Dear Mr. Mullin

With the drastic changes made recently to Delta’s Sky Miles program in regard to Medallion qualification, I’m afraid the relationship we have shared for the past six years may come to a close in 2003. Exclusively a Delta customer, I can no longer remain dedicated and loyal to your airline due to the modifications you have made. I have qualified for Silver Medallion status every year for the past four, using the lower priced tickets you now feel are only worth half the credit needed to obtain Medallion status.

I am a leisure customer, paying for tickets myself. I am not a high profile business type whose company usually covers the cost of air travel. I work hard each year to obtain Medallion status, accumulating base miles or segments out of my own pocket. No one subsidizes my leisure travel. In modifying Delta’s elite qualification requirements, you’re sending a message that the high frequency leisure traveler is not of value to Delta Airlines.

I can say without fail that I have been a customer exclusive to Delta since the first year I qualified for Silver Medallion. If fares were less expensive or schedules better on a different carrier – I was more concerned about qualifying for Medallion status than the deal I could obtain from your competitors. So I stuck with Delta to continue to experience the level of service that I earned with elite status.

Flying at least once a month, (again – all leisure; all Delta) the benefits of the Medallion program are attractive, the seat-selection and pre-boarding opportunity my main reasons for maintaining my status. I learned long ago to forgo the useless 800-mile upgrades (27 on hand to-date), as the fares with the ability to upgrade are too costly for my meager, schoolteacher salary. Considering how often I fly Delta, It would be a nice surprise to be accommodated in first class every so often regardless of the fare I paid, but that rarely happens.

There have been many opportunities for your agents to show Delta’s appreciation for my exclusivity. In the past, when inquiring about a possible upgrade, I’ve had agents tell me that first class was wide open – but they couldn’t put me up there based on the fare I paid. On more than a few occasions, I’ve seen the entire first class cabin filled with employees and Non-Revenue Stand-Bys. Interesting. You’re more apt to get an upgrade if you’re family or a friend of a Delta employee than if you’re a regular customer who spends a few hundred dollars with Delta every month. In retrospect, my consistent bookings with you never really mattered and matter less now. It seems as if you’re looking for regular customers whose companies spend closer to thousands of dollars per month to make up your elite membership.

I found further disappointment recently when I learned that an elite member from any other airline could be granted Delta elite status – simply by providing credentials. Never a mile flown on Delta, but Platinum, Gold, or Silver on AA, UA, or anyone else moves on to the head of line. How can you grant gratis elite status to someone without any indication on how that individual gained elite status?

It pains me to say that I cannot pledge my continued support of your company when there is no incentive for me to work towards yearly elite status. There is no possible way I will qualify (or even come close) to medallion status with the new formula you’ve implemented. I would imagine there are a substantial number of other Delta customers (especially here in Atlanta) who are in the same quandary I find myself. Without the added benefit of elite status, I will no longer remain exclusive to Delta. My priority will now be price and schedules regardless of carrier, Delta or not. Many of my friends and associates have expressed the same feelings. You’ve taken away the incentive to remain loyal to Delta.

I do not see the wisdom behind the decision to alienate an entire segment of your customer base. This move is as bad as the insane $100 stand-by charge you recently initiated. During this trying time in the industry, you should be thanking and rewarding customers, who like me have helped in your past successes and continue to be there to support you through your present financial difficulties. But instead, you’re telling me that my hard-earned money is not good enough – that I have to come up with more of it if I expect to receive the service I’ve become accustomed to. I hope you’ve considered the effects this move will have on your long-term customers and their dedication to Delta Airlines.

I hope this drastic change to the Medallion program results in the additional revenue/business you are seeking. In the quest to make the elite club harder to gain entry into, I’m afraid you’ve lost my partner, my family, and myself as regular Delta customers.