If you think I am going to write about the “No Fly Zone” request that has been ongoing since the war, you are wrong. I am talking about normal people flying coach, in the United States.I just got back from sunny Pensacola, and due to the time constraints was unable to secure a discounted flight through Frontier. Now I am not dogging on Frontier, and normally everything with that airline is just fine. They only fly certain days and very limited routes. Not good. They also nickel and dime you for everything. It is … in my opinion — for the budget conscious minded. You have to remember that everyone is in a different stage in their life than you. So what is costly to you, might be pennies to another. So, if you are like me, you go to the different sites, plug in your dates and see what costs what. Clearly there are price differences and some are way more than others. Why? Greed. Those seat prices change daily, and usually hourly. Some people see one rate while others see a discount. Some companies have deals that they buy seats at really low prices and then start selling them at a premium the closer the travel date. Frontier, Southwest and Spirit are all discount airlines. There are no tier levels. No first class. You get basic, very basic service. For some people that is JUST fine. You might have a second home on one of their direct flights, so you literally have no luggage as you have two homes full of clothes. I also discovered that if you are loyal and fly just one airline, they will reward you in forms of freebies.
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So where am I going with this? Well fortunately for me, I flew Delta this time. I decided it was worth the risk to apply for their top tier credit card, American Express Delta Reserve, which has a steep annual fee, $550. Naturally it arrived after I landed. I actually didn’t need to have the physical card as I was able to load it to my apple wallet, along with my boarding pass. Very cool. My electronic ticket, on my phone, also had my AmEx Delta card loaded, so when I checked into the lounge, they knew. One of the big perks is you get in their Sky Lounges, and you get 1 bag free, up to 8 people on your ticket. So that is like, $480, because you have to pay to get them back home. Bummer right? So what was new for me this time was the opportunity to request a complimentary upgrade from MAIN Cabin to Comfort Plus or even First Class. Well I quickly found out that those First Class seats are only awarded to Diamond Medallion, which I am not. However, 3 out of 4 air busses I managed to score a Comfort Plus seat, which was valued at thousands. And if you were sitting next to me from Pensacola to Atlanta, then you paid $1888 for the window version. I was in the middle, which is great so I can cross my left OR my right leg. And as silly as it sounds, it is much more relaxing to sit that way. Now, if you buy basic economy, which I guess must be like an Expedia ticket, you are not eligible for upgrades. So there were medallion members who I beat out for my seat. So I guess in “theory” my 3 seats were worth $5664 in total. That is CRAY CRAY!! I didn’t dare tell my new friend I got my seat for free, … with only an AmEx Delta Reserve card. And get this, … although I have been a SkyMiles member for 2 decades, I only had 300 miles recorded. So the secret is your goal is to be a silver medallion Delta skymiles member, with the AmEx card. Buy a main cabin seat, and get the FREE First Class upgrade. With the card you can bypass their flown miles and number of flights requirement by using the card. Sure you have to spend $25,000 in a year, but if you buy a new iPhone or two, new Mac Pro or two, a DSL camera with all the accessories, it won’t take long at all. And I personally have dozens of eye glasses with outdated prescriptions, so that could easily be thousands of dollars. And we aren’t even talking about really going shopping at the Cherry Creek mall. Vuitton could do some serious damage. I actually don’t have any luggage or bags from them. I sport a bright yellow Coach backpack. It’s on my Instagram. They say the upgrades are strictly based on tier-level, miles flown, … but I think we all know it really is up to the GATE agent who can override one passenger and give it to another, just like when you go to a restaurant and the VIP takes your table while you wait with the buzzer in your hand. If you are a “Chad” or a “Stacy” it is always in your best interest to let the gate agent know you are one of the hopefuls waiting for that upgrade. If you are an INCEL … and I don’t mean this in a mean way, but then do not check in with the gate agent. Hotties get priority over fuglies. And there are way more of those than you would care to know. I must just be super lucky because I sat between Chad and Stacy. And there were no babies on my flight. Thank God. They gave out free headphones in First Class and Comfort+ to plug into their headrest on demand video screens. Although literally everyone had their own AirPods plugged in. AirPods do not work with their system as there is no bluetooth. I watched part of the new Scream movie. Airlines aren’t dicks like they used to be by making you shut your devices off and take your headphones off. They let you zone out, fall asleep and they leave you alone. After you stuff yourself with awesome food in the lounge, you don’t want to eat a bunch of snacks. I had a very strong bloody Mary, so I took a nap.
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If you want to get the Delta Reserve card, click here. (Expires 06/08/2022) You will get 100k points that you can use to upgrade your main cabin flights individually, which is cheaper than using all of them at once for a free flight. If you buy a Comfort+ and you are medallion you will almost for sure get the First Class upgrade. But don’t do that until you reach at least silver. May the odds be ever in your favor. Sure it has a fee. But look at what I got in just one trip. Thousands of freebies. Food and drink. And if have to do a layover, 90 minutes is just perfect for deplaning, getting to the right terminal and getting food/drink and restroom. The app keeps you updated and if you have an apple watch, that also notifies you so you don’t miss boarding.
