I am really looking forward to the 2015 Freddie awards ceremony! After all, they are going to be in Atlanta in the amazing Delta Flight Museum attached to Delta headquarters and just across from the ATL airport!
Now I have very few illusions that Delta is going to win anything at all, as voted on by flyers that is. They were barely even nominated two years ago, only won a non-voted on award last year regarding Crossover Rewards with SPG, and I hardly think anyone flying is going to vote for Delta with the introduction and soon implementation of the Skymiles2015 program.
But what will REALLY be funny is what I think will happen that night. You see Alaska and our dear Delta are not really getting along all that well (if you have not noticed). No, let me show you:
- Have reduced corresponding elite perks and AS matched DL
- Have reduced club benefits but AS has pushed back a bit
- Have released new award charts for flying Delta (AS has that is)
- Have been poaching elites from each other with status matches
- In an all out knock down drag out for domination of SEA
So we have just a teeny tiny little bit of animosity between the two rival companies that are, at least on “paper”, partner airlines working together.
Now everyone can clearly see that the new 2015 Alaska award chart is amazing. They are taking the stand that they can win more business by rewarding everyone who flies their airline (I know, right! what a shocking concept). They are also rewarding those who pay the most even MORE than before while not making the rest of the 98% feel second rate (again, what an idea).
Thus when it comes to this year, that is the 2015 awards, I think Alaska is going to hit a TON of home runs. They will be nominated in EVERYTHING (they can be) and win many of the categories they are competing in. This, to me, is not just speculation but almost a foregone conclusion at this point in the year. All Alaska reps have to do is just show up and collect the accolades and prizes. Can you even imagine the marketing windfall they will have in grabbing flyers from Delta?
As someone who loves points programs and feeling appreciated it will be a very interesting night to watch the Alaska “suits” walking past the Delta folks over and over again to accept the awards and pose for photos around all the Delta props around the museum. Good times and I will be sure to tweet a bunch each step along the way! – René
PS – I will have limited time to answer questions for the next few days on the blog and via e-mail!
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Rene, Is it worth it for me to pay for the 2000 extra flight miles i will need this year to make Platinum in March, 2015 ? I don’t have time to fly anywhere – and I did not want the Amex Reserve card until next year….
Thanks! Marilyn
@marilyn – sure there are many short hops that will get you 2k and we all know PM is worth much more than GOLD next year!
I think it will more likely be a split between AA and Alaska, simply because American refused to devalue and are the last of the global US carriers to go with real miles instead of points called miles
More evidence of the ugly divorce between Delta and Alaska-you never see Alaska flights, even code share, which do still exist, when you “Book a trip” on the Delta website. If the Delta Drones do read the blog, here is a message to them: The only thing that has keep my loyalty and keep me from defecting to Alaska is the Seattle bonus. If that is not continued in 2015, I will swap my DM Status with Alaska.