Delta - cash and points ?????

Wishing on a star

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Okay, another airline/flight question!
If we plan this trip, we will need to book flights to Europe. And, it will likely be on Delta. This is a Delta Hub, and we do have some points.

I am looking to see what the going rates are. And, while it pulls up the combination of cash and points for coach, it does not show these available for COMFORT. It does not say N/A.... The web-site shows 'Sold Out'. This is months ahead of the trip, and there are very very few seats showing as sold. Most every one shows as available.

We REALLY want to fly COMFORT.
Can anybody here tell me more about booking with cash and points on an intnernatinal flight? Should they eventually offer this? Or, do they just not offer this for Comfort?

It is DH and I. So I definitely want to try to make a final decision before all the good two-row Comfort seats on each side of the plane are booked up.
 
Okay, another airline/flight question!
If we plan this trip, we will need to book flights to Europe. And, it will likely be on Delta. This is a Delta Hub, and we do have some points.

I am looking to see what the going rates are. And, while it pulls up the combination of cash and points for coach, it does not show these available for COMFORT. It does not say N/A.... The web-site shows 'Sold Out'. This is months ahead of the trip, and there are very very few seats showing as sold. Most every one shows as available.

We REALLY want to fly COMFORT.
Can anybody here tell me more about booking with cash and points on an intnernatinal flight? Should they eventually offer this? Or, do they just not offer this for Comfort?

It is DH and I. So I definitely want to try to make a final decision before all the good two-row Comfort seats on each side of the plane are booked up.
What comes up if you select points only or cash only? If you see seats available there, you might need to call them. If the seats are showing as sold out in those cases, you might be out of luck. It might be worth calling.
 
Could it be that you are on a flight that is switching over to Premium Select? Delta is reconfiguring it's aircraft for long haul flights to be "premium select" rather than Comfort +?

It could also be that the number of Comfort+ seats allocated for purchase with points is already "sold out." On most flights only a relatively small number of seats can be booked with points. You might have to book with cash if you really want Comfort plus.

Delta is also known for "opening up" seats available for purchase with frequent flyer miles. Another possibility would be to "buy" economy seats, and then "upgrade" them with miles. You are sometimes offered this option.

It's a bit of crapshoot really.

Ability to use your miles for seats has been constrained of late, and it's one of the chief complaints of frequent fliers everywhere (not just Delta). I'd say if it's REALLY important, then book and pay for the seats you want.
 
Thanks! Yep, it doesn't sound like these are a very limited number of seats that are sold out. Since, really, none, or a very very few, are showing as sold.
It sounds like the usual confusion and jerk-around????
Thanks for the info that Comfort might be changing over to a new category name. I wasn't aware of that!

I will look again at booking with points for Coach, and then how much to upgrade.
Hhhhhmmmm...

WAY too complex!!!!!
Gotta love flying these days!
 
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UGGGHHHHH!!!!
it goes from bad, to worse, with Delta....
Today, Cash+Miles is showing 20,000. more miles than MILES alone.
What I have I gotten us into, planning this possible trip???
 
I have found that using frequent flyers miles on any airline works best the further out into the future you book your flight. As also mentioned above, there are usually a very limited number of seats allocated for this purpose and once they are gone, no more will be available. Part of the reason I look at frequent flyers miles as a perk, since often you can't use them for a particular flight. Unless you fly a lot and are able to accumulate the miles or spend enough with their credit card, your miles are likely to expire before you are able to use them.
 
UGGGHHHHH!!!!
it goes from bad, to worse, with Delta....
Today, Cash+Miles is showing 20,000. more miles than MILES alone.
What I have I gotten us into, planning this possible trip???


Saturday and Sunday are the WORST days to book anything airfare related. Better to try mid week. And, yes, prices change constantly based on complex algorithms that no one probably understands. LOL. When I'm looking to buy airfare, I price out every day for a few weeks....that's when I start to understand what a 'good' fare is, and buy when I see it. Then, I stop worrying about it. :-) Getting the best deal is so hard!

I'm on another site where the complaint today was that the price to "upgrade" from coach to first class was more than $300 HIGHER than simply buying the first class ticket straight out. Same flight. Same day. Makes no sense, but I've seen the same thing.
 


Yes, it is a weekend and not mid-day.
But still - CRAZY!!!!

We are still a long way out... I am just trying to get a feel for the airfare and decide how to proceed.
The only thing is, I do need to book before all the good 'Comfort' seats are taken.
I simply can not fly this kind of demanding long haul unless we have at least good two-row Comfort seats.
 
Yes, it is a weekend and not mid-day.
But still - CRAZY!!!!

We are still a long way out... I am just trying to get a feel for the airfare and decide how to proceed.
The only thing is, I do need to book before all the good 'Comfort' seats are taken.
I simply can not fly this kind of demanding long haul unless we have at least good two-row Comfort seats.
Comfort will be available for awhile. I wouldn't worry about that. I understand your planning nature...that's me too. I've already booked our airfare for next October to Germany. We are flying business class (I'm WAY past sitting up on an overnight flight!), and I found the best deal to be booking via travelocity (or Orbitz, or Expedia....I priced all three, and travelocity was cheapest), and to included one night hotel (basically irrelevant whether we use it or not). By packaging them together, I got the business class seats for (literally) less than 1/2 what it would cost otherwise. Both of us are flying business class roundtrip for LESS than 1/2 what a single ticket would cost when compared to any other business class flight. You might look at that option and see what you come up with. Just put in that you want ONE night hotel at where ever your landing point is. Of course, that might mean not going via Delta. My outbound is on United, with return on Lufthansa.
 
Many of those 3rd party websites simply display the prices you can find on the airline website. They don't really offer any 'deals', but are simply a convenient way to compare the prices of several airlines.
 
I found the best deal to be booking via travelocity (or Orbitz, or Expedia....I priced all three, and travelocity was cheapest), and to included one night hotel (basically irrelevant whether we use it or not).
If I found a cheaper fare from a 3rd party, I'd call the airline and tell them what I've found and give them the chance to match it. I've heard too many horror stories of people booking on 3rd party sites and then running into problems later.
 
If I found a cheaper fare from a 3rd party, I'd call the airline and tell them what I've found and give them the chance to match it. I've heard too many horror stories of people booking on 3rd party sites and then running into problems later.
No horror story here. My seats on the flights I chose are as I chose them. I've logged directly into the airline's website to confirm that. I've even changed the seat assignments because I decided on different seats. I think the "basic economy" ones are the seats where you can run into problems. And, not all third party websites or airlines are created equal. I would not buy a seat on a low cost carrier or ultra low cost carrier via a third party. That, I've heard horror stories about. Heck, I'd never buy a seat on one of those kinds of carriers under any circumstances. LOL.
 
Many of those 3rd party websites simply display the prices you can find on the airline website. They don't really offer any 'deals', but are simply a convenient way to compare the prices of several airlines.


No. I've checked. I cannot find these prices on the airline websites. Could a travel agent? Mebbe. They've got access to some types of fares the airlines do not display on their websites. I've looked on numerous sites (google flights, matrix ITA etc) and cannot find the fares I paid anywhere. I'm retired. Nothing better to do than shop for travel. I've got ALL the websites saved on my computer, and I'll fly through them all comparing prices. LOL
 
No horror story here. My seats on the flights I chose are as I chose them. I've logged directly into the airline's website to confirm that. I've even changed the seat assignments because I decided on different seats. I think the "basic economy" ones are the seats where you can run into problems. And, not all third party websites or airlines are created equal. I would not buy a seat on a low cost carrier or ultra low cost carrier via a third party. That, I've heard horror stories about. Heck, I'd never buy a seat on one of those kinds of carriers under any circumstances. LOL.
I'm glad it's worked out for you. For ME, as I said, I'd CALL the airline and tell them what I've found and see if they're willing to match it. Now, you're right, maybe the bundling is the difference maker. But I'd still give the airline the chance to match because I'd rather deal directly with them.
 

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