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I am stunned. What a change in attitude from a few years ago. Of those who voted, over 33% of respondents no longer feel it is worthwhile to work to hold Delta Platinum elite Medallion status. WoW! Now I expected Silver and Gold to be somewhere in the 50-50 range but I really thought all would be on board to see the Platinum status still had value. I thought it would be north of 90% who say YES! Gosh, I can’t wait to see how tomorrow’s vote goes when we talk about Diamond status and I give away a real, nice (but small, under a 1/4 carrot) very clear and sparkly genuine Diamond!
But for now we have this week’s SWAG winner and per Random.org it is #129 Sam who simply said YES! Congrats Sam, I will reach out to you via email to get your prize on the way. – René
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People are just wrong in this case.
I get tons of value out of my PM status. I’m 7/9 for upgrades so far this year (one using a RUC). The ability to change or cancel awards for free is huge, and has saved me about $450. C+ at booking is also really important, as I’ve found practically no advantage to the T-72 window vs T-24 when dealing with GM vs FO.
I think that people are just upset that they aren’t getting upgraded as much anymore. While I understand why people might be unhappy, Delta is ultimately a business, one that is best served by being able to sell every seat possible. It’s nice to get upgraded from time to time, but no one should be mad when they don’t get it every time. If you want first, buy it. If you buy economy, expect to sit in economy. That’s my new motto.
I chased and maintained my status for several years, but no more. I’m not chasing any airline status. Instead, I’ll just purchase the cheapest business-class (international) or first-class (domestic) ticket I can find. I’ve let my diamond status downgrade to platinum. For me, it wasn’t really about changes to the formula for determining how many miles I received on flown flights. Rather, it was little things — the comfort-plus changes, screwing me over for flying with my wife, taking away my ability to book an around-the-world award ticket (an aspiration of mine), and the devaluation of partner airlines (what’s the point of Sky Team?). I’ll fly Delta if it makes sense, but I’ll also fly United, American, Alaska and even Hawaiian now.
As I mentioned in another post this week I decided to [say goodbye] to Delta. I have been loyal for the last 10 years but now as a PM I don’t feel I am getting enough to be loyal anymore. So far this year I had 10 round trips with Delta. I got 0-10 upgrades to MSP. Yes, none!!!! However, Mr. Anderson offered me to upgrade for $169 when I checked in at MCO. When I looked for 4 tickets from MSP to GRU for my family AA gave me a great connection at DFW for $600 per person all included. Delta’s cheapest option was $1,300 per person with connections at DCA and MCO which would take me over 24 hours of travel time. Also, when flying international with my family I can no longer get Economy Comfort by the time I book my flights. Thus, being loyal to Delta is no longer worth to me. As a hub hostage I will still fly Delta when it is convenient and price is competitive but I will no longer give them preference just to keep my status. When I fly international for business I fly paid business anyway so having status won’t add much. Being an AA lifetime Gold will be enough to give me what I need on domestic flights. Bye, bye Mr. Anderson!!! I know the $50k+ I was giving to Delta every year won’t make a dent on its financials but watch out because if more people like me take their business elsewhere than you will see what will happen to your stock price.
@william: you said “if you want first, buy it” Wrong!!!! Delta is messing up with business travelers that have a choice. My company pays over $50k per year for my airline tickets and I can chose any airline. However, I can only book business/first IF my flight is over 5 hours. Thus, your argument does not work for many business travelers. Even if it is just $100 more my corporate policy won’t allow me to buy a first class ticket. Thus, being loyal to Delta made sense since I would get that upgrade. Now that is no longer the case so loyalty does not matter anymore.
@Santastico: Your corporate travel policy is the reason I suspect Delta is making all the changes to comfort-plus and eventually–hopefully–moving it to premium economy. They’re up-selling domestic first-class and absent Hollywood types and Wall Street bankers flying JFK-LAX/SFO, there’s very few frequent flyers whose corporate policy allows them to buy domestic first-class or international business-class. Not that the product is really worth what is charged. I need to fly to Singapore for work. Delta’s cheapest airfare is about $6,000 for my dates; it’s as high as $12,000. I can fly China Eastern, a Delta partner, for half the $6,000 in business-class and even international first-class for less than what Delta is charging me. Or I could save a lot of money and book an entire row of coach-class tickets and have poor man’s first-class.
@william you do realize selecting C+ at time of booking goes away in May, right? Well you feel the same when you are on the C+ “upgrade” list and get an “upgrade” from an exit aisle or window to a C+ middle seat, decide you don’t want that but your exit row is now gone, so you are stuck with a middle seat on a flight that you booked way in advance? As @Rene has been saying I think there are so many people that have no clue about this devastating change that is coming in May. I have spoken with coworkers and many random people that have no idea this is coming.
@David R – Agree. Most are 100% clueless and will be shocked to the core. Delta has not thought this one through.
I ditched Delta this year after several years of being Platinum. It was to the point where I really wasn’t getting upgraded anymore and was spending a lot of needless time connecting in Atlanta just so I could earn my MQMs. As a DC-area flyer, the “new” American makes more sense anyway – but being ExecPlat on AA has been great. 100% upgrades so far – although many have cleared at the gate. And I won’t complain about a hot meal and freshly baked cookies between DCA and ORD, even though Delta will try to tempt me with a snack basket.
On the downside, Delta’s planes seem fresher than AA’s and I generally find the Delta ground staff to be far more courteous. So, pluses and minuses.
@william says “Delta is ultimately a business, one that is best served by being able to sell every seat possible.”. Wanna know how they were able to sell me the 116 seats I sat in last year? By giving me complimetary upgrades and all the other perks that come with my DM status and make my extensive travel much easier and more comfortable. The mistake that Delta is making is assuming that, when they upsell all of those first class seat that would/should/could have been mine, I will still have a reason/incentive to keep buying my 116 seats only on Delta. Bottom line – they won’t end up selling every seat possible, because they are not going to be selling me the 116 I have bought each year because of all the perks they have now taken away.