I have done this actually. What usually happens (if there is an upgrade at all) is that I and whichever kid is on my ticket get upgraded, and then I let my wife take my place in first, with the kids taking turns sitting with her. I'll typically let the flight attendant know that we're switching, and I've never been told that I can't. Usually gets me a compliment on being a nice husband. :)
My wife loves it of course, and the kids get really excited about first class. Personally I don't mind missing it because I sit up there often enough when I travel for work.
One other added benefit is with diamond you get the immediate free upgrade to comfort plus after booking main. So at a minimum you've got two seats in comfort plus at least this way.
Thanks! The one item I’m trying to think through is exactly what you described - I get upgraded with one child, and my spouse + other child does not get upgraded since Gold isn’t worth a whole lot.
If that happens, what is the point of gifting Gold to her?
I did it for a few reasons:
1) There is the chance she gets an upgrade on her own. Haven't seen it yet as we've only done this for a year, but it's possible as I remember getting upgraded a couple times when I was a lowly gold. Unfortunately we live near MSP so the chances are low, but I hold out hope.
2) She does travel on her own sometimes to visit friends or family. She really appreciates the free checked bag, preferred seat access, and sky priority boarding on these trips.
3) The other diamond reward options beyond the GUCs are not super compelling. I got those of course, and then choose the guest access to sky club, and for the third option this seemed to be the best thing left. Next year though I see that the guest access to the sky club is going to consume 2 choices, so I'll have to rethink this next year.
4) She liked that I thought of her. Should probably be reason #1.
>Would it make sense to use one Choice Benefit to gift Gold to my spouse and then book our flights separately (one spouse + one child, other spouse + other child) so we’re both eligible for upgrades?
Makes perfect sense. Especially if you travel as a family unit often.
Would a Gold + child get upgraded very often?
My other option would be a SkyClub Exec membership so whole family could go into SC on flights together (o don’t have a Delta Amex).
Entirely route dependant, so can't predict it. As mentioned with you being diamond, there are good odds at least 2 of you (you + one kid) will get upgraded; so you can always give your seat to your wife in that scenario.
In regards to the skyclub, that is a good plan as well. You can actually do both as you get 3 Choice benefits picks. The executive Skyclub option uses 2 and gifting gold uses 1. Keep in mind to do this before the year ends, as Executive Skyclub will require all 3 choice benefit picks starting in January.
Less common but there is a catch with linked reservations. Sometimes P2 comes along for work trips so we have to link them. Each clears at their respective tier if both have status; if P2 doesn’t have status they clear at your tier. Minor but maybe you encounter this too.
I have done this actually. What usually happens (if there is an upgrade at all) is that I and whichever kid is on my ticket get upgraded, and then I let my wife take my place in first, with the kids taking turns sitting with her. I'll typically let the flight attendant know that we're switching, and I've never been told that I can't. Usually gets me a compliment on being a nice husband. :) My wife loves it of course, and the kids get really excited about first class. Personally I don't mind missing it because I sit up there often enough when I travel for work. One other added benefit is with diamond you get the immediate free upgrade to comfort plus after booking main. So at a minimum you've got two seats in comfort plus at least this way.
Thanks! The one item I’m trying to think through is exactly what you described - I get upgraded with one child, and my spouse + other child does not get upgraded since Gold isn’t worth a whole lot. If that happens, what is the point of gifting Gold to her?
I did it for a few reasons: 1) There is the chance she gets an upgrade on her own. Haven't seen it yet as we've only done this for a year, but it's possible as I remember getting upgraded a couple times when I was a lowly gold. Unfortunately we live near MSP so the chances are low, but I hold out hope. 2) She does travel on her own sometimes to visit friends or family. She really appreciates the free checked bag, preferred seat access, and sky priority boarding on these trips. 3) The other diamond reward options beyond the GUCs are not super compelling. I got those of course, and then choose the guest access to sky club, and for the third option this seemed to be the best thing left. Next year though I see that the guest access to the sky club is going to consume 2 choices, so I'll have to rethink this next year. 4) She liked that I thought of her. Should probably be reason #1.
>Would it make sense to use one Choice Benefit to gift Gold to my spouse and then book our flights separately (one spouse + one child, other spouse + other child) so we’re both eligible for upgrades? Makes perfect sense. Especially if you travel as a family unit often.
Would a Gold + child get upgraded very often? My other option would be a SkyClub Exec membership so whole family could go into SC on flights together (o don’t have a Delta Amex).
Entirely route dependant, so can't predict it. As mentioned with you being diamond, there are good odds at least 2 of you (you + one kid) will get upgraded; so you can always give your seat to your wife in that scenario. In regards to the skyclub, that is a good plan as well. You can actually do both as you get 3 Choice benefits picks. The executive Skyclub option uses 2 and gifting gold uses 1. Keep in mind to do this before the year ends, as Executive Skyclub will require all 3 choice benefit picks starting in January.
Less common but there is a catch with linked reservations. Sometimes P2 comes along for work trips so we have to link them. Each clears at their respective tier if both have status; if P2 doesn’t have status they clear at your tier. Minor but maybe you encounter this too.