Originally Posted by
BOS1971
Wow, this is interesting. One thing I wonder about in your statement here: "Delta gets paid ($7bn on its way to $10bn) for mileage points."
Is it really that simple? I would think that things like MQDs bonuses (the 2500 MQD per year from each card), companion certificates and skyclub visits require some compensation too.
Does AMEX compensate Delta based on the number of skyclub visits "you" (collectively) make in a given amount of time?
I'm sure there are accounting rules for the 2500 MQDs, but as MQDs don't actually directly equate to Delta
directly having to fork over for anything, the "cost" there is probably some abstracted fraction of whatever charge DL takes for someone hitting Platinum/Diamond, divided by about 10, and then multiplied by the share of folks who hit those tiers with the card(s).
Or they might just flat-out not charge it, arguing that it's a fiddly mess that really can't be reliably quantified.
I suspect there
is some compensation formula from Amex to Delta for the SkyClub visits. If I had to guess, it's at some fixed rate at each airport (IIRC the airlines have to pay the airport for each entry), though there's probably an adjustment for folks who enter with a reservation linked to the card but which qualifies in its own right.