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If you have a Delta SkyBonus account and points expiring at the end of 2021, you may want to take a few minutes and give them a call.
Why?
While leisure travel is certainly “coming back” right now, business travel is lagging.
A recent AICPA survey revealed that less than half of the respondents “predicted a significant uptick in domestic business travel through the end of the year.”
And SkyBonus is, after all, a program rewarding business flights on Delta and certain SkyTeam partners. There are still restrictions on some global travel. Plus, if Delta wants business people to get out of virtual settings and back in the air, it needs to do something to keep its business travelers happy for a while.
I tried redeeming points yesterday to upgrade a couple of flights. (Emphasis on “tried” — because it’s practically impossible to find available inventory. And that assumes your fare class meets their requirements.)
I asked the rep if points will roll over to 2022.
The rep said that there’s been no announcement yet. He added that SkyBonus is keeping a list of accounts that specifically ask if expiring points will roll over to next year. So it sounds like if there’s enough demand, SkyBonus might extend expiring points another year. I’m certainly not planning on it — and looking for ways to burn my points ASAP.
If you haven’t checked your SkyBonus balance and point expiration date in a while, head on over to their site. If you have points expiring this year, I suggest calling 877-832-5211 and selecting option 1 on the auto-answer system. That’ll eventually get you to a rep. Tell them you want to be placed on the list of companies asking about expiring points. They’ll ask for your SkyBonus account number, so make sure to have it handy.
A couple of things to keep in mind:
- This assumes all reps know about “the list.” Considering that some Delta Diamond Medallion reps don’t know about award tickets earning MQM, MQD, and MQS, you may have to try a couple of times to get the “right” agent.
- My wait time to speak to a rep was about five minutes. That’s far shorter than the three hours it took to get a call back earlier this week from the Delta Platinum line to deal with the myriad Saturday schedule changes.
Final Approach
We don’t yet know if Delta SkyBonus will extend expiring points into 2022. But the program is keeping a list of people asking about the issue. So give SkyBonus a call and let them know you’re curious.
Featured image: ©iStock.com
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
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.
Thanks for the info.
Even though SkyMiles award tickets do earn MQM, MQS and MQD in 2021, be aware that SkyBonus award tickets are specifically excluded from those earnings:
“The bonus applies to nearly all Delta tickets but excludes travel on partner airlines, mileage upgrade awards, exception fares (not including flights that are a part of a Delta Vacations package), upgrades purchased at check-in or the gate, and purchases/mileage redemptions of non-air products or fees and SkyBonus Award Certificates.”
Just called and they said points would be extended a year.