[EXPIRED] Gold Delta Amex 70,000 SM & $100 Statement credit
Sep 20, 2012, 11:33 am
#377
In Memoriam
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Southern California
Programs: Hertz 5 star, Priceline Hotel bidder. AA PLT, 1MM.
Posts: 2,910
I do not consider DL miles to worth very much. (DL Pesos as one blogger calls them 
). That is not to say they are not valuable, just not to me.
I accumulated DL miles in the 1990's and should have spent them all. I spent most of them but had about 90K left last year. Back when I spent them, I got very good domestics for 20-25K back in the day.
Last summer, my wife wanted to go to the 100th Lucy Fest in Jamestown NY. We were looking at LA airports-BUF. My wife told me she would like no more than 1 layover and not too long! I met her request!!
AA wanted 50K pp (even as an Exec Plat at the time, no special saver inventory), same with UA/CO, etc. I can take my wife & I o/w to Europe in AA Biz saver class for 50K pp. so I didn't want to use those miles. Especially that I can throw o/w from Hawaii to LAX for almost free.
I was able to get DL @40K pp with decent flight times/stops & I grabbed those. Revenue tickets were almost $800pp from LA area airports for that time. I was able to get 2 cents/DL mile on this trip. Others can do much better but for me, that was $1600 I didn't have to spend for the trip and I did not have to use my valuable (to me) AA miles.
Bottom line: Miles have different values depending on uses of them. All the times I checked DL in the past few years in using DL miles for trips, the typical domestic redemption was the "mid" 40K RT. Rarely did I see 25K and when I did, it was terrible! (2-3 long layovers, bad times, etc).
). That is not to say they are not valuable, just not to me. I accumulated DL miles in the 1990's and should have spent them all. I spent most of them but had about 90K left last year. Back when I spent them, I got very good domestics for 20-25K back in the day.
Last summer, my wife wanted to go to the 100th Lucy Fest in Jamestown NY. We were looking at LA airports-BUF. My wife told me she would like no more than 1 layover and not too long! I met her request!!
AA wanted 50K pp (even as an Exec Plat at the time, no special saver inventory), same with UA/CO, etc. I can take my wife & I o/w to Europe in AA Biz saver class for 50K pp. so I didn't want to use those miles. Especially that I can throw o/w from Hawaii to LAX for almost free.
I was able to get DL @40K pp with decent flight times/stops & I grabbed those. Revenue tickets were almost $800pp from LA area airports for that time. I was able to get 2 cents/DL mile on this trip. Others can do much better but for me, that was $1600 I didn't have to spend for the trip and I did not have to use my valuable (to me) AA miles.
Bottom line: Miles have different values depending on uses of them. All the times I checked DL in the past few years in using DL miles for trips, the typical domestic redemption was the "mid" 40K RT. Rarely did I see 25K and when I did, it was terrible! (2-3 long layovers, bad times, etc).
Last edited by chemist661; Sep 20, 2012 at 11:44 am
Sep 20, 2012, 11:51 am
#378
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: MSP
Posts: 376
Call me unlucky.. I used two-browser trick to apply for one SPG personal and one Delta Gold on Sep 4. Already received both cards but haven't activated as I just got back from a trip. And I just found I missed this Delta deal!!
Anyone took a screenshot of the offer?? I need to do a match as I applied for the same card two weeks ago..
Anyone took a screenshot of the offer?? I need to do a match as I applied for the same card two weeks ago..
Last edited by guoguo914; Sep 20, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Sep 20, 2012, 12:48 pm
#379
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 104
Possible problem with bonus miles if you recently cancelled a card that had a bonus
Just a FYI for those who were approved for this card but recently cancelled an AMEX Delta card that had received bonus miles.
I was approved for this card and received it in the mail today. I was concerned about whether AMEX has a policy regarding bonus miles if you had previously received bonus miles on a recently cancelled card. I had applied for, and received, this same Gold Delta card in May 2011. I met the spend requirement and received 30,000 bonus miles. I cancelled the card in March 2012.
Before I spend $5,000 on this new card I wanted to be absolutely certain I would get the bonus miles. If not, I would rather spend $5k on my Citi AA card where I know I will get 5K miles. So I called AMEX customer service and asked about their policy with regard to this. I was told that because I had cancelled my previous card within 365 days of applying for the new offer, I was not eligible for the bonus on the new card. She also checked with her supervisor, who confirmed this policy. I asked whether this policy affects only the 25K first-purchase bonus, or also the 45K spend bonus. She did not know.
I told the CSR that I understand the reason for such a policy, but pointed out that the terms and conditions of the offer, which I carefully read, and printed, before applying, do not state this policy, and provided no indication of ineligibility because of previously receiving bonus miles on a recently canceled card. Further, I would not have even applied for the card if the terms and conditions had stated this rule.
They opened something they called a "complaint capture", which they sent to their promotions department for further research. They said it would take 6-8 weeks to make a determination regarding whether I am eligible for the bonus miles.
I was approved for this card and received it in the mail today. I was concerned about whether AMEX has a policy regarding bonus miles if you had previously received bonus miles on a recently cancelled card. I had applied for, and received, this same Gold Delta card in May 2011. I met the spend requirement and received 30,000 bonus miles. I cancelled the card in March 2012.
Before I spend $5,000 on this new card I wanted to be absolutely certain I would get the bonus miles. If not, I would rather spend $5k on my Citi AA card where I know I will get 5K miles. So I called AMEX customer service and asked about their policy with regard to this. I was told that because I had cancelled my previous card within 365 days of applying for the new offer, I was not eligible for the bonus on the new card. She also checked with her supervisor, who confirmed this policy. I asked whether this policy affects only the 25K first-purchase bonus, or also the 45K spend bonus. She did not know.
I told the CSR that I understand the reason for such a policy, but pointed out that the terms and conditions of the offer, which I carefully read, and printed, before applying, do not state this policy, and provided no indication of ineligibility because of previously receiving bonus miles on a recently canceled card. Further, I would not have even applied for the card if the terms and conditions had stated this rule.
They opened something they called a "complaint capture", which they sent to their promotions department for further research. They said it would take 6-8 weeks to make a determination regarding whether I am eligible for the bonus miles.
Sep 20, 2012, 12:48 pm
#380
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: USA
Programs: All major programs
Posts: 1,403
Call me unlucky.. I used two-browser trick to apply for one SPG personal and one Delta Gold on Sep 4. Already received both cards but haven't activated as I just got back from a trip. And I just found I missed this Delta deal!!
Anyone took a screenshot of the offer?? I need to do a match as I applied for the same card two weeks ago..
Anyone took a screenshot of the offer?? I need to do a match as I applied for the same card two weeks ago..
Sep 20, 2012, 2:57 pm
#381
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Shanghai
Programs: BAEC (Gold), PC (Plat), HH (Gold), MR (Gold)
Posts: 2,729
Triggering the $100 statement credit
Any ideas whether a small purchase at the Delta Sky Store will trigger the statement credit?
Sep 20, 2012, 3:43 pm
#383
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 385
Any ideas whether a small purchase at the Delta Sky Store will trigger the statement credit?
Sep 20, 2012, 4:18 pm
#384
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,760
You also take DIRECT flight out of the equation, maybe you enjoy sitting around airports ( risking delays) but I do not, some of those 25K flights have 5 hour layovers in ORD. So you turn a 3:15 minute flight into almost 9 hours. Getting deeper I also get to pick departure times that I want. Some of those UA and AA flights leave at 6am and arrive at 4:30 using 25K R/T. Maybe you like gettig up at 3am for a flight but I do not
Another thing you need to look at is AA, 25K R/T flights are history, everything I see is 50K. I'm guessing that means the BA 25K flights on American are few and far between also
Another thing you need to look at is AA, 25K R/T flights are history, everything I see is 50K. I'm guessing that means the BA 25K flights on American are few and far between also
Regarding AA inventory, they change all the time. And BA redemption on AA is NOT 25K on the same trip - because BA is NOT a region-based program since Nov of 2011. It charges by miles flown / segment used.
Therefore, the sweetest spot of BA program is those short hops that are one segment, below 600 miles distance, and only cost you 4,500 Avios one-way. above 600 but below 1000 (from memory, so if the 1000 is actually higher, would even be better) is 7,500, followed by 10,000, so on so forth.
Well, since you dont want to expand your horizon, so whatever suits you would be the best for you.
EDIT:
The first tier of Avios is 650.
The second tier of Avios is actually 1151.
Here is a handy tool to refer to - may be of usefulness to others if not to you...
http://thepointsguy.com/wp-content/u...vios-Chart.png
On top of the distance, each segment would cost additional - and the segment is calculated independently - so your trip distance "cost" is not the total actually flown miles, but the sum of the cost of each segment based on which "tier" the segment falls into.
Here is another handy tool that is most of the time accurate, based on actual route.
http://www.wandr.me/Avios-Calculator.aspx
Based on the above tool, even you fly MSP-ORD-TPA, it still costs you less Avios to be on AA than AA program, 12,000 versus 12,500, and far less than DL's 20K which is really theoretically only as DL does not offer one-way award at one-way cost. One-way is charged the same as a r/t. Therefore, having both UA and AA redemption-worthy is a great flexibility because one can fly UA redemption one-way and fly AA(BA) redemption the other one-way and opens up a lot more availability options.
Last edited by Happy; Sep 20, 2012 at 5:09 pm
Sep 20, 2012, 4:20 pm
#385
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,760
Just a FYI for those who were approved for this card but recently cancelled an AMEX Delta card that had received bonus miles.
I was approved for this card and received it in the mail today. I was concerned about whether AMEX has a policy regarding bonus miles if you had previously received bonus miles on a recently cancelled card. I had applied for, and received, this same Gold Delta card in May 2011. I met the spend requirement and received 30,000 bonus miles. I cancelled the card in March 2012.
Before I spend $5,000 on this new card I wanted to be absolutely certain I would get the bonus miles. If not, I would rather spend $5k on my Citi AA card where I know I will get 5K miles. So I called AMEX customer service and asked about their policy with regard to this. I was told that because I had cancelled my previous card within 365 days of applying for the new offer, I was not eligible for the bonus on the new card. She also checked with her supervisor, who confirmed this policy. I asked whether this policy affects only the 25K first-purchase bonus, or also the 45K spend bonus. She did not know.
I told the CSR that I understand the reason for such a policy, but pointed out that the terms and conditions of the offer, which I carefully read, and printed, before applying, do not state this policy, and provided no indication of ineligibility because of previously receiving bonus miles on a recently canceled card. Further, I would not have even applied for the card if the terms and conditions had stated this rule.
They opened something they called a "complaint capture", which they sent to their promotions department for further research. They said it would take 6-8 weeks to make a determination regarding whether I am eligible for the bonus miles.
I was approved for this card and received it in the mail today. I was concerned about whether AMEX has a policy regarding bonus miles if you had previously received bonus miles on a recently cancelled card. I had applied for, and received, this same Gold Delta card in May 2011. I met the spend requirement and received 30,000 bonus miles. I cancelled the card in March 2012.
Before I spend $5,000 on this new card I wanted to be absolutely certain I would get the bonus miles. If not, I would rather spend $5k on my Citi AA card where I know I will get 5K miles. So I called AMEX customer service and asked about their policy with regard to this. I was told that because I had cancelled my previous card within 365 days of applying for the new offer, I was not eligible for the bonus on the new card. She also checked with her supervisor, who confirmed this policy. I asked whether this policy affects only the 25K first-purchase bonus, or also the 45K spend bonus. She did not know.
I told the CSR that I understand the reason for such a policy, but pointed out that the terms and conditions of the offer, which I carefully read, and printed, before applying, do not state this policy, and provided no indication of ineligibility because of previously receiving bonus miles on a recently canceled card. Further, I would not have even applied for the card if the terms and conditions had stated this rule.
They opened something they called a "complaint capture", which they sent to their promotions department for further research. They said it would take 6-8 weeks to make a determination regarding whether I am eligible for the bonus miles.
Sep 20, 2012, 4:50 pm
#386
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: PHL
Posts: 209
I ordered something for $1 (to do this, find a $1 item and choose pickup as shipping method) through the Delta Heritage Museum (http://www.delta.com/about_delta/del...dise/index.jsp)
I'll post an update as to whether this counts as a Delta purchase or not.
I'll post an update as to whether this counts as a Delta purchase or not.
Sep 20, 2012, 5:05 pm
#387
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: PHL
Posts: 209
I ordered something for $1 (to do this, find a $1 item and choose pickup as shipping method) through the Delta Heritage Museum (http://www.delta.com/about_delta/del...dise/index.jsp)
I'll post an update as to whether this counts as a Delta purchase or not.
I'll post an update as to whether this counts as a Delta purchase or not.
Select to load your Pending Charges
You have 1 item
Date Description Amount $
Thursday, September 20 DELTA AIRLINES 1 dollars and.00 Cents
Sep 20, 2012, 5:12 pm
#388
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 699
Sep 20, 2012, 7:03 pm
#389
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 169
Just a FYI for those who were approved for this card but recently cancelled an AMEX Delta card that had received bonus miles.
I was approved for this card and received it in the mail today. I was concerned about whether AMEX has a policy regarding bonus miles if you had previously received bonus miles on a recently cancelled card. I had applied for, and received, this same Gold Delta card in May 2011. I met the spend requirement and received 30,000 bonus miles. I cancelled the card in March 2012.
Before I spend $5,000 on this new card I wanted to be absolutely certain I would get the bonus miles. If not, I would rather spend $5k on my Citi AA card where I know I will get 5K miles. So I called AMEX customer service and asked about their policy with regard to this. I was told that because I had cancelled my previous card within 365 days of applying for the new offer, I was not eligible for the bonus on the new card. She also checked with her supervisor, who confirmed this policy. I asked whether this policy affects only the 25K first-purchase bonus, or also the 45K spend bonus. She did not know.
I told the CSR that I understand the reason for such a policy, but pointed out that the terms and conditions of the offer, which I carefully read, and printed, before applying, do not state this policy, and provided no indication of ineligibility because of previously receiving bonus miles on a recently canceled card. Further, I would not have even applied for the card if the terms and conditions had stated this rule.
They opened something they called a "complaint capture", which they sent to their promotions department for further research. They said it would take 6-8 weeks to make a determination regarding whether I am eligible for the bonus miles.
I was approved for this card and received it in the mail today. I was concerned about whether AMEX has a policy regarding bonus miles if you had previously received bonus miles on a recently cancelled card. I had applied for, and received, this same Gold Delta card in May 2011. I met the spend requirement and received 30,000 bonus miles. I cancelled the card in March 2012.
Before I spend $5,000 on this new card I wanted to be absolutely certain I would get the bonus miles. If not, I would rather spend $5k on my Citi AA card where I know I will get 5K miles. So I called AMEX customer service and asked about their policy with regard to this. I was told that because I had cancelled my previous card within 365 days of applying for the new offer, I was not eligible for the bonus on the new card. She also checked with her supervisor, who confirmed this policy. I asked whether this policy affects only the 25K first-purchase bonus, or also the 45K spend bonus. She did not know.
I told the CSR that I understand the reason for such a policy, but pointed out that the terms and conditions of the offer, which I carefully read, and printed, before applying, do not state this policy, and provided no indication of ineligibility because of previously receiving bonus miles on a recently canceled card. Further, I would not have even applied for the card if the terms and conditions had stated this rule.
They opened something they called a "complaint capture", which they sent to their promotions department for further research. They said it would take 6-8 weeks to make a determination regarding whether I am eligible for the bonus miles.
If you spend $5000 on delta gold, you are still able to get 5000 miles on your delta acct, right? (eventhought you are not able to get the bonus miles) I m in same boat n will find out after first statement.. Whether we are getting 25,000 bonus miles.
Sep 20, 2012, 7:13 pm
#390
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,433
Some hats, shirts, kids toys, or even a flat out tax-deductible donation are in order.