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Here’s a fun First World Problem debate.
Would you pay $900 for a Delta One business class upgrade on your flight from Amsterdam (AMS) to Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP)?
That’s the decision someone on Reddit had to make.
For the uninitiated, Delta One is a business class product offering lie-flat bed seats, better meals and alcoholic beverages than coach, and usually better service.
And it’s much, much, much more expensive.
Redditor /redditmyeggos posed this question in the Delta subreddit:
Have an upgrade opportunity on an A350-900 for a morning flight from AMS to MSP. Wonder if anyone has flown on this recently and can speak to whether the Delta One seats are more recently upgraded/worth about $900 for the upsell.
Table of Contents
Quick AMS-MSP Basics
Flight time: Delta offers three Delta-operated flights from AMS to MSP. Right now, they are:
- Departing at 9:40 AM, arriving at 11:24 AM
- Departing at 12:40 PM, arriving at 2:41 PM
- Departing at 2:40 PM, arriving at 4:42 PM
They’re all daytime flights. The sun won’t go down unless you read this in the winter and take the last flight of the day. If your body is acclimated to European time zones, you might not need the comfort of a lie-flat bed, as opposed to taking a redeye.
Aircraft: The person posing the question is scheduled on an Airbus A359. (I don’t think I’ve flown Delta One on that model yet.)
Flight length: from takeoff to touchdown, the flight is about 8 hours and 30 minutes. Factor in, though, taxiing time at AMS Schiphol, which sometimes seems as long as a tour of Holland itself. (At least, based on my experiences.) You might be looking at another half hour or so.
SkyPriority: Delta One passengers get access to priority check-in lines (dedicated Delta One lanes were available). Plus, they’re the first to board the plane after folks needing special assistance.
Lounges: Delta One passengers receive complimentary access to KLM’s Crown Lounges in AMS and the two Delta Sky Clubs in Minneapolis: F/G and G18. (A DeltaOne Lounge is potentially coming to the Twin Cities.)
Checked Baggage: Delta One passengers can check up to two (2) bags for free. Main Cabin passengers may check one (1) free on international trips outside North America. (Assuming the agents know are told the rules and/or abide by them.)
Feel free to add any other nuances worth mentioning in the Comments section.
Is $900 Worth It?
When I first saw the question, my immediate response was “YES!”
Here’s why.
I usually work during flights. I’m either busy with photo editing or writing projects. There are times I take the odd nap — especially in a lie-flat.
I’m a bigger guy (a little over 6’1″ and was a defensive lineman in football) and treasure space. My shoulders barely fit in coach seats. I’m far more productive in business class.
Plus, it’s way nicer to wait out long taxis and holds in the nice seats than it is in coach.
Here’s something I noticed during my last time flying Delta One. Because the plane usually boards from door two, it’s a lot quieter upfront in the Delta One cabin during boarding. You’re barely aware that anyone else, other than your 26 or whatever new bougie best friends in the good seats, is flying with you. Plus, all the seats have aisle access. So, there’s no “Excuse me, that’s my seat” stand-up, sit-down, stand-up, sit-down routine — especially in wide-body planes — that puts Catholic Mass services to shame.
Hooray for better food, that’s always a plus. I’ve had, like, two drinks in the past year and a half, so the upgraded booze isn’t a factor.
I don’t pack too heavily, so the free extra luggage isn’t necessary. (You get two free checked bags anyway in coach).
For those without a credit card that offers lounge access or Delta Sky Club access, lounge access can be a great luxury worth the cost. That would factor into my saying yes if I didn’t already have SkyTeam Elite Plus status and a qualifying Delta credit card.
If Delta also accepts SkyMiles for this upgrade, the cost would be 90,000 SkyMiles or fewer. I have that in my account. Or I could always transfer miles from my Membership Rewards balance. On the other hand, that’s an entire domestic award trip — probably two.
The cons:
I usually keep the flight tracker or headline news on the entire time because I’m a big nerd. If there’s a college or professional game I want to watch, I’ll put that on. But I rarely watch movies or TV shows on flights. (When I do, it’s on my tablet or laptop.) So, the big screen doesn’t do much for me.
It’s $900. I’m a freelancer with a family. I never know when $900 will be truly needed. I’ve sat in coach plenty of times on 8-12-hour flights. It was uncomfortable. But I lived. And I’d do it again.
But $900 is such a great deal! 🙂 And it’s more Medallion® Qualification Dollars (MQD) for those of us who keep drinking the Delta Kool-Aid.
Your Turn
I’d love to hear your thoughts! What would you do? Please share in the below Comments section!
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and and may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some 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.
If Delta also accepts SkyMiles for this upgrade, the cost would be 9,000 SkyMiles or fewer. I have that in my account. Or I could always transfer miles from my Membership Rewards balance.
You are missing a zero.
Yep, I fixed that, thank you!!
If you’re looking to relax and possibly sleep, then its worth it as long you have the money to spare. Food will be better, but not a major upgrade like some other airlines. For 8-9 hours, I’d also see what the Premium Select is as well as those seats are very comfortable and potentially half the upgrade cost, but (and this is a BIG big for me) you would be missing out on the AMS lounge, which is well worth it. That $900 could soon change to $2,500 pretty quickly.
I think everyone has 9000 sky pesos in their account but no way 9000 sky pesos are worth $900…
Thanks for the heads up!
$900 would be 90,000 SkyMiles not 9,000
If I already was in Premium Select I don’t think I would do it. If the upgrade was from economy or even Comfort+ I would definitely consider it.
Right — I made that correction earlier this morning. Darn “0” got away from me! (And I still have 90k in my account — for now)
Excellent point on the PS. I really like it. My wife and I sat in PS from Boston to HNL — a 12-hour daytime flight — and enjoyed it.
And if YOU were to pay the $900 for the upgrade, that would be tax deductible for you correct? (since you were working during the flight)
Probably — I let my CPA figure all that out. He asks me questions and goes from there.
Honestly, I don’t think in terms of tax deductions first. If my corporation has money in the budget for something, it does. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.
Considering the difference between the two is about $4000, I would take it for $900 more.
Depends on how much you paid for the Prem.seat..I have been seeing over $4300 for PS to Italy for later in the year and up to $17,000 per person for D1..nuts Do you have an GUC’s to apply???
Hi Chris, we recently took a cruise from Barcelona to Rome. I went through Delta Vacations and out us in premium Select. the upgrades were generally in the thousands. I watched and caught a dip to $899 for Delta One to Barcelona and followed it up with a dip to $599 for Delta One Rome to Atlanta. It was absolutely worth the cost and i would do it again in a NY minute! Keep up the great work.
I need to hang out with you next time I fly Delta. Thanks for your kind words.
Always love the column, info, and tips.
If I am in economy, probably yes. If I’m in Premium Select, probably no. It depends on my mood on the day of the flight, whether I’m solo, the $900 opportunity cost, and if the MQDs could factor in reaching some status level.
Usually the rule of thumb is $100 per hour of flight time, this is roughly a break even sort of deal. I probably would spring for it, on the basis, I work overnight and this would definitely benefit me more to just lay down and relax/nap etc. It all depends on how much you initially paid for the ticket to begin with.
If it’s a helpful data point, I paid $900 through KLM to upgrade MSP – AMS and it was totally worth it as it was overnight and I had to hit the ground running. Also, I like the $100/hr guideline.
Thanks for the data point!
I work in sales and am flying just about every week. My sales guy and I have a rule for intentional flights and paying for the upgrade to the front of the plane, 100 dollars an per hour of flight time. I could probably justify the taxi time and round this up to 9 hours if I really wanted to relax going home, but anymore would had been a hard pass for me. That’s just the rule