V-Flyer

We're flying to EWR in September and can't be bothered with another week in NYC so I'm looking at flights to Miami from JFK with delta.
I can get great prices on Y. Business/first is coming out at double the Y fare, which is still good imo.
We're both FC AU so is there any benefit flying first over Y apart from the additional tier points? Would we get lounge access? Are there automatic upgrades? It's only a 3 hour flight...any opinions?
Darren

You won't get DL lounge access with FC Au (you're not exactly missing much!), but when you punch in your Au number you will get SkyPriority and you'll also be on the upgrade list. VS Au is not very high on the list, but recently I've had a run of automatic upgrades on DL internal flights (that said, I've been taking midweek, midday flights, so not very full).

A lot depends on how many J seats the plane has, time of day, day of week, load factor etc.

Also: short-haul DL J is not that different to DL Y!

Thanks NYLON, our flight is the first to Miami on a Monday morning so prob quite full?
I think I'll stick with Y and Ask the universe for an upgrade!! Lol

Unless you're in desperate need for the TPs (in which case DL domestic J sectors are often a very good deal), I'd stick with Y.

First thing on a Monday doesn't bode well, but you should see your name on the upgrade monitor at the gate in any case, and you can see where you are on the list...and then just hope anyone above you suddenly gets food poisoning or is stuck in traffic

Done a few flights with Delta and the J seats are hardly worth paying for - it's really the tier point question that would drive my decision, and only you can judge whether the extra money is worth it for that.

I certainly wouldn't pay for J otherwise...

I agree with the sentiment about "first is not worth paying for".

For the same token, comfort+ (economy comfort as it was once known) doesn't seem to be worth it either. They want £13 for comfort+ seats on a 30-40 minute flight (Atlanta to Nashville) with no extra TPs? No thanks. I can't justify that.

If you have the Platinum Amex charge card, that gives access to Delta Sky Clubs with same day delta ticket. Only for 1 person, but the supplementary card holder also gets access.

You do get 3 TP's per sector flying domestic first and no charge for checked bags.

Hull wrote:You do get 3 TP's per sector flying domestic first and no charge for checked bags.

For me this swayed me last week and for a flight next week too. It was about $80 to upgrade on a 1:45min flight.

Deduct $25 for the bag fee = $55 net more than Y.

So $55 for 2 extra TPs, 50% extra miles, sky priority bag, security, boarding, a few drinks, a 'snack basket', more ticket flexibility, and not having to scramble for space.

I found the seat and space to be more on par, if not slightly bigger, than a VS PE seat.

So would I have to pay for a bag to be checked in on a Y ticket being VS AU?

No, you're entitled to free checked luggage as VS Au on DL. I can't remember how much. Possibly three bags.

We travelled Las Vegas to Fort Myers via Atlanta a couple of years back with Delta. Seats were nothing to get excited about, just a few rows with two each side at front part of aircraft. Dedicated service from one crew member but again didn't make us think 'wow'. Few other perks but personally we love to fly Jet Blue from New York down to Florida but they don't fly into Miami

Just a quick add to this thread, I have always had SkyClub access from being VS AU no matter the class I'm travelling, I think at somepoint I read the fine print and you only officially get SkyClub access if you are also ticketed on a VS long haul on the same day but they don't seem to enforce it - for instance I just walked into the SkyClub here in LGA on my Delta boarding card and was let in no issues (I don't have a VS flight until Friday and they were booked as separate bookings) so Lounge access worked for me

Consider yourself lucky then. They definitely enforced it when I was at ATL a couple of months ago. Luckily I did have a VS flight the same day but the Sky Club receptionist had clearly never seen a VS Au card before and had to refer to her notes which explained the rule. She then wanted to see proof of my VS booking.

gumshoe wrote:Consider yourself lucky then. They definitely enforced it when I was at ATL a couple of months ago. Luckily I did have a VS flight the same day but the Sky Club receptionist had clearly never seen a VS Au card before and had to refer to her notes which explained the rule. She then wanted to see proof of my VS booking.

Could it be that lounge access was granted due to it being an international flight?