Mileage Run Discussion - What to do when a MR goes bad?

So I'm kinda bummed my mileage run got messed up...

My original run was 9/8-9/9; FLL>CVG>ATL>SJC>ATL>DTW>FLL. It was $287 for 7,387 (3.88 cpm).

But now DL's schedule changed and they want to rebook me on a different routing for ~6000mi (which is a huge difference). What should I do? They refused to change my cabin of service or let me have a third stop.

What's your medallion level? If your only FO you may not have the same option to rebook on delta.dumb. As GM, i had a similar situation just last week and Delta.dumb gave me the option to search for alternate flights without a rebook fee. Luckily I didn't need to.

Here's what happened:
I had a schedule change on a MR that I booked Sept 7-9th. Original itin was JFK>SAN>ATL>ICT>ATL>ICT>SAN>ATL>LGA. I think Delta had a scheduling goof because the direct JFK>SAN portion of my light is a 4:30-5:30pm departure through late August. And the flight I booked on 9/7 for JFK>SAN was a 7:30pm departure. Initially I thought OK DL is changing the schedule of this flight which is pretty common. within 1 week of booking the MR, DL changed the JFK>SAN flight back to a 5:30PM departure. Luckily since the new departure time is 2 hours earlier it doesn't affect my MR but fingers crossed they dont have any more changes in their schedule.

Also, you may be able to SDC to a different flight with an additional connection but only if you're GM can you do this without a fee. And be careful with this angle. I opened this can of words recently and recieved a lot of criticism/concern from other FTers that Delta could take action against this practice in the future. So tread carefully on your SDC options especially as FO.

Switch airlines! Delta is horrible and much more restrictive than other airlines when it comes to schedule changes. They changed the departure time by 75 minutes on a flight that I'm holding in July and I called to change it to an earlier flight and they wanted me to pay a $150 change fee "because the new time has to be at least 90 minutes more or less than the previously scheduled time before we allow changes without penalty." WHAT????!!!:eek: That's crazy! 10 or 15 minutes I can see it. But an hour and 15 minute inconvenience and I have to pay to try to get back close to what I originally booked??? I don't think so! Just another reason NOT to fly Delta!

BTW, in regards to your situation-I've had similar situations on both UA and US and both have been gracious enough to credit the difference after the flights were flown. In both cases, I called the Executive and Chairman's desks and they reviewed the history, verified that the changes were due to schedule changes and added the miles. Not sure if this is limited to top tier status passengers only, but I've never had a problem with this.

1) Stay calm.
2) Fly the flights.
3) Request "Original Routing Credit"

Probably get the full MQM with less flying. SCORE!

1) Stay calm.
2) Fly the flights.
3) Request "Original Routing Credit"

Probably get the full MQM with less flying. SCORE!

All GREAT points...on UA, I actually hope for schedule changes (usually Friday nights) so I can switch to better flights and maybe even maximize my miles....as long as you have the flight #'s ready to go and mention "schedule change", they usually book it right away without much (if any) grief.