UPGRADE CERTIFICATES

About Upgrade Certificates:

Global Upgrades and Regional Upgrades are available as Choice Benefits selections.

Global Upgrade Certificates: provide upgrades on international and domestic trips.
Regional Upgrade Certificates: provide upgrades on domestic flights and select flights to destinations in Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico.

Diamond Medallion Members may choose any of the following three options: four (4) Global Upgrades; eight (8) Regional Upgrades; or two (2) Global Upgrades and four (4) Regional Upgrades.
Platinum Medallion Members may choose four (4) Regional Upgrades.


USING YOUR UPGRADE CERTIFICATES

CALL DELTA RESERVATIONS...
Dial 1-800-323-2323 and be ready to provide your Certificate number, which can be found in My Wallet.

AND WAIT FOR A CONFIRMATION.
Your upgrade will be confirmed if one is available. Otherwise, you can request to be added to the upgrade waitlist for your flight.


GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR UPGRADE CERTIFICATES


THE CERTIFICATE GUIDE:

Searching For A Seat Upgrade?
Upgrade availability isn’t always better in advance, and the seat map availability does not necessarily match upgrade availability. This means open seats in the seat map are not always eligible for upgrades, as they might still be available for purchase.

On The Waitlist?
While it’s possible for upgrade requests on the waitlist to be cleared before you get to the gate, it is more likely that they will be cleared at the gate prior to departure. If your Certificate does not clear, it will be automatically reissued to your account. Learn more about Waitlisting.

Wondering About A Date Or Destination?
Due to extremely high demand, fewer upgrades are typically available during peak days and times, such as holiday travel, in certain markets with very long flight times including Sydney, Tel Aviv, and Johannesburg.


ADDITIONAL RULES:

Finding Flights
Upgrade Certificates can be used on any Delta-operated flight and select partner-operated flights.

Traveling Together

You can use an additional Upgrade Certificate for one travel companion on the same reservation.

Enjoying Priority

Upgrade Certificates receive higher priority than Medallion Complimentary Upgrade requests and clear off the waitlist in order of Medallion Tier, then by the day and time your request was added to the waitlist.

Ticket Eligibility
Upgrade Certificates cannot be used for Award Travel or tickets booked in Basic Economy (E).

Redemption Period

Upgrade Certificates expire a year after they are selected. Certificates must be used on flights flown within the 12-month period—otherwise, the Certificates will expire.

  • Upgrade Certificates

    Regions

    Medallion Complimentary Upgrades

    Regional Upgrades

    Global Upgrades

    Mileage Upgrade Awards*

    U.S. 48

    Between Hawaii and LAS, LAX, SEA, SFO, or SLC

    Between Hawaii and all other nonstop domestic destinations

    Between JFK and LAX or SFO

    Between DCA and LAX

    Between BOS and SFO

    Alaska, Canada, Mexico,

    Caribbean, Bermuda

    Central America

    (Excludes Delta One® and Delta Premium Select)

    (Excludes Delta One and Delta Premium Select)

    Northern South America

    (Excludes Delta One and Delta Premium Select)

    (Excludes Delta One and Delta Premium Select)

    Southern South America

    Transatlantic

    Transpacific

    Intra-Asia Oceania

     *Mileage Upgrade Awards fare class restrictions vary by region.

  • CABIN

    REGIONAL UPGRADES

    GLOBAL UPGRADES

    Delta One

    (Only eligible on nonstop flights between JFK-LAX, JFK-SFO, DCA-LAX, and BOS-SFO)

    Delta Premium Select

    First Class

    Delta Comfort+®

  • No availability in your preferred cabin when booking your upgrade? Get on the waitlist to ensure your upgrade clears if seats become available.

    Here is how it works:

    • Call Delta Reservations to book your upgrade – 1-800-323-2323 in the U.S. View worldwide phone numbers.

    • If there is currently no upgrade availability for your flight, request to be put on a waitlist.
      • Open seats in the seat map do not necessarily mean they are available for upgrades (they might still be available for purchase) so keep in mind that seat map availability does not necessarily match upgrade availability.
    • If a seat becomes available in the cabin you are waitlisted for, your upgrade will clear automatically.

    • One Upgrade Certificate can put you on a single waitlist or multiple waitlists – from a specific cabin on a particular flight to multiple cabins on multiple flights. But, your upgrade will only clear off of ONE waitlist and will be based on the FIRST seat that becomes available across all of the waitlists the Certificate is listed on.
      • For example, if you are waitlisted on DTW-NRT and also JFK-LAX with one certificate,  if a seat becomes available on the DTW-NRT flight you will be upgraded on that flight and you will no longer be waitlisted on the JFK-LAX flight as the certificate has been used.

      • Or, if you are waitlisted for both Delta One and Delta Premium Select on your DTW-NRT flight, if a seat in Delta Premium Select becomes available first, you will be upgraded to Delta Premium Select and you will no longer be waitlisted for Delta One as the certificate has been used.
    • Once your upgrade clears off the waitlist, your certificate will be considered used.

    • If no seats become available before departure, your certificate will be returned to your account for you to use on a later flight.


    Waitlist Options:

    Use this chart to understand your different options for being added to the waitlist depending on the cabins available and the number of certificates you have. This is meant to be a general guide, and your options may have to adjust if, for example, you’re traveling with a companion, which would require another certificate. 

    Number of Upgrade Certificates in your account:

    Situation:

    1 Upgrade Certificate

    At least 2 Upgrade Certificates

    No current upgrade availability in Delta One/First Class but there are seats available in Delta Premium Select/Delta Comfort+











     

    You can choose one of these two options:

    1. Upgrade to Delta Premium Select/Delta Comfort+ immediately
    2. Get put on the waitlist for Delta One/First Class







       

    You can choose one of these three options:

    1. Upgrade to Delta Premium Select/Delta Comfort+ immediately
    2. Get put on the waitlist for Delta One/First Class
    3. Use 1 certificate to clear into Delta Premium Select/Delta Comfort+ immediately and use a second certificate to waitlist for Delta One/First Class

    No current upgrade availability in Delta One/First Class or Delta Premium Select/Delta Comfort+






























     

    You can choose one of these three options:

    1. Get put on  the waitlist for Delta One/First Class only
    2. Get put on the waitlist for Delta Premium Select/Delta Comfort+ only
    3. Use your one certificate to get put on the waitlist for both Delta One/First Class and Delta Premium Select/Delta Comfort+ to increase your chances of receiving an upgrade - if one of the cabins clears, regardless of which one, your certificate is considered used. 












       

    You can choose one of these four options:

    1. Get put on the waitlist for Delta One/First Class only
    2. Get put on  the waitlist for Delta Premium Select/Delta Comfort+ only
    3. Use one certificate to get put on the waitlist for both Delta One/First Class and Delta Premium Select/Delta Comfort+ to increase your chances of receiving an upgrade - if one of the cabins clears, regardless of which one, your certificate is considered used.
    4. Use two certificates -- one to waitlist for Delta One/First Class and another to waitlist for Delta Premium Select/Delta Comfort+. If a Delta Premium Select/Delta Comfort+ seat becomes available first, you will still be on the waitlist for Delta One/First Class.