how many other "top tier" status people there are. The whole "elite" status is seriously diluted. They all need to get over themselves. See you how jam packed the lounges are? most are by the "elite" group there are so dang many people that fly on a regular basis..it would be...
i think elite/top tier flyers think they are oh so special. and crave being catered to.. .but they have NO idea just no idea how many other "top tier" status people there are. The whole "elite" status is seriously diluted. They all need to get over themselves. See you how jam packed the lounges are? most are by the "elite" group there are so dang many people that fly on a regular basis..it would be mind boggling to you if you knew how many other people are just as "special" as you are.
I don't (can't) fly the way most of you do, so I have the Delta Amex. I'm starting to think it's not worth it.
I would prefer if they removed the DL corporate traveler completely or put it at the bottom. I'm sure it's a perk they put in to make their corporate accounts happy: "and look, your travelers get upgrade priority over others too." I could live with it being the last tie breaker before date and time, but it shouldn't be higher than butt-in-seat time. Granted, this is a big improvement now. I'm sure I regularly lose...
I would prefer if they removed the DL corporate traveler completely or put it at the bottom. I'm sure it's a perk they put in to make their corporate accounts happy: "and look, your travelers get upgrade priority over others too." I could live with it being the last tie breaker before date and time, but it shouldn't be higher than butt-in-seat time. Granted, this is a big improvement now. I'm sure I regularly lose out to other Diamonds who are corporate travelers in and out of Atlanta. Next year, it will be better for sure. But then again, I'm going to work someplace that pays for F, so I'm not sure it matters to me anymore.
Sounds awfully confusing. At least with AA one will know their status, of course, and one would tend to know about what their 12 month rolling dollar spend is. I guess another motivation to either buy first outright or take a buy up offer.
What exactly is meant by Million Miler status? Does having Million Miler status of any kind count, or do Million Miler Diamonds trump Million Miler Platinums?
Because status is first, million miler only comes into play between members of the same status in the same cabin. So, regardless of cabin, a non-MM Diamond will be ahead of a MM Platinum.
It's not directly spelled out whether 2MM is prioritized over 1MM either.
I still value my AA Platinum status. Yes, its definitely not what it used to be 10 years ago however I still get great use out of it.
1)Still get at the worst, Group 3 boarding = more than enough room for my carry-ons, etc. Its great with kids.
2)Lounges in OneWorld airports. I've transited no less than a dozen times this year alone through Doha (with a couple of more times coming the...
I still value my AA Platinum status. Yes, its definitely not what it used to be 10 years ago however I still get great use out of it.
1)Still get at the worst, Group 3 boarding = more than enough room for my carry-ons, etc. Its great with kids.
2)Lounges in OneWorld airports. I've transited no less than a dozen times this year alone through Doha (with a couple of more times coming the next few weeks) and its great to have lounges to eat, shower, etc.
3). Exit row/Main Cabin Extra seats at time of booking for everyone on my PNR.
4)Better seats on OneWorld carriers.
5)2 suitcases.
6)I've received a few good upgrades - even on the coveted JFK-SFO route.
7)Priort boarding on OneWorld carriers - great, especially with kids.
Probably a few others I have forgotten about.
The big question is whether comfort plus counts in the upgrade priority. If it does it's a big devaluation for diamond/plat who would otherwise get these for free but now have to pay to have a chance at a first class upgrade.
DL has not historically counted C+ as a cabin (partly, one suspects, so they don't have to pay downgrade comp in IROPS). However, there's no guarantee that they won't start, at least as far as upgrade priority is concerned.
The MM and status extension changes seem calculated to create a bunch of elites who don't actually fly DL that often, which is a bold strategy, Cotton (we'll see how it works out for them). Those...
DL has not historically counted C+ as a cabin (partly, one suspects, so they don't have to pay downgrade comp in IROPS). However, there's no guarantee that they won't start, at least as far as upgrade priority is concerned.
The MM and status extension changes seem calculated to create a bunch of elites who don't actually fly DL that often, which is a bold strategy, Cotton (we'll see how it works out for them). Those MMers will be prioritized for upgrades, and if they're only flying DL when it makes sense and aren't traveling that frequently, both groups will have more willingness to burn certificates. The remaining DMs and PMs might be incentivized now to pay for C+ as essentially a "skip to the front of the line" payment that also earns elite credit. Imagine the DL app saying, before the complimentary upgrade window opens, that you're currently #8 for 3 seats in F, but if you bought up to C+ for $50 (perhaps after going back to Main and then reselecting your previous C+ seat), you'd get extra MQD and jump to #1.
The change implies that DL will allow complimentary upgrades from PS to D1 on domestic flights (UA requires Plus Points for that, IINM) or (inclusive or, i.e. could be both) they're prioritizing purchased C+ over others.
As someone that sometimes (but not always) buys last expensive business trip fares, and as a Delta Reserve cardholder, but not yet a Million Miler, I am negatively impacted by these changes :/
Encouraging long term loyalty is good long term, but I do think the "MQD in the current year" metric should be higher
Everyone wants the system that benefits themselves the most. SAD!