Delta not upgrading VA Gold to Comfort Plus [booked "Basic Economy"]

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Harthagan

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Very disappointed on my recent flight with delta they refused to even put me on the comfort plus upgrade list. I requested at check in, at the lounge and at the gate. They seemed to have very limited awareness of the delta/virgin arrangements, which goes against my previous experience where delta agents seem well versed in the arrangements.

At the check in desk the guy looked up on the computer and then asked why I should be put on the upgrade list lol. I told him due to me being a platinum member with virgin. Then after a minute of looking on the screen he says it's not possible, given what I paid for the the flight! Lol again. I didn't know that what I paid for the ticket even came into it.
 
If you booked basic economy then no upgrade. (There is no upgrading to C+ with basic economy - more here: Basic Economy)

The amount you pay for the ticket is not directly relevant.

Other than that, knowledge of velocity status perks when flying Delta can be limited for some DL staff. So I do not leave it to them; within the specific time frame unallocated C+ seats can be selected online when applicable.
 
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I recently flew Delta as a VA silver and was automatically added to the upgrade list and the upgrade to comfort plus came through. That was three weeks ago. I had also paid an additional fee for early boarding and thought that may have helped. (I have lost track of VA benefits on recent years.
 
Was the fare purchased a Basic Economy fare and therefore not eligible for C+ as noted by @serfty above?

Just checked and can confirm that it was a basic economy fare. I also checked and so were my previous two delta flights and both of those times I was upgraded (at the gate after being put on the upgrade wait list)

I guess I was just lucky to deal with someone extra helpful those times but obviously that indicates that there is discretion with that rule for basic economy fares. Notwithstanding that, I probably shouldn't have just assumed based on previous experience without first checking the actual rules.
 
Just checked and can confirm that it was a basic economy fare. I also checked and so were my previous two delta flights and both of those times I was upgraded (at the gate after being put on the upgrade wait list)

I guess I was just lucky to deal with someone extra helpful those times but obviously that indicates that there is discretion with that rule for basic economy fares. Notwithstanding that, I probably shouldn't have just assumed based on previous experience without first checking the actual rules.

Some things are able to be overridden - sometimes accidentally, but that doesn't mean there's discretion.

For example, last trip I was unable to enter the JFK lounge on a Delta fare for some time because the agent didn't know the rules. Fortunately a supervisor was around that overrode her. That's not discretion, just mistaken lack of awareness.
 
Were you the only one on the ticket? Previously I had 2 mates on a booking and that meant I would not get the comfort plus upgrade, when I talked to the check-in counter and was able to split the booking I for my upgrade.... Velocity wp here.
 
have booked a rewards flights, books into N class, but says
NOT COMPLIMENTARY UPGRADE ELIGIBLE,
we're both VA WP's,
Havent seen this before
 

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Were you the only one on the ticket? Previously I had 2 mates on a booking and that meant I would not get the comfort plus upgrade, when I talked to the check-in counter and was able to split the booking I for my upgrade.... Velocity wp here.

Was flying with my partner who is gold. Last two times was solo and only had gold status when I got upgraded.

I could be wrong but I noticed a very real difference in treatment this time around compared to previous dealings with delta staff. Even when accessing the lounge I had to speak to 3 people before they let us in. And when checking in was actually told that we wouldn't get lounge access due to a new policy (which turned out to be totally false)

Still, as someone whose international travels are primarily to the states it was a bit concerning :(
 
Any experience when traveling on a VA codeshare? The usual mention of free upgrade etc is completely missing from the Delta MMB.
 
Some things are able to be overridden - sometimes accidentally, but that doesn't mean there's discretion.

For example, last trip I was unable to enter the JFK lounge on a Delta fare for some time because the agent didn't know the rules. Fortunately a supervisor was around that overrode her. That's not discretion, just mistaken lack of awareness.

Last time I was at JFK they needed to physically sight my Velocity platinum card before they would let me in. Showing your gold/platinum status on the app won't cut it.
 
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Last time I was at JFK they needed to physically sight my Velocity platinum card before they would let me in. Showing your gold/platinum status on the app won't cut it.

I showed my physical card, even paperwork I'd printed from the website showing entitlements. She was adamant though...
 
So this very thing happened to me last night.

Because my ticket was codeshare with Delta they won't honor the upgrade. I spoke to 3 different Delta employees at LAX - the Help desk at the terminal, Delta Lounge (who were incredibly rude about it) and then finally at the Delta gate where we got the same response - we were ineligible because the tix were purchased on the VA website and not Delta. From their understanding tix can ONLY be upgraded to comfort+ if you purchased through the Delta website. I showed them what Virgin wrote on its website and they just said "It's not our problem, you need to call Virgin" That we did, they said "this is a Delta problem" Same old screwing around between codeshare flights, it was incredibly frustrating, even more so my partner and I being a VA Plat/Gold sitting in the middle of the last 3 rows of the flight for 14hours or whatever it was.

I'm sure on the VA website this is stipulated somewhere, but my partner and I aren't stupid and I can only imagine how convoluted airlines make it with their offers. Needless to say we won't be doing a codeshare thing any time soon if we can help it.
 
My impression is that something has changed for the worse with the delta/virgin partnership. Maybe not officially but in the way virgin status holders are treated by delta. I could be totally wrong and I hope I am. Perhaps I just got lucky the two previous times by being upgraded on a basic fare... But the attitude by all staff I encountered at the various stages suggests otherwise. I guess time will tell
 
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I have had some problems accessing skyclubs before before and the JFK lounge have been noted as the more difficult ones.

However, I have not flown on code-shares.

(To be honest, most of my bookings are in C+ or Business in any case, but there have been a few main cabin.)
 
If anyone could indicate how you are meant to "opt in" it would be greatly appreciated. There is no where obvious on the Delta website when viewing a booking and have just been on the phone with Virgin who are clueless. Currently have a booking on Delta from SYD to LAX but VA codeshare.
 
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