Comments on: Fewer Fees For SkyMiles Members

By: Ravi

Ravi — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 18:43:40 +0000

I have been a loyal customer of Delta for 10 years, Today I learnt the hard way that Delta does not care for its “Frequent Flyer” customers and is looking at them as a means to generate more revenue. As one of the bloggers stated above, more miles are now needed to book a trip as compared to before. I tried multiple dates even tried dates 9 months down the road however the number of miles that are needed now are ridiculous so I guess I will have to go to another airline since buying miles is costing me more that what I would have to pay to book the entire trip at another airline. So much for being a loyal customer!!!! The fewer fees mantra is just a way of hiding the real problem. I guess Delta does not care that they will loose loyal customers for good and the word of mouth is strong and ofcourse facebook, twitter, CNN, ABC news!!!

By: rcvideo

rcvideo — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:19:33 +0000

I think Delta has the best FF program in the air. I have a lot of friends who travel on other airlines and they are starting to agree with me. As I watch other programs, I see some of them are adopting Delta policies. A FF program should reward the most frequent fliers the most…and this one does! Thanks Delta!

By: cjaeschke

cjaeschke — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:17:23 +0000

G2Jim,

Didn’t China Eastern just sign an agreement that were just going to start the process of joining SkyTeam? I think you may want to give Delta a little break on this one.

By: Contiential Flyer

Contiential Flyer — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 19:47:34 +0000

Thank YOU (!!!) UpsetFrequentFlyer for posting the much needed amunition to help us fight this money hungery demon that has all the evil as the Seven headed hydra!
They think of not just one or two ways to knife us every time we have no option but to submit to their service.. but at least seven or more!
Hope you will post more and also find the blog on FACEBOOK as well…

By: G2Jim

G2Jim — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:49:38 +0000

Relating to SkyMile program improvements: how about making it easier to claim miles on parter airlines after the flight?!

I flew on China Eastern Airlines originating in Seattle and went to Xian China and back two times recently, totaling over 22,700 miles, and am running into nothing but trouble from your Atlanta GA Service Center in my efforts to claim them. China Eastern wouldn’t accept my Delta member number and told me to deal directly with Delta later. Now I’ve sent many pages of copies of my electronic ticket invoices, itineraries and boarding passes, but the Service Center people keep telling me to send more information without specifying what’s missing!

My distinct impression now is they are hoping I’ll give up so the miles don’t have to be awarded. My next step may be to complain to the DOT Aviation Consumer Protection Division, but I hope it doesn’t come to that.

By: doliveira

doliveira — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 13:05:16 +0000

Hi UpsetFrequentFlyer,
This is exactly what I was talking about. I don’t even mean ” boycoting” Delta. Is just a natural change to a company that really cares about their loyal customers. I have completely changed my traveling patterns by either flying on Continental and USAir (therefore completely avoiding one of the worst airports in America – Atlanta – where you either have to sit on the tarmac 45 minutes to get a gate, of 1 hour to take off…just a mess!) or using the national carriers to where a fly to – Brazil (TAM), Chile (LAN), Germany (Lufthsansa) and so on. They have a much better customer service and serve decent foods besides the infamous ” Chicken or Pasta”.
Regarding Scott’s reply, just remember that we’re not talking about purchasing a flat screen TV and asking for the store to give me the discount after I purchased. We are talking about purchasing a flat screen TV every week, paying the highest price because you are “loyal” to that store and then the store owner decides that you still have to pay more, drive further and accept a later delivery for your TV when the World Cup started 2 days ago.
So, I guess, as a customer, I have no other option but buy somewhere else or watch the games at a friend’s house.

By: UpsetFrequentFlyer

UpsetFrequentFlyer — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:11:56 +0000

I would like to provide additional comment to the above statement about the increased # of miles required for flying. This seems to be getting out of hand. When you state 25000 miles, you should have plenty of seats at those values. I just read a good article online about this and Delta was about the worst for having seats available (12.5% of time).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100610/us_time/08599199559200;_ylt=AvbHs8AnBRCKvrxc_t2qKTKs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNrZGlocGI0BGFzc2V0A3RpbWUvMjAxMDA2MTAvMDg1OTkxOTk1NTkyMDAEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwM1BHBvcwMyBHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDZnJlcXVlbnRmbHll

I fly Delta because I like their program and they have treated me well, however, if I can’t use the miles then its not worth it. It may be time to switch to another airline.

By: Scott M

Scott M — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 18:52:13 +0000

Thank you all for your responses. We know that it can be frustrating to hear about changes to fees just after making travel plans. It is similar to finding out about a sale at your favorite store the day after you paid full price. Unfortunately our fee change announcement is not retroactive. This change is still positive for our SkyMiles customers. We hope that you enjoy the increased flexibility in the future.

By: doliveira

doliveira — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 18:01:24 +0000

I would like to understand a little bit how the miles work. I have chosen Delta as my primary carrier and logged over 450,000 miles making me Diamond this and also next year. I went to use my miles to book a flight for my daughter to go to Milan, Italy and the Delta site offered the ticket for 110,000 miles. Amazingly, my wife tried hers and gave her 90,000 miles. Last year, at the same time, it cost me 75,000 miles.
I wonder, now as a Diamond, I accumulate 125% and my wife as Gold accumulates 100%. If I make the calculation, I realize that Delta gives me 25% more than my wife but charges me much more in miles for the same trip. Am I stupid or it seems to me that Delta is screwing me for flying more? Anyways, I used my USAir Dividend Miles and cost me 60,000 miles flying with Lufthansa. Go figure. Now, I am really upset since I have flown Delta going thru the worst hub in the USA (Atlanta), getting delays, sitting in the tarmac for at least 40 minutes waiting for a gate and I realized that it was a really bad choice. Can anyone explain to me how this is possible?

By: cjaeschke

cjaeschke — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 14:26:13 +0000

Great changes! Thanks!

Upgrades for award seats. I enjoyed this with NWA, and happy to see it come back in September 2010.

So while I understand the wait is due to system changes that are required, why can’t this now just be honored at the gate or at time of checkin, for at least Delta Platinums & Diamonds? I travel enough with Delta to know it can be done.

A couple of weeks ago I was on an award flight (returning home from a family funeral) that had plenty of first class seats open and were even being offered to everyone on the flight for a $75 fee. When I inquired and requested an upgrade (I’m a Diamond btw), I was told, “sorry, we don’t offer that yet.” Huh? Not only that, but I wasn’t even allow to buy the upgrade because I had an award seat. What?!

I know the systems aren’t ready, but a gate agent can do this…and certainly can do it for one of your best customers. Delta is the worlds largest airline, and wants to be a premium provider for frequent flyers offering great customer service…but it’s little moments like these that I wonder if the service culture is trully embedded.