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Despite SkyMiles redemptions on partner airlines taking a big hit, there’s actually some decent news today — for Delta Diamonds.
TPG’s Zach Griff reports that Global Upgrade Certificates (GUC) — a Choice Benefits options — now allow holders to upgrade from coach to business class. Previously, the best they did was upgrade you to premium economy.
First class is still off-limits, though.
A few other notable changes:
- Upgrades to Air France now clear into Z class. They were O, which didn’t have as much inventory as Z
- Discounted Delta coach fares are now applicable for GUC upgrades on Air France. It was Y, B, or M, which are rather $pendy fares. Zach says, “For Air France-operated flights sold by Delta, the following coach fare classes are eligible for an upgrade to biz: Y, B, M, H, Q, K, L, U, T, X or V. Additionally, all Air France premium economy fares booked on either Air France or Delta can now be upgraded into business class with a GUC.”
- Air France or KLM tickets sold by AF, KL, or DL may now be upgraded
- GUCs can be applied to Air France flights of at least 1,750 miles
Final Approach
Global Upgrade Certificates (GUC) are a fantastic benefit. It’s sometimes difficult to find available inventory but these changes make it a little easier to get somewhere nice — in more comfortable seats.
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Guc’s have never worked for me on AF or KLM even with the correct class of service,,!
Thanks Chris. Is KLM also Z class? The availability looks great if it is.
Not as far as we know yet.
RENE – What about changes to mileage upgrades on Air France – will they come out of ‘Z’ and have the less restrictive fares.
Not all of us are big-shot Diamond Medallion like you
I wouldn’t get my hopes up about mileage upgrades in Z class. But if we learn something, we’ll post something!
I used to look forward to using GUCs especially on mileage runs. I was able to enjoy several runs when I first became Diamond. But the frequent unavailability along with the uncertainty of snagging a seat from the waiting list has soured me on the perk. I wish the websites made it easier to locate possible routes and flight plans.
Chris is there a No fee AMEX card that gets MR points? Do you have a link and will it get you anything if I used your link?
There sure are! The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express earns 2X MRs per buck spent to $50k a year. If you click the “Learn More” or “Learn how to apply” or the card on this page and get approved, the blog receives a commission — thank you so much for thinking of us!
Also, the Amex EveryDay Credit Card is a personal card with no annual fee and it earns 2X at supermarkets, up to $6k a year in purchases. And if you use the card 20 times in a billing period, you get a 20% points bump on those purchases. I like that card’s welcome bonus a little more, to be honest: spend $1000, get 10k Membership Rewards points. It should be the very last card on the bottom of this page.
Thank you again for thinking of the blog!!
Hi, is there a way to use these certificates to upgrade Flying Blue award tickets booked on KLM?
I don’t believe so.