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Hello! My name is René (yeah, I know, everyone knows that already). It is time for a change for me and the blog. It is time for Delta Points to become Eye of the Flyer – for better travel. I am sure you have a ton of questions of why I am making this change so let me try to knock them out one by one.
The first one is really simple – it is time. Since the beginning of this year, as I clearly published, the blog has taken a big change in direction. Rather than just being an uber and unapologetic Delta Air Lines “fan boy” I shifted to be an ardent proponent for my readers and for myself as a frequent flyer. Delta promised a bunch of things last year and just did not deliver on them with the SkyMiles 2015 program. Rather, they all but decimated the program and kept doing so month after month. But the blog, since the beginning, has always been about maximizing your points in both earning and burning and for YOU to enjoy your travel experience. I pledge to continue this focus and help you combat any despicable travel devaluations!
Beyond all of this the blog is just expanding at crazy levels. Readership, month over month vs. previous year, is up over 65% this year alone. That is truly amazing to me. Plus, since I started blogging over 1 million absolute unique viewers have visited the blog almost 5 million times! I am humbled and so appreciative of my readers. Clearly, folks are appreciating the blog and my independent coverage of what Delta is doing both good (product and service) and bad (SkyMiles). I love being the voice of reason and the source to turn to when it comes to coverage of Delta Air Lines elite and frequent flyer travel!
Does this name change mean I am done flying Delta? Not for now. After all, I have to burn my HUGE stash of $kyRubles at Level 1 prices. I already have a bunch of flights booked on Delta both this year and well into 2016. I will be a Diamond for the next two years with my rollover MQMs. Also, as I have posted, I will not give up on flying Delta at least until I have crossed the 1 million mile mark and have “lifetime” or, as Delta calls it, “annually” Silver Medallion status. Sure, that elite level is not what it once was, but ANY elite status is clearly better than nothing when flying Delta and I am so close to crossing that mark.
I know many questions will come up about American Airlines and Alaska Air. Yes, my intention is, at this point, to fly AA and AS more next year. If it works out I plan to cover and post what it is like as a Delta top Diamond Medallion trying this and if you should consider moving over to that alliance. Also, just how hard is it to do so and is it really better or worse than sticking with Delta. It will be an interesting experiment and I need my complete blog “name” independence to do this.
Many will ask what Delta thinks about all of this. Let me tell you, Delta has been really great to me this year both as a flyer and at different media events. However, I am a full time blogger. I do this for a living. I do not work for Delta CORP. Delta does put up with many fan sites, but again I run my blog as a business and I am not on the Delta payroll (nor do I ever want to be). Plus, my goals are not exactly in line with what Delta, the company, wants. I want my readers to get the best value possible from points and elite status and that is not always necessarily the best thing for the airline. Sure I want Delta to do “well”, just not “that” well if you know what I mean! So this change is good.
So what really changes as of today? Well, I have to order some new shirts and business cards with RenesPoints on them. Yeah, that’s about it plus some weekend tech tweaks from the support staff at “House of Miles” as I am still here at BoardingArea. I also still plan to continue to call out every bad move the SkyMiles team dumps on us as well as praise Delta when they do something #KeepClimbing worthy! Also I am still going to blog about SPG, Hertz and all the hundreds of other topics I always cover. So, really, as soon as I post my next piece we are back to the status quo here on the blog.
Bottom line – Welcome to RenesPoints.com – René
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Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Looking forward to following your journey!
Hooray, congratulations, and GOOD LUCK!
GREAT Move Rene. We’ll change the link over at FTG.com
@MJ – Txs
@Rick – Great and thanks!
@Don – 🙂
@Jane – Me too 😉
Congratulations on the rebrand. Looking forward to more points for better travel.
Let me be the first to congratulate you on the new name and wish you well.
Is it still possible to obtain the 50,000 miles with a ten leg trip to Hawaii that was mentioned somewhere on the site? Am considering taking flights when I’m there (US/Canada) in november – Jan to allow me to maintain my silver medallion status if possible.
I have 1965 miles and require another 23,035 to go, and thought maybe I could achieve it without too much difficulty.
Regards from Australia
John Clements
This is fantastic since your overwhelming positivity will help us all amass many AA/Alaska miles! Oh for an Exec PLat challenge …
Good luck. Excited to hear your new tips and advice.
Do I have to remove my Delta Points luggage tags?
@J – They are now RARE collectors items I was told by someone!
Congrats on the rebrand! (Doing one myself currently.) Looking forward to reading many more helpful posts.
All the best for a successful new journey! I look forward to reading the new blog!!
Congrats on the change and best of luck!
Perfect timing! With moving from TRI to JAX next summer, I will become a bit more of a free agent. Love Delta but if something makes more sense I will. Hardest part will be the reliability and the way I am taken care of in a IROP situation.
I have found being a hotel Free Agent a great deal and currently hold top status or second tier at most major chains.
@DSF – Txs. I agree that with cards and some stays you can get mid-top status with many hotels and get VERY nice results. Even GOLD SPG from AMEX cards get you amazing results most stays I have found in the past.
Congratulations – I have a Delta Points biz card from bumping into you at DTW one time – will ABSOLUTELY save that!
@Levi – LOL it was fun to see you and hope to give you a new one next time we see each other! 😉
Really looking forward to hearing about your new adventure. I think there are a number of folks considering the same thing (myself included). Your rebrand will basically give the rest of us a guide along the way.
I’ve always enjoyed your advice, and am excited about your “repositioning.” I was an exclusive Delta flyer until last year when I status matched to American. As you say, any status is better than no status, and my Delta Silver and American Gold still get me the occasional upgrade, and the more important choice of seats in economy. I fly about 10 cross country trips a year and spend 400K+ on different CCs for my business. I look forward to following this blog to see how best to use my points.
can’t wait. I’m in the same situation. Very close to millionmiller and then I will seriously consider switching. I look forward to meeting you in person in Chicago in a few weeks.
Congratulations! I am looking forward to the new focus you are undertaking.
Glad to hear of your change! I am just a small time silver elite but I changed over to AA last year. I’ve already had 2 business class tickets to Europe using credit card miles and points.
Great news! I’m a Memphian and since Delta dehubbed us, there are usually plenty of other options for me. I’ve been thinking hard about switching over to AA and will be curious what your experience is. I’m about 100k miles from being a Delta Million Miler and after that I’m up for grabs!
Congrats! Wise move. I never choose to fly Delta anymore but always read your blog. Burned all our miles except enough for a USA RT Econ emergency flight. My DeltaPoints t-shirt is now a collector’s item.
Count me in!
Congrats! I’m so happy to see this story, and I’m REALLY looking forward to hearing about your adventures with American Airlines. Welcome to the dAArkside!
Keep up the good work!
Congratulations Rene! I think you will have a blast. I’m looking forward to your posts. It would be great if your MR blog shifts to include AA and AS MRs.
Congratulations on all of the new readers and the re-brand, and as a long-ish time reader (about 3 years now), I’m looking forward to all of the non-Delta information you will be sharing with us. I will only be flying Delta when I have no other decent choice (and will be banking the miles to Alaska).
Cheers!
Just managed to get one-way BWI-ANC mileage tkts on Alaska flight next August (2016) using 12,500 Delta pesos to go to a nephew’s wedding. Never made it beyond Gold on Delta and have dropped back to Silver (only made Silver thru rollover and flying one flight in order to use companion tkt). Only fly on my own dime. There is nothing to get excited about if you have to fly coach on Alaska. Have only flown Alaska once — between LAX and DCA on a Delta mileage ticket on Virgin returning from Australia. It was a single aisle plane and seemed very crowded. The Boardroom at LAX was not worth it IMO.
Swag Saturday? Give away any leftover delta points bag tags, etc., you have left and/or new bag tags an t-shirts. Since they are collectibles, that is. Sure have enjoyed the blog and expect to continue enjoying the blog.
@Christine – Most of the old stuff is gone. I do need to get some new stuff however 😉
Congratulations to you, René.
Rebranding is not easy by any means; and it can be potentially risky. Just look at the history of The Gate, which has been hosted on FlyerTalk twice and BoardingArea twice; redesigned multiple times; and had multiple co-authors over the years — much of which not by my choice. Quite confusing and sometimes frustrating, I must say…
…but you should have no problems whatsoever; and I wish nothing but the best of success and smooth sailing — er…smooth flying — for you going forward.
René –
Congratulations and best of luck with the new site and expanded goals for your readers! Most Excellent.
A technical question: Will all the previous posts be transferred over exactly the same except for the “renespoints” in place of “deltapoints” in the url addresses? Will all previous searches be automatic redirects? I am asking for your readers who might want to search an older story / post.
Cannot wait to talk with you about this more in person when we do that MR later this year!
Wishing you the best! And Alaska Airlines means we might see you more in the PNW (Pacific Northwest) 😉
@laptoptravel – That will happen, at some point, this weekend. I hope. We tested yesterday and crashed the site. I hope it works better next try. Look forward to seeing you soon my friend!
Do I have to trade in my DeltaPoints t-shirt for a RenePoints one?
@Mark R – No but maybe you can get a new one too! Stay tuned. I don’t even have MY new ones yet so…
I certainly understand the name change, but I can’t see a massive change coming, as lately you have been doing a good job of calling out Delta, as well as providing us with the news on other airlines.
Congrats, Rene!! I’m DL Platinum for 2016 but have status matched on AA, so will be flying them a lot in 2016, and much less on DL. Will be interested in reading your posts about AA as you go forward in your new endeavor. Still hoping that DL will rescind some of the “enhancements” they’ve made to SkyMiles, but not holding my breath. Thanks for being and “ardent proponent” for your readers as a frequent flyer.
Thanks for all the info you’ve shared with DeltaPoints and am looking forward to reading more from you on RenésPoints!
Thanks for your valuable contributions to my knowledge about “All Things Delta”. I appreciate your candor and look forward to the continuing saga as SkyMiles evolves.
Congrats Rene. Makes sense. Look forward to even more great info.
Thanks.
Good call, Rene. All the best!
Good luck Rene–I’m sure you have done your research and hope things work out well. It was great to have a place to come for all things Delta and it was your unique niche on the interwebs. I hope you keep some of that focus!
@Gaurav – Oh as I said, I will still be VERY Delta focused even if, again if, I play a bit with the dAArkside of aviation. 😉
Great–would hate to have this turn into Yet Another Pointsblog 🙂
I have made 2016 Diamond already, but between now and December am doing the AA Platinum challenge. I am planning to switch to AA and earn EXP during 2016…. so I WILL be following your blog very closely…. I do LOVE Delta, but the crap they have pulled this past year caused me to do the AA status challenge… there is no other reason. If DL had stayed loyal to us as Diamonds, I would never even consider another airline. Case in point….. this monday i have a 7:30am “prime time” flight ATL-PHL… Coach is 100% sold out…. they have SIX seats still in FC (MD-88) and they are trying to SELL me an upgrade for $369 2 days before the flight!!!! On an MD-88 for 2 hours?? Not exactly a 5 day Diamond Upgrade window. So I am VERY glad you changed your blog, and will be joining you on the AA experiment… Hopefully AA doesn’t screw things up and try to copy DL! 😉
All the best of luck and good wishes to you Rene ! Having watched the delta logo fade into the dark over time I knew something was up and here it is —- as you know for better or worse I remain an ardent Delta customer had hope you continue to be the observant and helpful blogger to that group of us who remain. I can basically fly any airline not so much AS, living In NYC and I do much across the pond flights so sky team is my “go to” but I’m curious about Norwegian due to their amazing fares! I just have a personal bias against AA and united which I cannot kick as I do towards an Airbus 319 due to “events” which is completely irrational though present . Can wait to see you In Chicago !!!! All the best
Congrats. Keep up the great work and please keep calling g out DLs abuse of we poor hub captives. You give us hope!
Congrats and good luck to you. Your blog is the one that brought me into this game, so I will keep reading no matter what you call yourself.
Good move! Even when you were DeltaPoints, you were an independent voice. With all of Delta’s anti-customer changes, it’s good for you to distance yourself from them in your branding.
At a Chicago Seminars break-out session you extolled the advantages of status, especially high status. I achieved Delta Platinum, enjoyed it, parlayed it to United Platinum, and am now AA Exec Plat, which I am enjoying to the hilt. Thanks, Renée, for explaining the perks of status, which I use both for myself and for my flight companions.
Sounds like your base is going to stick with you, Rene. Count me in as one of them.
Hey Rene – Thanks for the years of Delta Points, best wishes for years of Rene’s Points, and congrats on both!
A good change. You’ll keep all your existing readers, and be able to add from the community of people who simply aren’t invested in SkyRubles and thus didn’t immediately see the value in the blog for them. Keep up the good work!
Am I the only one but your new logo reminds me a lot of the new AA logo?
Rene, as long time fan of your blog, this is a great change. I’m the same boat as you. I’m a Diamond now and plan on doing even more travel next year than I did this year. I’ve been contemplating a switch to American but have held off because I live in ATL and Delta is the most convenient travel option for my business travel where direct flights are the key factor. Like you, I like Delta’s product and flight staff but the new SkyMiles program is crap. So, I’m really curious of your foray into AA and will follow your journey there closely to determine if I need to make a switch in 2017.
Due to the devaluation of the Delta Skymiles program, it’s been awhile since I visited your blog, so I was surprised (but pleased) at the name change. Good for you, and good luck!
@D.Sue – You know you can read my blog despite all nasty things Delta has done 😉 Thanks for your kind words. At this point we are up almost 100% in views than before change and growing. Love it! – Rene
I love the blog and follow you religiously on the twitter to ! Happy New Year