Originally Posted by
Gargoyle
I had an inactive account with AA, hadn't flown with them in years. I didn't bother paying attention to it, and the miles expired. AA was sending me sale promotions every Tuesday, but didn't notify me of the miles. Didn't bother me, since I wasn't their customer any more.
You're comparing apples to oranges. First of all we're talking about a merger of programs. One where NW did not delete accounts. DL also doesn't count everything as "activity" that other airlines do.
I believe that when I used my AA credit card, that the expiration date of all miles is extended. I know some people have complained about doing mileage earning activities on DL, but without extending the expiration date.
As for why someone who doesn't fly should keep their miles... I know of people who flew often and banked miles for their retirement years. They treat it as a bank account in a way. Now, I'm not saying that is smart, but I've read of many people on FT who do the same.
They get emails that say their miles expire 12/09, and then the miles go poof in January. This does seem to stand up to scrutiny, as another thread the person did get their miles reinstated.
People seem to be fixated on awards 25k or more. I just flew family members on a 20k award, and there used to be some for as low as 10k, or maybe even 5k interisland in HI.
Sending a US mail letter out is pretty minimal in cost, and you can use it as a marketing promotion too.
NW/DL seems pretty desperate. I got both the 100k promo, and the pay economy, fly biz for 1 extra mile. Instead of driving all their formally loyal elites away by their stupid policies, why not just treat them right to begin with?