Which Airline Gives Better Free Upgrades? American, United or Delta?

Generally, top-tier elite members are given upgrade certificates upon qualification. The Big Three US airlines—American, Delta, and United—all offer these. American calls them Systemwide Upgrades, United calls them Global Premier Upgrades, and Delta calls them Global Upgrade certificates.

Each of these upgrades has different requirements and can be used in slightly different ways. We’ll compare the three in this article, noting the requirements for use, how they can be used, what airlines they can be used on, and more in this article.

Let’s dive in!

American Airlines Systemwide Upgrades

American gives four Systemwide Upgrades to its top-tier Executive Platinum elites every year. These can be applied to all American Airlines flights, but will only confirm if there is space in the C fare class for two-cabin planes or A fare class for a first-class upgrade on three-cabin planes. You cannot double-upgrade if you’re flying on a three-cabin plane (A321T or 777-300ER).

Note that Systemwide Upgrades don’t work on award tickets or tickets booked in Basic Economy. Further, they can’ be used on codeshare flights even if the flight is marketed by American.

United Airlines Global Premier Upgrades

United Airlines gives six Global Premier Upgrades to its top-tier, 1K Premier elite members. These can be used to upgrade flights operated by United Airlines, Copa Airlines, ANA, and Lufthansa.

These upgrades can be applied to any United or Copa flight, but will only confirm right away if there’s space in the R fare class. If not, your flight will be added to a waitlist. ANA flights in C, D, J, Y, B, E and G fare classes can be upgraded by one class. Lufthansa flights in B, C, D, E, G, H, J, M, Q, U, and Y can be upgraded by one class as well.

You can search for open R fares using United’s advanced search tool. We highly recommend this so you can confirm an upgrade at the time of booking. You can request an upgrade at any time for United, Copa, and Lufthansa flights, and up to eight weeks ahead of your flight for ANA flights.

Delta Global Upgrade Certificates

Delta’s Global Upgrade Certificates can be selected as a Choice benefit upon reaching Diamond Medallion status. Currently, Diamond members can choose between Global OR 8 Regional OR 2 Global AND 4 Regional upgrades.

These certificates can be used to upgrade Delta flights to Business Class in any fare bucket with the exception of E fares. Further, you can use these certificates to upgrade KLM flights to Business Class from Y, B, and M economy fares and Air France from Economy to Premium Economy in Y, B, M fares and Premium Economy to Business in S and W fares.

Delta Global Upgrade Certificates can be used on any paid or Pay with Points flight operated by Delta. If your upgrade isn’t confirmed, you’ll be placed at the top of the upgrade list. Note that award tickets cannot be upgraded with upgrade certificates.

Enjoy Flying Up Front!

And that’s all there is to the Big Three’s upgrade certificates! As you can see, these certificates have a ton of value and are one of the best perks of being a frequent flier.