Delta Airlines is America’s legacy airline carrier and ensures their passengers have a comfortable flight experience, whether traveling to regional or international destinations. Also, to make their passengers’ experience worthwhile, Delta also provides additional services, where one such service includes upgrading seats on Delta Air Lines.
However, passengers will not find this service advertised by Delta on their website. It is available in many ways, which we are going to share with you here.
In this guide, we will provide you with a few methods through which you can easily upgrade seats on Delta Air Lines flights and travel with comfort.
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Upgrade Seats On Delta Air Lines for Free
If you are a frequent flyer on Delta Air Lines, you will know that the airline carrier offers loyalty programs to such passengers. Through this rewards program, you may also be lucky enough to get a free First class upgrade.
You will need to sign up for their rewards program membership and travel more in order to collect miles, which will then earn you elite status. The more you fly on Delta and its partner flights, your chances of earning more miles will also increase and these miles will get accumulated in your account for use in the future.
If you hold a Silver Medallion status, you are eligible for free upgrades. However, keep in mind that upgrades are subject to seat availability. If you earn and accumulate more miles, you will eventually become a Gold, Platinum, or Diamond Medallion member and also have the chance to achieve higher upgrade priority.
Below, we will look into the steps required to get a free seat upgrade on Delta.
Step 1: Create a SkyMiles account
1. Using your desktop, laptop, laptop, or smartphone device, visit Delta’s website https://www.delta.com.
2. Click the Sign-Up button located in the upper right corner of the page. You will be directed to Delta’s Join SkyMiles electronic form in order to create an account.
Note: This electronic form will ask you to fill in necessary details, such as your basic information, contact information, and username, password, and two security questions required for signing in to your Delta SkyMiles account.
3. After providing all the necessary details, click the Complete button. The process may take a couple of minutes.
4. When the process has been completed successfully, a Delta SkyMiles account will be created for you.
Once you have successfully created your SkyMiles account with Delta, you can use this profile to manage your future travels, including the miles that earn on each travel.
Step 2: Travel and earn miles
Now that you have created a SkyMiles account for yourself, the next thing that you will need to do is travel. Travel on Delta flights or any of its affiliated airlines, such as Alaska Airlines, and collect medallion qualification miles (MQM). These MQMs are calculated by fare type and the length of your flight.
When you book flights on Delta or its affiliated airline carriers, simply provide your SkyMiles number, or you may also directly sign in to your SkyMiles account and book flights online through Delta.
Step 3: Achieve Silver Medallion status to earn free upgrades
If you can gather at least 25,000 miles into your account by flying on Delta flights, or any of its affiliated airlines, you can achieve the Silver Medallion status. Earning this status will also entitle you to free upgrades.
However, if you compare Silver Medallion status to its higher status – Gold, Platinum, and Diamond, these higher elite statuses require more miles in order to be eligible for free upgrades. Thus, you will need to earn at least 50,000 MQM to achieve Gold Medallion status, 75,000 MQM for Platinum Medallion, and 125,000 for the Diamond Medallion status, respectively.
Step 4: Use your Medallion status to upgrade seats for free
Finally, you are prepared for a free seat upgrade on Delta. When making a reservation with Delta, simply provide your SkyMiles number which will also contain information about your medallion status.
Thus, if a seat is available, Delta will automatically upgrade you to its First class cabin. Keep in mind that Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Medallion members will be offered higher seating priority.
How to Use Your Delta SkyMiles Rewards Points for Seat Upgrades
In the above section, we showed you how you can create your SkyMiles account with Delta and become entitled to seat upgrades. Now, in this section, we will take a look at how you can use your SkyMiles to redeem miles, whether it’s for a seat upgrade or purchasing other items, products, or services.
Delta’s SkyMiles Program lets you earn miles either by frequently flying with Delta Air Lines or through American Express co-branded credit cards. Either way, you easily redeem those miles for your next holiday trip, or by purchasing subscriptions, such as a newspaper or magazine subscription.
If you are a member of Delta’s SkyMiles Program, you are offered three options through which you can redeem your awards points. These include:
- Redeeming awards online
- Redeeming awards over the phone
- Redeeming awards in person at a Delta ticket counter
In addition, you can also donate your SkyMiles awards points to a charitable cause.
You can also seek assistance from Delta’s customer service center to redeem your SkyMiles points effectively. Or, if you decide to visit Delta’s ticket counter in person, then make sure to carry along your documents, such as a valid photo ID proof. You may be required to present your ID at the ticket counter before the staff initiates the process of your request.
Keep in mind that Delta does not allow Basic Economy passengers to upgrade to an upper cabin class, either using awards points or cash.
Upgrading to Delta’s First and Business Class Seats
Passengers can upgrade to First or Business class seats on Delta by following a simple process.
Steps:
1. Visit Delta’s website https://www.delta.com and click the Sign in button in the upper right corner to sign in to your Delta account.
2. After signing in to your account, select the ticket type for which you have already made a reservation.
3. Your reservation will be checked for eligibility and after successful validation, you will see an option in the trip summary to upgrade your flight ticket.
Note: You can upgrade your flight’s ticket type by using the accumulated miles which you have earned during your past travels.
4. Select the ticket type and specify the cabin class, such as First or Business class, to which you want to make an upgrade. Use the miles to upgrade your seat (or the passenger you have made a reservation for) with Delta.
5. The process may take a few minutes to complete your request.
After the successful completion of your request, your seat will be upgraded to your desired cabin class. Also, you will receive a confirmation via e-mail, so make sure you have access to your e-mail as well.
You may also contact Delta’s reservation desk to make complaint to Delta Airlines Customer Service for any assistance you need when upgrading your seat to a higher cabin class. You can reach them on their customer service center phone number +1 800 221 1212. Delta customer service representatives are available 24/7 to assist you. On the other hand, you can call Delta at +1 800 323 2323, if your query is with regard to your SkyMiles.
How to Get Business Class Seat Upgrade with Delta
Delta offers a number of convenient options that allow passengers to easily upgrade their seats to Business class.
The following are the types of Business class upgrades that you can choose from to suit your travel needs.
- Same-day Upgrade
- Miles Upgrade
- Upgrade Certificates
- Complimentary Upgrade
- Instant Upgrade
- Mileage Upgrade
These are explained below.
(a) Same-day Upgrade
Delta offers a same-day upgrade, which basically is a stand-by upgrade option. This option is available to all passengers on the day of their scheduled flight’s departure. However, there is a service fee charged to avail of this option.
Also, the same-day upgrade to Business class option is mainly available to passengers traveling on specific routes. For example, these routes include North America, the Caribbean, and other destinations only.
(b) Miles Upgrade
Delta allows its passengers to upgrade their seats to Business class using miles, which they collect by flying frequently. Thus, with the help of these accumulated miles from previous flight bookings, Delta’s passengers can easily purchase Business class seats and can fly in comfort.
Keep in mind that this upgrade option using miles is available only on a few select flights that are en route to destinations within the United States.
(c) Upgrade Certificates
Delta offers upgrade certificates mainly to their Diamond Medallion Status members. Thus, if you are a Diamond Medallion member, you can use this global upgrade certificate to purchase seat upgrades for regional, domestic and international flights. This option is also available if you are flying on any of Delta’s partner airlines.
Diamond and Platinum Medallion members are offered regional upgrade certificates, which can be used to purchase seat upgrades when flying on regional or domestic flights.
(d) Complimentary Upgrade
Delta offers complimentary upgrades to all its Medallion Status members. Using this option, passengers can upgrade their seats to Delta One, First class, or Comfort+.
Additionally, Delta offers a complimentary upgrade option to a companion of a Medallion Status passenger as well. This means if you are traveling with a companion, your companion can also upgrade with you at no extra cost.
(e) Instant Upgrade
Delta offers the instant upgrade option to its elite Medallion Status members if they book a Y fare ticket.
(f) Mileage Upgrade
Delta offers the mileage upgrade option to its passengers to upgrade their seats. Using this option passengers can purchase the upgrade for selected flights on their existing bookings with miles.
Passengers that have made reservations on international flights for class types K, Q, H, M, B, or Y can use the mileage upgrade option.
Conclusion
Delta Air Lines lets you upgrade your existing seat to an upper cabin class without any hassle, and the process is straightforward, too. You simply need to add your SkyMiles number each time you make a flight reservation, and depending on the availability and flight’s route, you will be eligible for an upgrade. Of course, you can also use travel credit cards for purchases as these also have their share of benefits for travelers.
What is even more surprisingly impressive is that when you use miles to upgrade your existing seat, Delta will still allow you to earn miles on your flight.
Read also: Get Special Offers On Delta Airlines Cancellation and Refund Policies.
