Delta Sky Miles Changes: How long will Ed Bastian last?

[Markola]

https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/delt...its-skymiles-loyalty-program-in-42-years.html

This brief article interprets the happy talk gobbledygook announcement from Delta itself lately about deep changes to their Sky Miles program, making qualification for different medallion levels far harder, limiting access to Sky Clubs, and causing Delta branded Amex card holders to rethink whether it’s worth owning one. Basically, the whole program is being recalibrated to serve only those who spend very big bucks within the Delta ecosystem.

Personally, I live in a Delta hub city and have a Delta Platinum Amex. Assuming they keep the free annual companion fare, I’ll probably keep the card. The Sky Clubs clubs are not a big deal to me. The last few times I was in one, they were more crowded and unpleasant than the terminals. Folks at work who fly a lot and have a lot of Delta status are upset though.

My post title was in jest. American Airlines already pioneered these changes and survived, and I’m sure Delta thought it all through fully.

 

[DrRoy]

I haven't qualified for Medallion since I stopped flying on business. I also live in a hub city and will keep it for the companion ticket, although I haven't been able to use it for the last couple years since we have only flown international.

 

[HawkOwl]

I have been Platinum Elite for the last six years, and this will be my last year. Requiring $18,000 spent on air tickets per year simply puts it out of my reach.

 

[athena53]

The shareholders probably love him. One travel writer wryly observed that if more customers are grumbling about the deterioration in an airline's service it's time to buy their stock.

As soon as one US legacy carrier starts taking away perks or increasing their costs the others follow. The same travel writer refers to it as "the race to the bottom". I'm lifetime Gold on AA, which does get me free seat selection and checked bags. I also have the Executive MasterCard- got it for the lounge access and the 60,000-mile sign-on bonus. They increased the annual fee substantially right after I got it- not sure if I'll renew. It's been a good deal this year because I booked more family travel on AA and my granddaughters LOVE the lounge at ORD, where we go twice a year to visit the Children's Museum, but they're pretty laid-back and would be fine with the food court offerings, too.

I fly Business Class on long hauls so any airline will pander to me.

 

[tulak]

I’m a Delta Medallion bottom feeder. I’ve managed to maintain Silver Medallion status the last couple of years. They’ve doubled the qualifying amount from 3k to 6k. Looks like I’m going to be out of luck next year, unless I decide to BTD for better seats.

I’m not ready to do that, so I’ll start price shopping with other airlines. Luckily I have a few options. I’ll still fly Delta, as long as the price is right, since they’ve offered reasonably good and consistent service.

The biggest benefit for SM is free seat selection. That’s saved me quite a bit, especially when traveling with others.

I looked at the AMEX option to get platinum, but it never made sense. No way I’d spend that much on that card and pass up 2%+ from other CC.

 

[Marc]

I have been DL Medallion since 1998. Since I retired I have maintained at least GM and PM with all the rollover during the pandemic. I make 2MM and lifetime GM next month. I have the Reserve card last few years to help me make it to 2MM; I am undecided at to whether to keep it next year; I like companion ticket and the clubs; but we only fly a few times a year. What I will definitely do with new rules is not use the card for day to day expenses; they will either go on CSR for travel (basically a 4.5% kickback) or my 2% cash back fidelity visa. I don't see the new rules impacting DL too much (we all agree too many qualified for PM or DM) but might really impact Amex.

Marc

 

[Markola]

I fly Business Class on long hauls so any airline will pander to me.

I made a list of Reasons to be Wealthier and this was near the top. I’m not comfortably there yet financially but I upgrade whenever I can. I’m 6’2” and, I know it’s not their fault and parenting is a tough job but, at this point, it’s worth money to me to not be in the screaming kids section.

 

[fosterscik]

No real change for me although I regularly fly Delta - just not quite enough to get medallion status in any given year. With increased requirements it's a never to be achieved status. I do carry a Delta Amex gold card, but that's to get free checked baggage for me and my companions (DW!). Even though it has a $90 annual fee it's quickly recovered when we fly. $30/bag for each of us, and that applies on outbound and return. So 1 trip is $120 saved, easily repaying the annual fee. It's hard to fly anywhere with full scuba gear without checking bags...

 

[braumeister]

No real change for me although I regularly fly Delta - just not quite enough to get medallion status in any given year.

Same for me, although I do have a lifetime Sky Club membership unless they decide to change that too.

 

[brett]

I belong to several frequent flyer plans. No longer traveling for business.

Several of them have announced that they have/are 'upgrading' and 'improving' their plans.

Without exception this has meant two things. Less mileage credit, higher redemption rates...some significant.

Our loyalty is now to price and schedule.

Having said that our last Delta redemption was on a one way flight to Bangkok. The reward point required for our preferred KAL carrier was significantly less and the routing significantly better than the Delta flights offered.

The redemption points required were significantly less that another airline program we belong to.

Alas, we have just about exhaused our airline program points. Only thing left is our Marriott Bonvoy points.

 

[audreyh1]

Well United went through a major miles program “upgrade” a couple of years ago that put most of the tiers out of our reach and have you earning miles at a lower rate. Will they tweak again? We expect to finally qualify for silver again after a couple of years of no tier.

They did at least keep extending the deadlines for using some travel credits from 2019. We were finally able to use them up this year. I didn’t expect and it was a nice surprise perk.

 

[marko]

Lifetime Diamond status here. Haven't flown in a few months but agree on the Sky Clubs being more crowded than the terminal. And I do find they're constant rule changes annoying.

 

[Markola]

No real change for me although I regularly fly Delta - just not quite enough to get medallion status in any given year. With increased requirements it's a never to be achieved status. I do carry a Delta Amex gold card, but that's to get free checked baggage for me and my companions (DW!). Even though it has a $90 annual fee it's quickly recovered when we fly. $30/bag for each of us, and that applies on outbound and return. So 1 trip is $120 saved, easily repaying the annual fee. It's hard to fly anywhere with full scuba gear without checking bags...

I totally forgot about baggage charges being included. That is indeed a real savings. We have the Platinum one, which also has the free annual companion ticket, which alone repays the $250, I think, annual fee. The companion fare + free baggage makes that card a downright bargain, so I’ve decided to keep it, and only use it for Delta purchases.

 

[athena53]

Lifetime Diamond status here. Haven't flown in a few months but agree on the Sky Clubs being more crowded than the terminal. And I do find their constant rule changes annoying.

What's been a real disappointment to me has been the uncertainty around day passes- and that's not just Delta. They stop selling them when the clubs get crowded. I fly domestic Coach only infrequently but had an early-evening flight from Seattle to KC (probably through some hub- I forget) after checking out of my hotel nearby late that morning. No problem- I figured I'd just buy a day pass at hang out at the Admiral's Club. Nope. In the terminal I was in they said they were no longer selling them but one in the other terminal was. So, I took a crowded tram there (this was August, 2021 after vaccinations but COVID still a real threat). Nope. They weren't selling them, either. The trip back to my original terminal required TWO crowded trams. I desperately needed an adult beverage by then and the bars were elbow-to-elbow. Nope to that, too.

I really liked that option when I had a long layover and wasn't qualified by ticket/destination. Now I can no longer count on it but can't see paying $595 to renew my AA Executive Mastercard just for lounge access and some extra miles.

 

[braumeister]

I had several trips in and out of London Heathrow a couple of months ago, and was astonished at how unpleasantly crowded all the airport lounges were. I had access to several through Priority Pass, but most were worse than the main terminal. The only one that was actually pleasant was the Lufthansa lounge.

 

[athena53]

I had several trips in and out of London Heathrow a couple of months ago, and was astonished at how unpleasantly crowded all the airport lounges were.

Oh, goody. I'm flying through LHR next week and then on my return a month later. Hopefully traffic will have slowed a bit since school is back in session and the BA Lounge Dragons (I'm in Business Class so should have access) will live up to their reputation and keep the population down.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

We acquired the Platinum Delta Amex card just this year to help my DW keep Gold Medallion status, and that seems to have worked (to cover the MQD minimum spend requirement). But her typical flights and spending wouldn't qualify her under next year's rules. BUT, she may barely qualify if we get a Reserve DL Amex. I'll have to pencil it out, but that is probably what we will wind up doing...

 

[Markola]

I fly Delta tonight and was looking around the upgraded app, which now keeps track of your progress to Million Miler status. Million Miler itself has status categories up to SIX MILLION MILES!

Can you imagine? That is a prize no one wants to win, lol.

 

[HawkOwl]

I fly Delta tonight and was looking around the upgraded app, which now keeps track of your progress to Million Miler status. Million Miler itself has status categories up to SIX MILLION MILES!

Can you imagine? That is a prize no one wants to win, lol.

Lol, more like a (token) compensation.

 

[marko]

I fly Delta tonight and was looking around the upgraded app, which now keeps track of your progress to Million Miler status. Million Miler itself has status categories up to SIX MILLION MILES!

Can you imagine? That is a prize no one wants to win, lol.

I did. I'm lifetime Diamond. Best times of my life.

 

[Texas Proud]

In my short time that i did travel for business I went to the clubs a few times (not Delta) and was not impressed with any except for Virgin in London...



Unless you have a long connection I do not want to waste my time in them...



I only have United but it appears that all programs are getting worse... and some by a lot... I was lucky and cashed some of my miles for a trip to Hawaii next year... but most reward travels cost a lot of miles and I usually just paid for the cheaper cash ticket...

 

[braumeister]

Long, long ago I was a very frequent international flyer on Pan Am (remember them?). Their airport lounges (Clipper Club) were wonderful and I always enjoyed using them on layovers. I flew so much they offered me a lifetime membership for a one time payment of a few hundred bucks. I jumped at that.

Much later, when Pan Am went under, Delta bought most of their routes, and the Clipper Club membership went along with it. To their credit, Delta has continued to honor my lifetime membership (called Sky Club today), something very much appreciated.

 

[ncbill]

the only way clubs/lounges will be decent again is if the various ones start charging $500+ annually regardless of whatever status a flyer has with that airline.

 

[FlaMariner]

Was a "road warrior" (2011 to 2019) during the last chapter of the w*&k time.

Perfect timing to amass the miles and we've been burning them up as fast as we can (Japan next month, free flight and hotel).....I've noticed the value of a mile (air or hotel) keeps dropping....And reaching the tiers of status was a distracting goal back then.....Our goal now is to enjoy spending the miles on fun travel now as fast as we can and we look forward to being a "free agent".

Chasing status on Delta was fun then....it seems like a "fools errand" to me now. And even more so after I tried to understand Delta's new scheme......

 

[DuluthGA]

As a lifetime silver thanks to million miler who hasn’t flown for work since 1996 I like the changes. My upgrade priority went from 6th to 3rd. Prior to them catering to the card spend folks I frequently was upgraded on leisure travel. Only had 1 in the last 5 years since.