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The above is the total of my Delta elite qualifying points (dollars) earned this year flying home from California after my epic trip to New Zealand and Australia that included a 12-day Norwegian cruise that I can’t wait to review soon. The saddest part of this number is it is likely the only time I will be setting foot on a Delta jet for all of 2026 and likely 2027 as well. That from someone who is more than halfway to 2 million miler with the airline. Why is this the case?
There is a clickbait headline about Delta falling behind American and United making the rounds. But that is not what you think it is about — that one is about Wi-Fi speed. While I do care about Wi-Fi speed, that is not why I am done, for now, with Delta — even though I am still flying a bunch over the next two years. Here is why:
- Destruction of loyalty – I warned on the blog for YEARS that Delta was destroying the most valuable reason to be totally loyal and fly only Delta (and SkyTeam partners) exclusively as much as possible, because you would be, most of the time, rewarded with lots of “free” first class upgrades. That is now so much harder even at the top ranks of Medallion® status. And just to be clear, a coach seat called “Comfort Plus” is not EVER an upgrade, folks.
- Obliteration of SkyMiles – I could go toe to toe with any of the major bloggers and prove, without a doubt, the solid value of SkyMiles if you were willing to work for it. No more. Even the “trick” of flying to Mexico to get to far-flung places in business class is all but dead. And again, just to be clear, flying a cheap coach seat is not “finding value” out of a points program. To me, value is flying in first or business class for a pittance compared to retail — something you could do with Delta for a very long time.
- Reliability is not what it once was – Delta was “The On-Time Machine” and would bounce back from issues so fast that you were rarely impacted much. Delta is now on par with the other majors, and that makes grasping for this lone reason no longer the “well, at least we have that” lifeline when loyalty and award redemptions have fallen into the toilet. When Delta is the same as the rest — why not try the rest?
I currently hold no Delta Amex credit cards and am unlikely to get one for a very long time to come. I will have to see a massive points offer to even consider getting one again (think over 200,000 points), because I value the points so little nowadays. We are seeing larger bonuses coming out and I think Delta sees the writing on the wall that they have pushed things too far.
The funny thing is I still will be flying a few Skyteam partners but all of them will be booked by sending Amex points to KLM Flying blue as this is still one way I can find value in the pointy part of the jet. Also, I have recently flown American in their Flagship First seat, Qantas in business class, and have flights booked on so many other airlines I have never flown — because I was totally Delta-focused in the past. I am honestly stunned at the quality and value I am getting, and if Delta has all but lost a once mega “fan boy” like me, it is really saying something. I would love to know if Delta is seeing others doing the same, but according to Delta, folks — especially rich folks — are still paying and flying Delta a bunch. I wonder how long that will continue. – René
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Hi Rene, while I totally understand your points, I am in a slightly different situation and see things a bit different. The program never was what really drove me to fly Delta. I just signed up back then to not miss out on earning miles (and after a while also status) as an add-on.
I enjoyed being Silver Medallion® for quite some years (as long as it was simply based on MQMs before they were eliminated). And I simply enjoyed flying Delta. Now I don’t fly as often as most folks hovering around here (either as author or as reader) and usually in the main cabin (not always ;-)).
It was way better than what I experienced on American (admittedly my experience with them is from almost a quarter century ago) or any European airline with Lufthansa being the absolute worst of all.
Anyway, for now I am also pausing flying Delta! But for some other reasons … we’re (my +1 and I) avoiding our usual go-to country when it comes to going on vacation. Our last flight was on KLM Cityhopper for a short hop to AMS and next time we will be first-timers on British Airways when we’re visiting London. We’re quite excited because there will be so many firsts (first time terminal 3 in FRA, first time to the UK, …).
Oh, and I always disagreed with you when it comes to Delta Comfort and the question if it is an upgrade or not 😉 But that is really a very minor disagreement I’d say. For me it always was an upgrade … I know the seat is the same, but it’s not only about the seat … and I always knew that it’s not a big upgrade. I was never disappointed due to unrealistic expectations. I knew what I was getting. Not a biggie, just a tiny bit of something extra 😉
And I don’t want to sit in an exit row. We once had that and it was our least comfortable flight until then (before flying a 747 … both KLM and Lufthansa).
Well, I don’t know if and when we will return to the US but I assume it would be on Delta again.
Oops, my short comment ended up being quite long. Now that I see it in whole length.