It appears that big changes are coming to the Delta Air Lines SkyMiles program. Now is the chance to make Delta SkyMiles great again.
How Delta Can Make SkyMiles Great Again…And Why It Probably Will Not
One Mile At A Time notes a thread on reddit that purports to carry an internal memo from Delta hinting at changes to the SkyMiles program coming on September 14, 2023. Agents are being trained for these unspecified changes, suggesting that this announcement will be more than minor tweaks:
On Sept. 14, Delta will announce changes to its SkyMiles Program. Since we know any change to our SkyMiles Program can generate questions or concerns from customers, we want to ensure our frontline team members are fully prepared to respond.
My hunch is that we will see one or more of the following changes:
- Further restrictions to SkyClub access for American Express Platinum and Delta Reserve card
- Unlimited access for same-day travel will likely be a thing of the past without meeting a high threshold of minimum spend
- Closing the loophole for partner mileage earnings
- Currently, it is much easier to earn SkyMiles Medallion status by flying a SkyTeam partner and crediting to Delta, where MQD spending is calculated based on distance and class of service rather than dollars spent on the ticket
- Higher minimum ticket spending waivers for Delta credit card holders
- More incentives tied to co-branded American Express – Delta SkyMiles credit cards to increase spending
That last point could be the biggest change and why agent training is needed. It would not surprise me if Delta introduced the equivalent to Loyalty Points on American Airlines, in which status can be gained more easily through credit card spending. This would serve the dual purpose of stimulating credit card spending on Delta credit cards and providing a way for passengers to avoid the most punitive elements of the new lounge access restrictions through extra credit card spending.
Delta Could Be Great Again…
But here’s where Delta has a chance to actually make the program competitive once again.
All the changes above seem like a logical evolution of the SkyMiles program, especially in light of the horrific lounge crowding at hub airports.
In the background is the redemption side, which Delta has devalued unlike any other major loyalty program and is the number one reason I do not even credit Delta flights to Delta (I credit to Air France-KLM Flying Blue instead).
What if Delta actually offered reasonable one-way tickets again?
What if Delta did not charge 8x as much for a one-way award ticket to Europe as Virgin Atlantic does (50K versus 400K)?
Delta seems to think the current approach is working (and frankly, maybe it is for them and the suckers who collect SkyMiles), but imagine if there actually was some saver space to Europe at around 100K in business or 30K in economy class? Imagine if Delta added the ability to include stopovers on one-way award travel?
But with recent changes to the upgrade award program, I strongly suspect I am just dreaming.
CONCLUSION
Delta Air Lines is rumored to announce major SkyMiles program changes next Thursday, on September 14, 2023. While we do not know exactly what those changes will be, we have a good idea. This marks a perfect opportunity for Delta to make the redemption side more attractive, but I suppose that is just asking too much from the carrier that has shown incredible hostility toward its most loyal passengers through one devaluation after another over the last few years.
image: Delta Air Lines
Delta used to be my primary frequent flyer program but I downgraded it 10 years ago and further downgraded it so it is only a slight notch above Sprit. Frequent flyer programs are more like credit card programs now.
@ Matthew — Yeah, I don’t see Delta ever improving SkyMiles. I hope I am wrong.
There are more pax happy with redeeming a main cabin domestic fare for 1.2-1.5cpp than travel nerds who think TATL J is the only true metric.
Also, your VS vs DL one way comparison is misleading and dishonest. There were many DL One one-ways for 130-153k this summer (still high); but your 400k is the absolute high end. Also, tour 50k VS pts figure? That likely came with $1700 in taxes.
Excellent points, but then Matthew cannot feel smug and justify calling people “suckers.” Every program has its cheerleaders and critics- clearly we see more of the latter for Delta. Unfortunately the changes are inevitably going to be negative (when are “enhancements” anything but) and this will have the detractors jeering even louder.
@deltasucker:
As I told Jan, I am not seeing the same pricing.
And I do think it is foolish to build up a SkyMiles balance when Delta has repeatedly devalued without notice on the redemption side.
@jan
Not true – sometimes you can find a Delta saver seat for 50K miles $5.60 on Virgin and the same seat will be 400K one-way on Delta. Delta’s one-way penalty is criminal.
Yes, I won’t deny that those instances happen, but they also happen like the VS redemptions in ANA F, which we know is about as rare as Comet Hale-Bopp’s fly-by.
“I credit to Air France-KLM Flying Blue instead”
*clap clap clap* This is what I am doing as well and I’d encourage almost everyone else to do the same. I’d love to see an article where this is analyzed to show the pros and cons not only for award redemptions but also for elite status.
I’m starting to do that too. Yes even with Matthew’s biases, SkyMiles is still Skypesos, but FB is just too good of a value. I’ve been getting 4-5 cpp from their FB points.
Same here! ::high fives::
My partner is blissfully and willfully ignorant of how SkyPesos are absolutely worthless because he makes so much on work travel/spend that he doesn’t care while I do all the actual accounting for our other accounts, namely Aeroplan and AF/KLM Flying Blue. I can’t get him to realize how abysmal it is to credit to Delta, but he’s DM and thinks he’s treated super great (he’s never even been in a Porsche) and has the Reserve card and we generally fly D1 anyway. He seems to refuse to actually see the math. *sigh* We’ll see what happens next week…I’m kind of excited from a schadenfreude perspective because the lounge crowding is out of control and we still have bennys because of his actual flight miles/spend anyway. So even if we keep the status quo and he pisses into the wind with SkyPesos, I’ll still do the scrimping and saving via Amex MRs and Chase URs to take our “real” vacations and he can use his SkyRubles/Zimbabwean Dollars to take his mom somewhere in D1. One way. MAYBE TATL.
Come on Matt, when was the last time any program changed for the better?
Ironically, DL, who introduced 15% off for AMEX users for redemptions. So the 1.1 to 1.3 cpp is now roughly 1.2 to 1.5 cpp
I have three Delta Amex Skymiles cards. I plan on dropping two of them as they approach renewal. Starting next year, I will likely begin shopping carriers and use the WFBF method of purchasing tickets. The Skymiles program has become next to useless. It took me over an hour with a very patient Diamond desk agent to book international travel for my whole family, because of the exorbitant redemption prices and restrictions on Skymiles use. The term “skypesos” is now very appropriate. I predict Delta will see a substantial reduction of Amex Skymiles cards in circulation as more people see how little value they offer after these changes.
I dropped Skymiles and canceled my only remaining credit card for the program a couple of years ago. I was a gigantic Delta fanboy but Delta returning my loyalty with hostility year after year got me out of that abuse relationship. I haven’t earned a Skymile in years and I’m happy for it.
@ Matthew — I predict that we will see a sliding SkyMiles discount based on status + credit card type. That will keep those with big balances and big AFs on the hamster wheel.
I have no choice but to fly Delta and although their loyalty program sucks in terms of redemption, I am very happy that Delta is my choice among the top 3 US airlines. I have been Diamond of 360 for over 10 years vim a row and have been treated extremely well by everyone at Delta. I have no complaints. Being able to get my family to fly international business class using global upgrades is the main value I get from it.
@Matthew, I think your missing the point. Delta doesn’t need to have a competitive program, and it’s all relative. Remember competitive is all relative, and United is doing a great job with unannounced devaluation of Mileage Plus and is trying to catch the Sky Rubles. What Delta does offer is a currency which CAN be useful at times for domestic awards and even for international awards when paid fares are low. I think Delta will continue with whatever they are doing (it’s working) and other programs will always be trying to catch up with their own devaluations.
We will see.
I assume they’ll do $25k card spend for 2k MQD boost, nerf the MQD waivers, MQM, and MQS. They’ll have some gesture to cash out the rollover MQMs with a one-time boost for first year of new program.
I’m assuming their system will basically copy UA because AA is a bottom feeder and DL actually wants people to fly with them. Maybe they’ll count shopping portal spend together with card spend for MQD boost
@matthew, btw I love the font on this page, especially how it makes all the Q so fancy, and how nice M and Q look paired together. Perfect for DL discussion
Some people seem to get take personal offense at any criticism of Delta or Skymiles. Why would so many people be happy to redeem miles for domestic economy awards? Those are relatively cheap. The whole point of accumulating miles is to use them for the international premium cabins that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive. If you just want to fly to Detroit in economy, why worry about miles.
Personally, I seem to be unofficially banned from any Delta Amex cards due to past card usage that they didn’t like.
I think you need to realize that a good majority of travelers aren’t AV geeks and don’t care about the latest lie-flat seats.
You´re dreaming with your eyes open. Delta will only make this worse. Days of loyalty are just over and I feel sorry for everyone who´s still going after this nonsense.
Loyalty rewards programs are intentionally complex and are not created for the benefitit of the mileage holder. Ancillary revenues are the goal of the airlines., revenues have climbed dramaticly since 2013 ..doubling from 50 billion to 100 billion by 2022. In large part to frequent flyer programs. Passengers routinely spend more by flying more and rack up the debt with the cobranded card services.