Being a Starwood SPG Platinum member just got much more rewarding!  Airline status has always been more difficult to achieve than hotel status, and now if you are a Starwood Platinum, you can get upgraded on Delta!  You'll be below all the people who have Delta Status, but at least you'll have a chance to get upgraded.  Did you book a flight to Lima Peru that I posted recently (click here to read) – Its on Delta.  We'll see at the end of November if I get upgraded.  Being a busy travel holiday I doubt it but I'm excited about this promotion.

Dont have Starwood Platinum status?  It will take 25 stays or 50 nights in a year to get you there.  If you have the personal Starwood Amex you can get 2 stays/5 nights credit towards elite status and another 2 stays/5 nights if you have the Starwood Business Amex (both of these cards are in my wallet).  If you get both you can get 25k points x 2 and start working on your stays in the new year.  It would be tough to do this year, but I'll be posting my trips which are heavily based on Starwood locations (its how I've been hitting platinum for 5 years now).

In a previous post, I wrote about how Starwood and Delta were teaming up with their “Crossover Benefits” program.

Make sure that you book your Delta flight from Delta.com (and not the travel websites like Travelocity.com, Kayak.com, etc. because that flight won't qualify).

What benefits do you get?

1. Upgrades  on most published economy fares on Delta and certain Delta-designated codeshare flights in North America within or between the United States (excluding Hawaii) and Bermuda, Canada, Central and South America, The Caribbean, and Mexico. (the biggest perk in my opinion)
2. Priority check-in at designated Silver Medallion and SkyTeam elite check-in lanes
3. Zone 1 Priority Boarding on Qualifying Delta Flights
4. First checked bag free for the Crossover Rewards Participant and up to 3 additional passengers travelling under the same reservation (I prefer to not check any bags to get out of the airport faster but sometimes this is useful).

Some additional notes from the terms and conditions which you can read here:

• Upgrades are not eligible on Award or Pay with Miles tickets.
• SPG Platinum member companions are not eligible for complimentary Companion Upgrades. (Let the fighting begin 😉 who gets the upgrade, Mr. or Mrs. Rewardboss?  Maybe its better for no upgrade?  What do you think?)
• Of course there will be limited availability, so if the people with Delta status get the upgrades, the Starwood Platinum may not help you here

Hat Tip to pointsmilesandmartinis