Originally Posted by
LAXRuss
Still, it is a bit like torture to have this new benefit "dangling" out there for those of us who would have already qualified for Diamond status back in July.
It doesn't happen often - but is quite frequent. You probably haven't paid attention to it. For example - all the CO elites who qualified for Star Alliance elite won't be getting benefits until later this year. Plus a lot of programs (frequent flyer, credit card, workplace etc.) don't pay out bonuses until after a certain period. So there are common analogies out there. It generally happens when 1 FF program flips alliances.
Airlines generally allow immediate updated benefits because they want you to immediately fly more. DL has done this by dangling the "rollover miles" carrot since they haven't ironed everything out with the Diamond Tier.