Originally Posted by
FlyingBeanCounter
To put it in perspective I have flown about 60k miles. and spent 21k in MQD with no partner spend. .30 a mile is a pretty good return for them. You on the other had are about .14 a mile by the end of the year. A 25k platimum at 6k spend is .08 a mile. What is the profitable amount? No idea. .08 is stupid. .14 is probably middle of the road. .30 a mile is stupid for me to spend, but I am fortunate that I can. If it was up to me I would be more like you and spend the .14 a mile. I completely understand that DL needs people like me while I control that kind of spend though.
The real question is this - how many hub captives are impacted? I bet most. Non-hub medallions are probably like me and have the spend to maintain the status. If you are hub captive, are you really going to leave?
Again - you are a HVC. You are more profitable than an average loyal customer. Someone who buys F/D1 for every flight is obviously more profitable to DL. We agree. I don't think the correct metric for comparison is "per mile" but that doesn't change the conclusion that we both agree with.
All I'm saying is that they are scrapping "loyalty" as the measure for status, and that it's risky, during difficult times when they may need loyal customers. I understand that you like the changes. I understand the thought process behind the changes. I agree with the fact that it could be good for Delta financially. I don't agree that it's a slam dunk decision, because I don't agree that DMs that don't spend $35k are "not profitable" to Delta.