Nell asks if miles for a US carrier can be used to upgrade on codeshare flights operated by the foreign carrier. As John Dinkelman liked to say, “it depends.” Nell specifically asked about using Delta miles on Air France, and the answer is “yeah, if you book last year.” Sadly, the loophole that let you use Delta miles to upgrade on CDG-bound AF flights closed in 2007. Delta operates two flights out of ATL to CDG (I think they’re DL 22/23) that can be upgraded. The only international partner that Delta upgrades with is Singapore Airlines (due to an earlier agreement). Many airlines have bilateral agreements to allow each other’s upgrades on codeshares, so you’ll have to check the rules or do a search on the FlyerTalk boards for your specific pair.

Of course, if it means a lot to you, it might be worth it to cost construct/use points & miles. As I said in the earlier post you’re on the hook for any additonal charges, but you might think about using points to pay the difference between the full-fare ticket in biz class. SkyMiles members who have the Delta AMEX cards can use that balance to get any ticket, supposedly with no black out. The bad part about this is that you have to pay on your credit card and do it up front and hope the USG reimburses you the cost-construct fare. I’d recommend getting an email from your post FMO making sure you can do that.

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