Downgraded: How much more can Delta alienate its frequent flyers?
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Delta Airlines must have been watching the recent downgrades at US Airways and United and thought, “Gee, those airlines are doing such a great job pissing off their passengers! Why can’t WE frustrate our best customers like that?…”
Sure, they had tried before. They had previously declawed their SkyMiles program by watering down their “anytime” SkyChoice awards — the tickets that cost double the miles but formerly guaranteed a seat on the airline if any empty seats were available. (Versus the capacity-controlled tickets that most travelers seek out.)
At the time of that devaluation, you may remember this sidebar in my post:
As an added bonus, there’s this nugget of a policy change on the site, too: “Some airline partners impose a surcharge on Award Travel redemptions for travel on their airline. These charges will be collected at the time of booking.”
Bad enough — and yes, those fees exist, and they vary — but it’s even worse: It’s not just itineraries booked solely on partner airlines that get slapped with an obnoxious fee. If you use miles to book an itinerary that combines Delta and any partner airline, there’s a $25 surcharge. Just because you’re using one of their business partners. (Hat tip to Chris Elliott.)
What’s the point of alliances — and heck, frequent flyer mile programs — if you need to keep paying real cash on top of the miles? Delta’s miles just lost more value. Again.
And as Gary Leff pointed out a few weeks ago, actually making that reservation is worse now, too. In a gratuitous move, you can no longer put itineraries on hold over the phone. And remember, you can’t book every itinerary online using miles. Other airlines still offer a 48- or 72-hour hold, which is useful for making reservations for hotels, etc. No longer: Now you ticket immediately, or lose the itinerary.
Someone explain how we can call this a “loyalty program” any longer? And where is the SaveSkyMiles.com crowd, so vocal back in 2003, on any of this?
The sun is setting on Delta SkyMiles.
Related:
- Another stab in the back of frequent flyers
- Flight Mitosis: Delta splits your nonstops into two
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April 4th, 2008 at 9:24 am |
Well put. Although it’s nothing new, Delta’s one-class, one-way upgrade program using miles is getting increasingly worthless. As a Platinum Medallion member, I was told yesterday that if I wanted to upgrade any leg of my upcoming Atlanta-Tokyo (with stopovers) trip for which I paid about $2k, I could not use miles unless I paid another $2k to “upgrade” the fare, and then 25k-40k miles on top of that for a one-leg upgrade. Despite the fact I’m Atlanta-based and it usually makes sense to fly Delta, I usually make the loyal choice regardless to watch my miles build up. Now I’m doubtful that there’s even a point to the whole system, besides duping their most loyal customers into thinking their miles mean something.
April 7th, 2008 at 3:27 pm |
Sad but true, the sun is indeed setting. These changes keep getting more and more pathetic. I have one final Delta awards ticket, to head back to Bucharest in June, but afterwards I don’t think I’ll consider transferring any AmEx points to Delta unless I get desperate.
It’s a real shame, because in other areas they’ve been improving recently– more international destinations especially in Africa and Europe, and the new reclining coach seats– but if you screw over your most loyal customers, good luck sustaining growth.
April 15th, 2008 at 3:30 am |
Couldn’t agree more. I will never fly Delta again. They bumped us off a business flight from Atlanta to Frankfurt (due to the weather) put us on economy next day. I have tried to get a refund but they keep telling me we had a ‘complimentary upgrade’. Complimentary = free, but we paid Business prices and were not told when booking that it was a Complimentary upgrade. The way they treat paying (and loyal) customers is a disgrace. Ann in Germany
April 15th, 2008 at 9:14 pm |
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