Delta Delay Waives Change Fees
Today Jeffsetter is flying to San Jose for a conference at Google. At the time I booked the flight, I was under the impression that I would not have enough MQM’s to qualify for Platinum status again this year, so I booked an indirect flight through Seattle (even though direct was available).
Sure enough, I hit Platinum status with Delta last week on a trip to Newark, so the indirect flight I booked for today was completely unnecessary, because I didn’t really need to extra ~600 MQM’s I’d gain by routing indirectly. There’s almost no chance I would hit the 125,000 miles necessary to become a Diamond Medallion this year, so any extra miles I earn through indirect routing are just going to my carryover balance for 2013 qualifying.
My flight schedule was from 11:20 AM CST and arrive at San Jose (SJC) at 6:20 PM for a total of 9 hours traveling. This included a 3 hours layover at Seatac airport where I planned to get caught up on travel blogging.
It was slow going this morning preparing for my trip to Google, and I really wasn’t sure why… I just wasn’t in a rush for that much travel.
I wanted to take the 5:40 PM direct flight from MSP to SJC, but since my departure was for 11:20, I did not fall into the 3 hour window where Delta allows Platinum Medallions to confirm a flight change without paying change fees. So basically I would have had to pay at least $150 in change fees to get onto the direct flight. Too rich for my blood at that point.
When I checked in at the airport, I was offered the chance to give up my seat for a flight credit. The screen I saw was actually different from what they had in the past and I show above (unfortunately I didn’t have the foresight to take a picture). You could select whether you wanted $100, $200, $300 or $400 in credits. This is different from the past when you entered your value manually.
I selected to receive a $300 credit for giving up my seat (realizing that the flight they would book me into was the 5:40 direct flight to SJC). I rushed through security and scurried to my gate in order to talk to an agent and see if I won $300 + the flight I wanted was alright in my book. As I got to the gate, I emphatically declared my desire to give up my seat to the gate agent. He said that his partner was on the phone right now to determine what they could give away to reroute passengers. The gate agent I talked to asked for my name and said he would tell his partner about my enthusiasm.
The other agent stayed on the phone for the next 15 minutes and never addressed anyone waiting at the counter. I am guessing he was on hold with corporate, who had much more important things to worry about with Hurricane Sandy freaking out everyone in the east coast.
At boarding, they called through people needing extra time, first class and then Sky Priority. The agent was still on the phone, so I had not been able to inquire about my volunteer status, and I figured that with only 30 minutes before departure that I had no chance of getting the credit and flight switch. Before boarding, I discreetly asked the agent on the phone if they were still accepting volunteers. He said that they were likely not going to need any more volunteers.
So I boarded and thought about how I would tell this story on my blog as a way of how travel can give you hope and then take it away.
At exactly 11:20 the pilot got on the intercom and told everyone that the plane has a mechanical issue and that one of the fuel pumps (one of many redundant pumps on the plane he said) was not working and mechanics were going to be looking at it. I knew the result before they had to say it: this plane wasn’t leaving anytime soon.
Thankfully they only waited 20 minutes to tell us that this plane wasn’t going to fly. Even better, they said there was a 737-300 waiting at the next gate to take us to Seattle. Great news for all aboard (especially since Seattle was presumably everyone’s final destination but mine), because they would get to their destination only an hour late.
Opportunity for me! Knowing that Delta waives all change fees and other rigorous rules in the event of a flight delay, I was now about 100% sure I’d be able to move to the flight I wanted in the first place – the 5:20 direct from MSP to SJC.
I started by calling the Platinum line, which told me they were experiencing high call volume due to Hurricane Sandy and that I should go to the website for faster service. Since I was on a plane, that luxury wasn’t available, but I figured I’d fire up the Delta App to see what I could find.
Sure enough, it allowed me to find alternate flights on the app, and the only flight it recommended was the 5:20 Direct to SJC. Lucky me!
I couldn’t book that seat fast enough. Turns out that I got the last seat on the flight and it was in the back of the plane and in the middle of the row. Not ideal, but better than the alternatives.
I could see that there were 3 first class seats available, so I figured that I would arrive at the gate early and ask for the exit row or economy comfort seats that are vacated by those getting promoted to First Class. I never really even thought I’d have a chance at being upgraded to first class myself, because of the fullness of the flight and me being very late to get in the queue (I am usually #28 of 56 in the upgrade queue to SJC due to the astounding number of business travelers going to Silicon Valley.)
My wife came and picked me up (she is an angel for dropping off and then picking up 2 hours later). While driving away in the car, I get two emails from Delta that says “Your upgrade has been confirmed”. I figured it was a mistake or for another flight, but when I looked at the email, I was in a new seat, presumably first class.
Sure enough, when I went to select a seat on the flight, I was now in first class.
Just a crazy series of events to lead me where I wanted to be in the first place. In first class on a direct flight to San Jose. Instead of getting in at 6:20 PM I get in at 7:45 PM and I get 4 extra hours at home to work on my travel blog. Not bad Jeffsetter.
To recap:
- I wanted to change flights, but I was too cheap
- I volunteered to give up my seat, but it wasn’t needed
- My plane was delayed, which allowed me to rebook
- I ended up on the flight I wanted in first class
I know that I rip on Delta a lot (and so does most of the frequent flyer community), but in this case, I’m quite happy with how things turned out. Had I been on a deadline to arrive at a certain time, I likely would have different feelings.
Thank you Delta for your help. This is why I stay loyal and gain Platinum status – for moments like these.
