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It is with such a heavy heart I write this week’s blog review. It has been almost a quarter century since a major airline tragedy has occurred on US soil. Like you, my thoughts are constantly on the lives lost and their families. May this type of accident never happen again.
Each year February 1st is a “reset” day for Delta Air Lines. It marks the start of a new Medallion year that will end on January 31t of 2026. As of that date, unless you qualified (or re-qualified) before January 1st 2025, you will drop down from your last year’s elite level. Not just that but new Sky Club rules, that many are upset about, begin. What will the impact be? Chris breaks it down.
Delta has told us that one of the very popular programs they offer is going away. That program is termed “Bags on Time” that is, if your bags do not make it to baggage claim inside 20 minutes of your arrival you can request 2500 Skymiles. We have proof this week that this program, at least for now, is still up and running.
I personally all but exclusively use LYFT for my ride share rides. They are almost always cheaper than UBER and the cars and drivers are better. Delta has partnered with LYFT for years now and fliers have benefited from the deal. That deal goes away soon as Delta, in their infinite wisdom, has now chosen to (very restrictively btw) reward those who choose UBER. See you if hate these changes as much as we do.
As a frequent floater I spend a lot of my days at sea. I really like the finer things when I am sailing but as a points enthusiast I like to enjoy my nice cruises at a substantial discount vs. retail. For years now, one of the ways I have done this is bidding for cheap suite upgrades on Norwegian. It seems the days of these cheap upgrades is over (at least for now).
Are you no longer flying as much as you once did or are you now retired from all but living in hotels and sprinting from flight to flight? As of today I am now “just” a Delta Gold Medallion and unless I reach 2 million miler at some point in life will never be Platinum or higher again. Are there things you miss about being a road warrior? The comments section, if not the post, is worth a review.
Lastly this week I took advantage of being a blogger and shared my gripes about the TGL or the Tiger Woods golf league and how they should go about fixing it and making it fun to watch. If you are a golf enthusiast see if you agree with my suggestions.
I hope you have safe weekend everyone. I don’t think Chris and I say it enough but thank you for visiting and reading our travel blog. I have met some of the most amazing, kind and fun people on this planet thanks to the blog (and Chris would say the same) and it is such a privilege to share our love for travel with you! – Rene
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.
Rene, I went the route of just buying domestic first and haven’t missed tier status one bit. I’d be interested to hear your experience later in the year.
@Jack – Yup. Mostly the same.
René, I agree with the above especially the horrid Uber swap! My app has not worked correctly in years! I have had much better luck with Lyft. We will see how the lounge limitations will work or not!!
What is the lounge policy if you have a personal and business Reserve Card and Amex Platinum? Is it 2 x 15 plus 10 = 40? Thanks to you and Chris for sharing your Delta knowledge.
I have to say I look forward to reading this blog, and have learned a lot from it. I have emailed Chris several questions, and he has always responded promptly.
Hey Chris / Rene, I got the email telling me 15 skyclub passes were loaded to my account. I see 8, not 15. I do not look forward to trying to make sure I get all of my skyclub passes and tracking them. This based on last year’s experiences where the latest expiring pass was pulled (for a guest) rather the one expiring soonest. Or the time the Skyclub couldn’t see the passes at all. And then we have the pases from the Amex Plat card……….Thanks Delta !
As far as we know, we should be able to stack our visits like in the example you gave. I think there will be heck to pay if there isn’t.
I’m happy about the Uber partnership. Lyft for me is is always more expensive 9 out of 10 times.
@Aga – Love to know what areas as 100% other way for me a by a LOT
I almost never use Lyft, 90% of times is more expensive than Uber, not just by a few dollars, sometimes by $10. At least in NYC.
Thats funny, i Ubered for a half year in Oakland County Michigan & my passengers always told me how much more expensive Lyft was over Uber.
Thats funny, i Ubered for a half year in Oakland County Michigan & my passengers always told me how much more expensive Lyft was over Uber.
Rene Question: I’d like to inform my friend-who-doesn’t-follow-travel like we do, that if he adds his wife as an AU on his Delta Reserve she will also receive her own set of 15 SC visits. Can you confirm if this is true?
Thanks!
@TravelWarr – Amex T&C says:
“Basic and Additional Reserve Card Members are eligible for this benefit. Each Eligible Reserve Card Member receives 15 Visits to the Delta Sky Club each Medallion Year.”
She has to be a paid AU, tho.
On the Lyft vs Uber comment, I personally have found the reverse both in my city, Phoenix, as well as most of my travels. I have no affinity for either one. I just go for the cheapest which almost always has been Uber.