Upgrading a seat selection on Delta

Prices for international upgrades (even for comfort plus) is pretty steep and depends on the flight and route. I remember doing a flight research last year before the increase in fares and the flights to Rome were ridiculous expensive, so I imagine the upgrade on that route is pricey too.

Did the app ask you to upgrade your whole trip or did you click on just that segment? Sometimes I find it easier to look at it on the browser and not the app. If you have miles, you can always look at the cost in miles for the upgrade (which I have done in the past). But I don't imagine price to go down, unfortunately.

Those seats get fully booked. My husband is platinum and he always gets free upgrade to comfort+ on international flights when he books main cabin (automatic after purchase). And if economy gets oversold, they move people up to those seats if there is any available.

Some people in the forum have had luck getting lower prices but you have to keep checking frequently. There is no way to predict if the cost will come down and I suspect pricing is based on current situation (fuel prices, etc). FWIW I've never seen an upgrade price that low, but I fly from the west coast.

Joy, I just clicked on that trip segment; the app did not ask about upgrading whole trip. I looked at changing the whole trip to Delta Comfort and it was about $550, but I would have to change my flight times and have shorter layovers which I didn’t want to do. Unfortunately I do not have many Delta miles. Thanks for responding.

Since there are still many open seats on comfort+, I would keep checking next few days to see if price goes down.

Earlier this year, I bought a ticket for my trip to Krakow in September. And I just got message from Delta that flight time has changed and I have now a shorter connection than I wanted. I'm looking at alternative options to change for free. I'm just saying that your original flight may have some changes as they adjust schedules. So good to keep checking anyway to make sure all is the same (sometimes I don't get email from Delta letting me know of a change, but I did this time).

I bought my ticket at comfort+, but the same itinerary is significant more expensive now. So if had bought main, upgrade would be pricey. But flights to Rome are some of the most expensive on Delta I think. Good luck!

Flying from the west coast to Rome on Delta premium comfort is $4,000+ (pre gas hikes about $3400) so it all sounds like a bargain to me.

Sometimes, non-US airlines have an option to bid on seat upgrades fairly far in advance
of the flight. For Delta, my guess is at best, you might get an option to upgrade for a bit
less than what you're seeing now at check-in time.

Just to be sure, I would verify the cancellation policies/charge for your existing ticket.
If, for instance, it's fully refundable, you may find at some point that buying a new ticket
in Delta Comfort is less than the cost of upgrading. Not likely, but you'll never know
unless you check. And in this game, checking frequently is the name of the game. But
do it on off times (like, Tuesday morning) where there may be a bit of dropoff in demand.

We fly internationally on Delta usually 2 times a year. I find you get better deals 10-12 months out especially if using miles. For example our flight in April 2026 we purchased main cabin in May 2025 and I checked the upgrade prices weekly. I was able to get upgraded to Premium Select for $250 for the leg Zürich to JFK and $69 for comfort plus Atl to Munich (unfortunately that flight premium select was $1200). Never saw those kind of prices again. Just got more expensive the closer the flight.

I recommend you look every single day without fail.

I upgraded from Comfort to Delta One for my April trip and literally looked every day. Some days it was $3600!! Or $2600. I finally caught the outbound international leg from Seattle to Paris for about $790 and grabbed it. A few weeks later I saw the inbound international leg for $890 and grabbed it.

So be persistent!

I 100% agree with what Pam said and have had similar experiences. I am currently looking to upgrade our September Premium Select tickets to Delta One and I check daily for a price change. Since booking the tickets, the upgrade price has fluctuated a few thousand dollars for two tickets.

I know the world and economy are different right now, but on a previous trip I waited to see the price I wanted and upgraded 2 tickets for less than a thousand dollars. I may not see a price I want, but until we depart, I will check prices daily; sometimes more than once.

I am currently looking to upgrade our September Premium Select tickets to Delta One and I check daily for a price change.

My flight in September on Delta, SEA-AMS, it does not give me option to upgrade to Premium Select from Comfort+. It shows "greyed out" but I can tell which ones are available (with X) versus occupied. Most seats have X so they are blocking those for paying customers I assume. I check everyday since I am hopeful to move to bulkhead on Comfort+ if one becomes available. It is my routine to check every morning and night for any new/better seat.