When an airline files for Chapter 11, rest assured that many of the freebies will be in shorter supply—in Delta’s case, free elite upgrades with M and B fares at time of ticketing. The programs are like Wall Street bonuses—bestowed liberally in good times, nearly forgotten in bad.

The press release headline that announced Delta’s loyalty program overhaul read wonderfully: “Free elite upgrades to South America for Medallion members.” That’s like getting coal for Christmas. Halfway down the page came the kicker: Free upgrades with M and B fares at time of ticketing will no longer be available. As we’ve reported many times, upgrading on these fares has been very lucrative, especially for lower-tier elites able to bypass their brief upgrade-confirmation window.

Of course, it wasn’t put quite that baldly. The release actually said that only M and B fares will be upgradeable by elites in the five, three and one-day upgrade window—depending on your status level, of course and that Y-fare ticket holders will still receive free upgrades. For those of you who are not fluent in loyalty programmes, here’s the cold, hard truth: Delta’s “free upgrade” train is out of service for many bottom-tier elites.

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Look beyond your home airport It’s a big frequent flyer world out there and you may find information about deals and destinations that will come in handy in some other way.Perhaps by making a connection through another city. Or by purchasing a ticket to a neighboring country or city, and a separate ticket to your destination.

Look at sample fare charts as just that samples If your home airport isn’t mentioned, it doesn’t mean a comparable fare isn’t available from there. We don’t have room to list every fare. Base fares are usually listed, before taxes, fees, etc.

Take offer expiration dates with a grain of salt Airlines often extend promotions, and if we reminded you every time they did we wouldn’t have room for new information although you will still get reminders from time to time about the most important offers.

Cut us some slack Fares listed are accurate when we close a story, but in this web speed world they may have changed by the time they hit your inbox.

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The good: Top-tier elites will have less competition for upgrade seats. The odds of them getting upgraded will increase significantly, perhaps two-fold. If you normally pay Y fares, Delta’s still your airline in 2006.Especially if you travel to South America.

The bad: Delta’s free upgrade program. I much prefer American’s and United’s model of charging for upgrades. Yes—charging for upgrades. This way the upgrades go to those who value them most. It’s just a matter of the upgrade fee, which reduces the number of travelers in the upgrade line, enormously. In other words, serious travelers get upgraded more frequently.

The ugly: If you’re a low-tier elite, you can almost kiss your upgrades goodbye. If you’re not paying a First Class fare or upgrading with miles, exit-row economy is your best bet.

New Central and South American upgrades

The upgrades are available to the following destinations: Belize City, Guatemala City, San Jose and Liberia (Costa Rica), Panama City, San Salvador, Managua, San Pedro Sula and Roatan (Honduras), Bogota, Caracas and Lima.