Originally Posted by
NW scoop
The statement that Platinum members will no longer be exempt from the award ticket redeposit and reissue fee effective March 1, 2009 is correct. This decision was made in an effort to preserve award seat availability for the entire WorldPerks and SkyMiles membership. We have found that many of these award seat bookings were held until the last minute and never flown.
Instead, what you may now find is that many long-term Platinums will never fly NW (DL) again thanks to changes like this which have turned WorldPerks (SkyMiles) into arguably the least attractive domestic frequent flyer program for those who reach and surpass Platinum elite status (as well as those who don't).