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I have such fond memories of my very first ever mileage run to reach Delta Air Lines Silver Medallion status. I drove to Chicago and flew to Texas. I then, very quickly, boarded the exact same jet and flew back. The crew all just giggled and so enjoyed and maybe even respected the fact that I so loved and respected Delta that I would do this one day insanity to have amazing perks the next flying year.
My gosh times have changed!
Back in my day, really not that long ago, you earned your status on how far you flew on Delta and partners as well and segments. We got a ton of points with business class that helped us climb the elite ladder fast. Bottom line, under the old rules it mattered if you flew a lot and a long way and flew business class you could make it almost all the way to the top for a reasonable cost.
In today’s world it only really matters how much you spend and how much you spend on Delta Amex cards since Delta is not really an airline anymore but a credit card firm that happens to fly a lot of airplanes. Sure you can still take advantage of business class mileage runs but the investment is going to cost you so much more than in the past. And the real question is – is it worth it anymore? Let’s dive in:
- Upgrades: Forget about it. Get used to being a Diamond and being 25th on the list of 75. I used to have a near 100% upgrade percentage but I saw that falling year after year with Delta laser focused on selling (often really cheaply) first class upgrades rather than rewarding loyalty.
- GUC: Global upgrade certs alone, again back in the day, could make all the work worth it financially. Today you can have the entire business class cabin empty and Delta’s revenue management team will not let you book one single seat. It really is shameful but they just don’t care about you. Know this!
Those two are, for me, THE reasons the economics of going for Delta Diamond status for almost as long as the program was announced made cents (see what I did there) to me. Seriously even if you were only a semi regular monthly Delta flyer the math just worked. Not any more and the reason I gave up the chase. Are there reasons then to still go for either some or top status? Maybe with the above knocked out you REALLY have to consider the math:
- Choice Benefits: As talked about above, GU or RU or many of the other perks you can select are like the Amex coupon books. They offer you real value back to help justify your mega spending to reach whatever level. The math is just much harder than before but can still work for some.
- Customer service: OK this one can be a reason alone to maybe still justify the chase. Not holding forever on the phone or getting a much faster call back is so nice. Oh and then having a rep bend or even break the rules for you is huge. The problem I see is that, unlike in the past, you can not expect exceptional service as in the past as it is much more random.
- C+ “free”: I will couch this with a disclaimer that I really have never been impressed with Comfort Plus seats. They are the exact same size seat as every other seat in the coach cabin you just get a little more leg room and free drinks and some upgraded snacks (sometimes). Honestly it kills me when elites say they were “upgraded” to C+. I guess if you think this is better then there is value here?
- Exit row: If you are Silver or higher you can pick exit row seats. Unlike many other airlines Delta does NOT treat this row as C+ so you simply get extra leg room but often it is a LOT of extra leg room and that matters to me. If you fly many times a year this status level is attainable with just two credit cards and not an insane amount of spending.
So there you are. While not worthless, Delta elite status is 100% WORTH LESS than it once was at all levels and even the once coveted Delta 360 top mega spend status (this linked story is worth reading, BTW). The math may still work for you personally but not for me. I have a number of Delta flights coming up and I have worked hard to fly almost all of them in first/business class VERY cheaply vs. what I would have done in the past. I no longer book the perfect routes and expect an upgrade but play the WFBF crummy flights and then game the SCS (schedule change Saturday) to change to the flights I want as with enough time on my hands this just works.
For me being a “free agent” has been remarkable and so refreshing. I am flying other airlines all over the world at prices SO much less than Delta in business class either on points or even paying for tickets and I just no longer care about upgrades anymore. I know many are buying costly Delta tickets but I just don’t get the math as they are not THAT much better i.e. 2x, 3x or more for than others.
Now it is your turn. Are you still chasing Delta Medallion status via flights or credit card spend? Does the math still work for you that you are getting real value in today’s world? I would love to know! – René
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Nope. After Delta demonstrated that they share no loyalty back to their loyal flyers, I dumped them and don’t look back. I only keep a severely downgraded Delta Amex card for the credit score-impacting values: high credit limit, less than 1% credit use, credit age. And bonus: I no longer pay the Delta Reserve card annual fee.
Recently, I fly Southwest and United. Both ways, the tickets are consistently cheaper and the service is roughly equivalent. With Southwest, I even get some free flights from my girlfriend’s unlimited-use companion pass. And with certain other partnerships and programs, I get so much more value AVOIDING Delta than I used to get with staying exclusive to Delta.
Unfortunately my wife will only fly Delta. We cruise allot and fly from Mississippi to Florida. She believes in Delta for safety. As long as she gets the “upgrade” to C+ she is happy!!!! Happy wife happy life as they say♂️ I check periodically for first class cheap upgrades after I book. I am Platinum and she is Gold. Love reading you tips and information
Thx for this René. Nice piece of writing, reminiscing about the old days. And some great links too! I’m glad you are still contributing even if you don’t fly Delta that much anymore. Your cruise posts are great!
I’m Platinum for life, and for me, doing what it takes to remain a Diamond next year is laughable. I’m writing this while on a Spirit MIA-CLT flight in a “Big Front Seat” which is basically FC (2-2 on an A321, with comp snacks and beverages). The route is direct and the fare in this cabin class is far less than Delta coach was.
Rene, I was wrong when I said that you would keep chasing Delta status after you said that you would not chase Delta status. Sorry! I was wrong about you!
I continue to achieve Diamond status with credit cards (x4) and partner business class flights. $28K in spend is a lot of spend but I use the tricks as best that I can. I frequently get upgrades from C+ to First Class in my region. I also am purchasing more First Class when I travel using the companion passes. As it turns out my P2 sweetie likes sitting up front. I had an irrops once where at SLC the gate agents “held the plane” for me and P2 and we ran to the plane after the scheduled departure time. I guess they held the plane only because of my Diamond Status. We still landed on time, but we actually boarded at the scheduled departure time. That was an amazing benefit and worth something!
Rene, please keep writing about your Delta experiences. I am Delta hub-captive where I live. Thanks!
I gave up my reserve card this year – with no attempt by AMEX to retain me after having the card since its inception. Now have a gold card for a free bag and miles discount. Am lifetime gold medallion (big deal) since I’m a million miler and will lose my Platinum status after 15 years after this year. When I fly now I usually get a FC seat since I’m flying less and not spending any more than I ever did. Going to start to experiment domestically now and have started to accumulate points with AMEX platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve® to be able to enjoy much better international travel. Being based in NYC means I’ll never be upgraded unless I pay for it.
I’ve been loyal to Delta since I was a Northwest flier and it is sad. But they don’t care about me so I need to remember not to care about them.
My wife and I scored Diamond for 4 years, with the MQM buyout a couple years ago. It’s a little bittersweet since upgrades are spotty at best, and we’re kind of trapped in the Delta web. At the moment the benefits justify it. RU’s are worthless, but we’ve been able to use the GU’s so far. Like Rene, we shop for our flights, and then hit the Saturday changes when possible.
I will be Diamond again next year but that will be the last because my work travel is being reduced. The AMEX Delta Reserve Card spend of $60k to retain unlimited Sky Club access is nuts so I’ll have to ration my 16 visits carefully. Flying out of Detroit, I’m upgraded about half the time nowadays so that’s still a decent perk. I flew on Southwest a couple of times lately. There are pros and cons, but their regular seat is better than Delta Comfort. I’ll consider Rene’s “free agent” strategy for 2027.
$75k not $60k.
Loyalty is a two-way street, but with Delta I see no oncoming traffic. Our flights are now based upon scheduling, routing, and price. Qatar, Lufthansa, and Turkish have won this year’s bids, and even the lure of a Delta One lounge has not been significant.
In early November I’m flying Delta in first round trip from SEA-LAS for $340 (booked a couple months ago). With pricing like that, it’s no wonder there’s no room up front for elite upgrades. Being in SEA, I used to be loyal to Alaska, but not for years now.
Being a free agent is liberating. Like like Mikel, several times I’ve flown the same route in Spirit’s big front seat for less than the Alaska or Delta coach fare, but these days I don’t trust Sprit will be around for future trips.
Dropped Delta loyalty as well. The Delta card as I found the annual fee not worth the redemptions. and now do much more with Southwest domestically. Go on price since the loyalty rewards have been removed. The lack of upgrades has made me move to schedule first, carrier second which is new after 40 years of travel. 1.5 M with Delta prior to dropping them.
Both my husband and I continue to fly Delta (home airports ATL, LAS, and SLC). We are Diamonds again, and plan on playing the game as long as possible. We are also 2mm, so Platinum for life, but are working towards our 3mm. I have been frustrated with Delta at times, but it is the most convenient airline for our travels. We did fly United from ORD this past summer. It was ok. The equipment was very old, but good service. I feel Delta could do a better job with customer service, especially towards their most loyal customers.
I agree with everything you said. I would add one more reason to fly Delta (vs AA) and that is the philosophy of plane positioning. Seems AA is really sensitive to all planes in place well before daily start time. To the point, I’ve been on receiving end of cancelling a 5pm return to hub flight even while outgoing flight away from hub is in the air … due to thunderstorms at the hub. AA landed and return to hub in middle of the night with “illegal” crew to get plane home (w/o passengers). Seems out of legal hours crew can fly a plane if there are no passengers. Delta would hang in there, let thunderstorm pass and fly you to the hub/home nearly regardless of the hour. Guess who paid for hotel and meals. So, I fly AA if it’s before 1pm and Delta after 1pm including connection at a Delta hub. Direct flight is of no use, if they keep cancelling them.
The one and only time I chased status was pre-covid when I was a delta rookie and (wait for it) flew a mileage run from ATL to BOS and back for under a hundred bucks to earn (wait for it) silver out of ATL. Hahaha. The free bag was nice.
I now find that the best redemptions regardless of airline alliance are booking on partner carriers using transferred bank cards miles. Yes, I like delta, but I like Air France even more. The same flight from ATL to Paris on the same Delta plane costs 28K miles from Air France or 90K from Delta. Same on AA with JAL and Iberia. So my spend is on my C1 card now. If I have miles, I’ll transfer them. If not, I’ll pay the lowest main cabin economy price and earn some more. Spend them when I have enough. And sure, the front of the plane is nicer. But for $400, I can buy the hotel for the night before so my room is ready when I get there and get a nice massage and for me, that’s a better way to spend my money than chasing a baggage tag.
I have been Diamond since they created that level and with 3.5m miles I guess I will be forever. Is there value? I think it is 99% in the customer service. Delta is like the good girlfriend/bad girlfriend you might have had in College. When she is nice to you it is great. When she ignores you it is not so great.
When I have issues for myself and/or family members the phone reps almost always come through. As air travel gets crappier and crappier having somebody help you fix problems matters. That is great. Upgrades, as I have ample free time getting near retirement, are valuable as well because I am not tied to specific times and can instead pick a location and find availability. Also great.
Other than that Delta has lost 50% of my flown miles because their fares are wildly higher than United and American out of Salt Lake City almost anywhere. That is a different issue though….