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.

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This spring brought moans to the halls of FSI…no more business class on PCS flights over 14 hours. Yes, a great gnashing of teeth…but frankly it makes sense: business class from LAX to New Delhi costs $4800/ticket and the contract fare is ~$900. Throw in a rest stop and they’re still saving over $3800 per ticket. But spread along with the moaning was a falsehood: no upgrades are possible. That’s wrong. There are several ways to upgrade part or all of your trip, and I’ll get into them below. Hang on…this is going to be a long post. Read more on this Article!