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I posted the news that Pay With Miles (PWM), a perk of the Delta AMEX cards, as of the 24th of December was open to not just 1st class tickets but also to coach tickets. I also posted that it really shakes up the math of just when you should just take an award ticket and when you should at least think about buying the ticket instead.
I also posted about an update from Delta about the bug that it is NOT displaying the correct information on Delta.com when you go to PWM. Frustrating – sure!
Well Delta has sorta started fixing this information. Now if we take this itinerary and pay for it the numbers DO display correctly (just to be clear, I am NOT saying do this for this trip – just an example).
And if we take $100 off with 10,000 Skymiles the MQMs stay the same but notice the Skymiles drop (I am a Diamond FYI).
And if we take $250 off with 25,000 Skymiles the MQMs stay the same but notice the Skymiles drop again.
But when we go all the way up to $300 the numbers drop to ZEROs.
The same thing happens if we wipe off that last 60 cents with 5000 Skymiles more (again NOT saying you should do this – it is just an example).
So what can we take from this? We have the updated wording from Delta and we have the experience from those in the past who HAVE gotten full points in 1st class.
Bottom line – don’t freak out – don’t stress out (yet). At some point I am sure Delta will fix this (maybe). For now, worst case, we can email Delta to get the points you should get, that is, the above numbers just don’t jive with what we have seen. This is clearly still a Delta IT work in progress! – René
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To set up a European river cruise, I’ve been pricing multi-city open-jaw tickets on Delta.com. The segments taking me from the US to Amsterdam show PWM Eligible, but when I continue the process and select segments for my return from Budapest to the US, the completed open-jaw itinerary does not offer a PWM option. I’ve assumed that this had something to do with KLM operating some the of the DL coded flights, but now I wonder if it’s a Delta.com system glitch. Comments?
@Glen – should only work on Delta metal as far as I understand. For example, even a ATL-CDG direct on AF does not allow PWM.
One thing to consider when doing the PWM is that the first class/biz tickets still get MQM, as previously mentioned in Rene’s blog, and I have proven personally multiple times. However, I have a ticket for tomorrow that I booked that way and had to modify….it was a very long and frustrating call with the Diamond desk as they cannot book that way and are limited on options. So be aware that a change later may require more work and patience. Good news is that I finally sorted it out. I use this feature occasionally to ensure First/Biz on longer segments since even as MM DM upgrades can be tough.
Hi Rene,
I’m still trying to get my arms around how this works. I’m a PM with a Delta Reserve Amex.
Let’s say I’m looking at a ticket that costs $500 total. If I buy the ticket with cash, I obviously get all the MQMs (for the actual mileage flown), and then $500 x 9 (Platinum medallion multiplier) = 4,500 points
I think I’m pretty clear that if I pay with miles, I still get the full credit of MQMs; my question is about the regular points.
For example, if I buy the ticket for $250 cash and $250 worth of PWM, do I still get the 4,500 points, or only 2,250 points for the actual dollars spent?
Thanks in advance for your help!
i needed to book to europe and kept trying to look at flights and $$$ they all said can PWM but when i went to really pay it would not let me ..i called the diamond desk with in a few hours after this to get it fixed but was told could not PWM ??????? confused as the same flights even the day before were PWM…