Start here: your first award upgrade, step by step

Step 1: confirm what you hold

At Delta an upgrade certificate is a Choice Benefit rather than an airport request. For the 2026 Medallion Year a member may select one benefit on qualifying for Platinum Medallion Status and three on qualifying for Diamond Medallion Status, with selections closing on 31 January 2027; the 2027 Medallion Year uses the same counts and a 31 January 2028 deadline [2]. The certificates on offer are fixed by tier: Platinum members may take four Regional certificates, while Diamond members may take four Global, eight Regional, or two Global plus four Regional, for both the 2026 and 2027 Medallion Years [2].

Selection happens in one place only, the Delta app, for eligible members [2], and members who reach Diamond or Platinum Medallion Status are immediately eligible to select Choice Benefits [2]. If an email address is on the profile, a message follows within 48 hours, and certificate numbers appear under My Profile [2]. Two limits matter later: Diamond members may select upgrade certificates only once across their 2026 or 2027 Medallion Year selections, and a Choice Benefit that has been redeemed cannot be exchanged or replaced [2].

Certificates also age. Those selected for the 2026 Medallion Year must be booked and flown by 31 January 2027, and those selected for 2027 by 31 January 2028 [2]; the programme puts the same rule as booked and flown by the end of the Medallion Year tied to the selection, regardless of when in that year the benefit was chosen [2]. Reading that date before choosing is the first real decision of the process [2].

Step 2: match the certificate to fare and route

Certificate type decides which fares and flights are in scope. A one-way Global Upgrade Certificate can be used on Delta and select partner-operated flights, for the member and/or multiple companions, on all paid, published Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort and Delta Main fares, except Delta Basic experiences [2]. The Regional certificate is narrower: on Delta flights it applies to paid, published Delta Comfort and Delta Main fares, again except Delta Basic experiences, and it may be used on the same routes as Medallion Complimentary Upgrades, including all flights with Delta First and the domestic Delta One experience [2].

Both types reach past paid tickets. They can also be applied to Award Travel tickets and Miles + Cash tickets on Delta-operated flights, Pay with Miles tickets, Companion Certificates and tickets booked as part of a Delta Vacations package [2]. In practice the order of checks is fare family, then operating carrier, then cabin [2].

Step 3: priority, booking and ticket costs

Priority comes from the instrument, not only from status: Global and Regional Upgrade Certificates have a higher priority than Medallion Complimentary Upgrade requests [2]. Complimentary upgrades remain subject to availability and may not be available on all flights or in all markets, so elite status alone does not secure a seat [2].

Budget for the ticket as well as the upgrade. On Award Travel the taxes and, where applicable, fees are the passenger's responsibility and must be paid when the ticket is booked, and award seats may be limited and unavailable on all Delta Connection flights [2].

Step 4: hotel-side award records

Hotel upgrade awards behave like other awards rather than like a separate currency. Marriott's programme rules, updated October 2026, name Nightly Upgrade Awards among the awards affected when a member cancels an account [4], and they require Qualifying Activity at least once every 24 months to retain accumulated Points, Awards and other benefits [4]. Gifting, transferring or simply receiving Points does not count as Qualifying Activity [4].

Two protections and two traps follow. An award redeemed before point forfeiture stays valid unless it is cancelled after the Points expiration date, in which case the Points used for it expire if no Qualifying Activity has extended that date [4]. Points and Awards have no cash value and may not be sold, bartered, transferred or exchanged except as the rules allow [4]. Missing-credit requests must be received within one year of the activity concerned [4]. And the programme may change redemption levels and award availability with or without notice, even where a change affects the ability to obtain an award [4].

Exceptions and limits

Scope first: the rules below are Delta's Choice Benefits terms for the 2026 and 2027 Medallion Years and Marriott's programme rules as updated in October 2026; they are not a general rule for every airline or every hotel [2] [4].

• Delta Basic experiences are excluded from both Global and Regional certificates, so a Basic ticket cannot be upgraded with either [2].
• Regional certificates stay on Delta flights and on paid Comfort and Main fares, while Global certificates extend to Premium Select and to select partner-operated flights [2].
• A certificate chosen late in a Medallion Year still has to be booked and flown by that year's deadline [2].
• American Express Centurion members enrolled with complimentary Platinum Medallion Status must earn at least US$2,500 in Medallion Qualification Dollars in each calendar year after enrolment to be eligible for Choice Benefits [2].
• Delta reserves the right to modify or discontinue any Choice Benefit at any time without advance notice, and may substitute an alternative of equal or greater value, including after selection [2].
• Marriott may cancel, suspend or forfeit points, awards and benefits where it believes the rules were broken, and a member's own account cancellation forfeits unredeemed awards immediately [4].

Related pages

Terms: upgrade certificate, upgrade awards, complimentary upgrade, waitlist upgrade, confirmed upgrade. Programme guide: AAdvantage status.

Sources

Sources checked on 18 October 2026. It covers Delta SkyMiles Choice Benefits and Marriott Bonvoy programme rules only; mileage-upgrade request mechanics at other airlines, including American Airlines AAdvantage and Air Canada Aeroplan, are not covered here — see AAdvantage status and Aeroplan status.

1. Delta Choice Benefits, including Global and Regional Upgrade Certificates, checked 18 October 2026
2. Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program terms and conditions, checked 18 October 2026