Help with DL military fares please

Happy New Year everyone!

I just learned through the SMS desk that I qualify for Delta's military fares. In the example she quoted me (LEX to MGM roundtrip) the fare dropped from like $469 to $156, so it's certainly something I want to look into ASAP.

However, she was not familiar enough with the program to elaborate. She did confirm with her supervisor that I qualify, since as a retiree I carry a military ID card with me. She also did confirm that it cannot be booked online - I call, they book over the phone, and I show my ID card and pay at the airport. That's fine with me as well.

But the area that is unclear is that it is defined "by market". OK, so LEX - MGM is a market they offer, but she did not know if that meant all flights, some flights, all seats, some seats, etc.

So, before I put everyone to a lot of trouble trying to book fares/routes that may not exist, I thought I'd come here first to see if anyone has any experience at this. Thanks folks!

If I recall correctly, there are additional requirements which vary by fare, market, etc. Such as having to travel in uniform and/or be on active duty and/or present valid orders. I do not believe that leisure or nonmilitary business travel by veterans is eligible ... but could be in error.

i had a friend that got the military fare and he had to go out to the airport to get his ticket. they couldnt do it over the phone because they had to see his id.

You do need miltary ID to book a military fare but you must be on active duty. Retired miltary personnel do not qualify.

You are correct. But again, to clarify, it's not veterans per se it's retirees. In other words, we are still card carrying members of the military community. A veteran may or may not be.

I'll keep digging.

Got the answer. Thanks anyway.

Seems the nice lady missed one important point. You need a GREEN military ID card. Which is kind of funny, because I think the color coded days are gone.

Does your CAC card look exactly like an Active Duty CAC? If so, I don't think DL could tell the difference and would allow you to book military fares, upon showing your ID.

So the implication is that the fare does not apply for retirees? Retiree IDs are still green(ish).

Nor should we be. True, my ID is green-ish, but it also says "Retired" right in the front.

Hi

Military Fares can now be book over the phone, and ticketed over the phone.
Just ask for the Military Desk


Delta Military Ticketing Enhancement (updated 12/6/07)
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December 6, 2007





Background

Delta’s Military Leave program currently requires that military personnel and their eligible family members must present a valid military ID/ Orders to be ticketed at the FTO/CTO/Travel Agency within 24 hours.

Note: Military retirees and inactive members of the military reserves are not eligible for the military leave fare. Military leave fares are for active military personnel and active duty reservists on leave or for their spouse and children.

Overview
Effective November 15, 2007, when a frontline Res rep receives a call from a customer for a domestic Delta Military Leave Fare, the rep must advise the customer, he will be required to provide the following qualifying documents at the airport before check-in in order to travel. The fare selected may have additional qualifications such as ticketing within 24 hours of booking.

The required documents for travel are:

Military personnel:
Military ID
Military Leave Orders / Weekend Pass / Leave Pass
Military dependents (spouse or dependent children):
Proof of relationship - military dependent ID

Action Required
Once the Res Reps have assured the traveler can provide the qualifying documents, the customer must be transferred to the Military Leave Desk line at xxxxx for booking and ticketing the reservation. Blind transfer after the prompts. This toll free number is for internal use only; do not give out to the customer.

Military Leave Desk hours of operation: 0600 – 0200 EST.

Note: Only the Military Leave Desk will have the capability to issue domestic Military Leave fare tickets. There are audits in place to prevent unauthorized reps from issuing tickets for military leave fares. All domestic calls must be transferred to the Military Leave Desk for handling.

Indicators on the PNR will require Airport Customer Service agents to verify Military ID/Orders before they can check in the customer.

I suppose one might say that BLUE retired military ID cards are "green-ish" if one wants to speak in relative terms. That's like saying that red is "purple-ish"!

Active duty personnel these days now carry a white card with an embedded microchip. The card has a vertical orientation and does not resemble the green, red, grey or blue ID cards.

In any event, the fare, as already clarified, does NOT apply to retired military personnel.
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i used to get the military fares all the time, still do and really like the new military desk, they seem to give lower fares than before the desk existed. You have to go to the airport and show your ACTIVE DUTY ID within 24 hours of booking the ticket over the phone. Fares are crazy cheap too.

What i read was that dependants can fly for the fares too? So my wife could travel on a military fare with me when we go somewhere? If so, that is new to me, and awesome!

actually the way the MIL Desk is setup now

you can pay for the ticket over the phone, no longer putting on hold or going to airport within 24hrs.

You just have to show MIL ID on day of dept. See rules above in prev post.