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I am really getting sick of this Delta. This morning I warned you to reach out to ADAM and look to burn your AA points ASAP and your SkyMiles as well as, unlike AA, Delta makes changes and tells NO ONE! It has happened yet again. Just take a look.
First off, trying to find LEVEL 1 Delta metal awards from the USA to Australia is sorta like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. Yeah, it is not gonna happen unless you get a Schedule Change and can switch to Delta jets. But there have been other choices that can work to save points.
Yes, you can sometimes find space, if you really look, on partners like Korean Air, via ICN, for LEVEL 1 in business class each way for 160,000 points round trip. Not cheap, but not bad. Those days are over after 1NOV16.
Just like the unannounced change from USA to Israel that my fellow blogger Gary from View From the Wing blogged about, it seems the same change has hit trips to Australia, that is, the price has JUMPED by 30,000 SkyMiles round trip. Thanks Delta. Honesty, Integrity and Respect is sure what we are seeing here.
This should not really surprise us. Delta shamefully and unapologetically hides award charts (that they still use and clearly update) and also says because of “legal” reasons cannot tell us about award changes when all the other airlines on the planet inform us in advance of changes. Disgusting and this complete lack of trust and honesty makes me just physically ill.
What can you do? Not much other than either spend your $kyRubles on over priced drinks in the $kyPubs or book trips before these unannounced changes kick in. If you think things are going to get better you are living in a dream world. Burn your SkyMiles as fast as you can folks! – René
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With the big 3 carriers’ squeeze continuing, the days of the reasonable mileage programs are just about closed. I just cashed in 137K AA miles for F awards on CX and QR before the 22 March devaluation. As for Australia LifeMiles is still decent which is 80K for one way US-OZ in J. The increases are planned to squeeze out as many players as possible. Saver level space in AA and UA to Europe has been very bad for a long time now (unless you want to fly BA and incur the high fuel surcharge). LifeMiles is a hit or miss, but sometimes you can get a bonus routing. Example: FRA-ICN-LAX in J class on Lufthansa and then Asiana for 63K miles one way, the normal cost for a Europe-US direct. So two J long hauls for 31,500 miles! Use ’em or lose ’em to devaluation!
Agree with the above comment. I’ve given up on using Delta miles. I’ve been trying to piece together an Australian trip and award space LAX to SYD or MEL is regularly 250k miles one way in business.
How is it “no notice” when they tell you in March that it will change in November? I’m not a fan of the change but what is your prescribed protocol that would constitute “notice?”
@Walter – They are effective immediately. Other airlines give you 1 year notice IE change will happen on THIS date and as long as you book by that date you can have 1 more year at lower price. Delta, not so much. We did not tell you it is just now in place! And again, they tell no one.
Frustrating. I’m accumulating Pesos and MR’s very quickly. Perhaps too quickly with shopping portals, bonuses and the odd F fare. Delta’s flights have been packed. Capacity is being controlled. Economy is pretty good.
Add all that up?
I fear by the time the Mrs actually agrees to go to SYD etc… the minimum Ruble requirement for an rt will be one million even at Saver level.
Time to burn them to Europe.
As an aside, if there is anything positive to come from these almost monthly devals is that my chase to status might simply go away.After all, not sure being more than Gold means much. Or perhaps, that’s EXACTLY what DAL wants??
It’s not just Australia, and it’s even sneakier than you wrote.
My wife and I need to fly BUE-MCO on a specific date. A couple of weeks ago, I found two Skymiles C seats for 75K (AEP-GRU on AR; GRU-MCO on DL). I had enough miles for one ticket, but needed more for the second. So, I redeemed the first seat and applied for the Delta Amex Gold card knowing that the bonus miles associated with opening a new account would put me over the top. I received the card, met the spend threshold, and received my bonus miles today. Immediately on seeing the miles in my account, I went to delta.com…and found that the same flights — with no more seats having been booked since I redeemed our first one — were now 125K, a 67% increase! (A 75K seat was available on AM though MEX, but that leaves early morning the next day, is on an inferior product, and would require a hefty change fee for my wife’s ticket if we want to fly together…and we do.)
To make it even more frustrating, Delta was paid for the bonus credit card miles by American Express, so they earned money while returning nothing of value to me (plus my credit rating went down in the process because I opened the new account.) I feel scammed.
Yes, it’s a game, and yes I was playing it in a way that I hoped would be advantageous to me and my family, but it’s not right for the kid who owns the ball to change the rules, without notice, in the middle of the game.
And this is why I don’t fly Delta. They are so mercenary in their approach that I don’t give them my revenue business, anymore. I used to love this airline, promoted it, stuck up for it in conversations. Heck, I’m a Million Miler and a former Platinum Medallion. But they stopped treating me like a human being, so I stopped giving them my $.