SkyMiles Members Can Now Upgrade With SkyMiles In The Delta App
SkyMiles Members Can Now Upgrade With SkyMiles In The Delta App
This is not particularly news in that it was known that this was coming, but the app in the Apple Store is now updated to allow users to upgrade using SkyMiles directly in the app. For Android users, the function will be available starting with a February 13, 2019 update, according to an email from Delta.
As noted above, the use of SkyMiles to purchase upgrades was noted in a call with Delta CEO Ed Bastian after Quarter 3 of 2018. The function was released in December on the Delta website. Last month, Delta said it was going to be rolling out the function directly in the app “This month.”
Here’s the steps for using the new feature within the app:
In a release Delta said:
“Our customers rave about the Fly Delta app because it’s intuitive and a constant companion to manage their travel experience,” said Rhonda Crawford, Vice President – Global Distribution & Digital Strategy. “Expanding the flexibility to use miles for upgrade purchases to the much-loved app experience is yet another way Delta is giving customers more options at their fingertips.”
The flexible option, made possible by Delta’s ongoing digital investments, gives Members traveling for business or leisure the ability to use their personal miles via the Fly Delta app or Delta.com to upgrade their experience whenever they fly — and miles can be used to upgrade a single leg or multiple legs of a journey. Using miles for upgrades after booking builds on the functionality Delta pioneered with post-purchase upgrades in 2017 that allows customers to buy a premium seat online using either the same or a different method of payment from the one they used to buy their ticket.
Bottom Line
When this was first announced, I thought it was pretty awesome. I try to avoid using my computer as much as possible and am very reliant on my iPhone. This is a great advancement because it makes it easy and saves people time. As a primarily American Airlines flyer, I would love to see a feature like this come to the website. Having it in the app would be an even bigger bonus, but who knows if/when we will see that. Certainly, there’s room for growth in American’s app and Delta is making upgrading easier for its passengers. That’s pretty great.
That being said, the value of AA miles is a little better than that of Delta. So the ease of booking mile upgrades is great, but perhaps it’s nicer to have slightly more valuable miles.
