Originally Posted by Duke787

Bingo. Especially since the opportunity cost of spending on DL is so high.

Instead of putting big purchases on this card due to the MQD waiver (and tangible benefit I could calculate), I’ll just put them on either a cash back or flexible currency card. Now that card may still be an AMEX (EDP) or my CFU but it won’t be DL AMEX — so maybe AMEX doesn't care as long as I “stay in the family” but DL will feel the pinch and I’ll just use that cash back to WFBF.

It’s been noted throughout this thread but it’s also nuts that the airline pitching themselves to business travelers doesn’t seem to understand business travelers.

Your HVCs CANNOT book via DL Vacation or DL portals for hotels and car rentals. They have to go through AMEX GBT or similar. That’s literally why FFPs were so successful up to this point, to try and get folks on unmanaged OPM to pick airline A over airline B because Airline A throws them a (non-taxable) kickback that they can use to take the family on vacation to Europe or Hawaii once a year to make up for all the time they are spending in an airplane.

You kill that value, you kill the loyalty of the business traveler who has unmanaged spend and now picks the direct flight of SFO - RDU over the connection of SFO - ATL - RDU because without any benefit to the traveler, it’s better to just get home faster. And the idea that this high spending leisure travel is here to stay and replace the business traveler is nonsense