First-class upgrades based on loyalty status are increasingly limited.
Many airlines are prioritizing revenue over long-term loyalty.
Paid or dynamic upgrade systems are replacing fixed-price or complimentary upgrades.
Airline loyalty programs used to be built around making regular passengers feel special.
The idea was to make people want to fly on a specific airline so they could earn more perks and be essentially part of the family.
Some of those perks remain, but many of the things that made people truly loyal have gone away because they’re not profitable for the airline.
In most loyalty programs, you still can earn free flights (although most airlines have raised that bar) and maybe access to airport lounges, but one valuable perk has become less common.
Airlines are much less willing to give away anything they might be able to sell. That means free upgrades, which used to be a core benefit of being very loyal to one airline, have either gone away or become much harder to come by.
Delta Air Lines essentially ends free upgrades
Some airlines have been upfront about eliminating first-class upgrades. United Airlines (UAL) , American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines have done this, but Delta has been more subtle about its implementation.
“Delta is now selling first class upgrades for as little as $26. That’s the lowest price I’ve ever seen, and points to how far they’ll go to avoid offering complimentary upgrades to their best customers. They’ve been on a 10-year journey trying to phase out first class upgrades and they’ve nearly accomplished it. AI and basic business class will help them squeeze out the last bit,” Gary Leff of View from the Wing shared.
United has done something similar, and athough neither airline has fully eliminated the idea of upgrades, they just no longer happen very often.
United and Delta first-class upgrades
United Airlines
Ending instant complimentary upgrades for elites on Y, B, and M fares (Aug. 21, 2025).
Eliminating fixed-price MileagePlus Upgrade Awards (Nov. 24, 2025).
Shifting toward dynamic pricing and fewer “free” upgrade opportunities. Source: United Airlines
Delta Air Lines
Continues complimentary domestic upgrades for Medallion elites, but first class upgrade space has been drastically reduced as more seats are sold.
International long-haul upgrades now require certificates or cash/miles — free upgrades no longer offered. Source: The Points Guy
American Airlines
American has eliminated its mileage-upgrade award chart (as of August 11, 2025). Requests for upgrades using miles no longer follow fixed charts and will instead use a “dynamic/Instant Upgrade” system.
American is phasing out the “500-mile upgrade coupons” (previously needed for certain upgrade requests), converting existing ones to Loyalty Points. Source: American Airlines
American, United, Delta take dollars over loyalty
Leff has called these changes valuing “tens of of dollars” over loyalty.
“American, United and Delta will all take small amounts of money from infrequent flyers instead of offering a free upgrade to a customer that spends $20,000 or $30,000 with them each year,” he noted.
Loyalty program downgrades are not unique to U.S. carriers.
“An analysis of Qantas’ rejigged frequent flyer scheme, by The Australian, shows the value of points for major international routes is effectively being cut by 20%,” News.com reported.
That move, the website noted, matched a cut made by Virgin Airways to its loyalty program.
Delta’s loyalty program has been growing
You can argue that Delta Air Line’s changes, even if they have been subtle, have worked.
Delta President Glen William Hauenstein discussed the program during the airline’s second-quarter earnings call.
Loyalty revenue grew 8% as customer engagement reached new records with millennial and Gen Z segments representing nearly 50% of our active member base. This positions us well to build long-term customer loyalty and capture more share of wallet through our expanding ecosystem.
He credited a lot of that to his company’s partnership with American Express.
Our best-in-class partnership with American Express continues to grow and lead the broader consumer card industry. In the quarter, we saw a record level of spend on our card portfolio, highlighting both the strength of our customer and the appeal of our program. Remuneration from American Express was $2 billion, up 10% over the prior year on double-digit spend growth and momentum in new card acquisitions. We remain on track for full year remuneration of approximately $8 billion, providing durability to both earnings and cash flow.
Hauenstein did at least make comments on trying to improve the loyalty experience.
“While focused on optimizing revenues and margins in the current environment, we are also making steady progress on our longer-term priorities. That includes investing in the travel experience, expanding customer choice, deepening loyalty to the Delta brand and engaging customers beyond their flight,” he added.
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