USA Centurion now Delta Platinum Medallion status
Mar 1, 2011, 5:25 am
#16
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: GA
Programs: Amex Centurion, DL Gold, CO Gold, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold, USAir Plat, Hertz Gold, Avis Presidents
Posts: 29
Check you DL accounts. Mine and my wife were both upgraded to platinum overnight. 
Thumbs up AMEX
Centurion and Centurion additional card holder so not just a primary benefit
Thumbs up AMEX
Centurion and Centurion additional card holder so not just a primary benefit
Mar 1, 2011, 6:03 am
#18
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Orem, UT, USA
Programs: DL PM, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Platinum, Marriott Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 413
Just curious, but why would this be considered so fantastic and amazing?
Same thing happened with US when they introduced a 4th elite tier. It took almost a year but Cents reverted back to "2nd tier" (i.e. plat).
DL and CO did the 4th tier introduction a year ago, and precedence would suggest Cents would be reverted back to their "2nd tier" rather than dropping to the "3rd tier".
The idea of this ever happening with CO was lost when it became apparent many months ago that CO was slowly souring its ties to Amex (although nobody predicted just how isolationist they would become with their CC relationship). It just remained see how the DL change would pan out, and when.
Maybe part was due to the gradual cementing of ties as affiliate CC issuer, maybe part was due to the many requests and inquiries to CCS, maybe part was due to the obvious "this is exactly what happened with US" or the futility of paying significant amounts for everyone to be 3rd tier - only to have them resent them for it.
-- (slight OT complete) --
Anyway:
in 2010
HH introduced fast-track to Diamond (automatic Diamond non-USA)
Various upscale car "benefits" added
US lounge access added (with no flight requirement)
$200 credit added
CO lounges will be lost
CO elite status willl be lost
UA elite status (indirect) will be lost
But to have DL revert to 2009's status as 2nd tier is so overwhelming to "seal the deal for some time to come"?
(it's genuine question, don't read into it wrong)
Same thing happened with US when they introduced a 4th elite tier. It took almost a year but Cents reverted back to "2nd tier" (i.e. plat).
DL and CO did the 4th tier introduction a year ago, and precedence would suggest Cents would be reverted back to their "2nd tier" rather than dropping to the "3rd tier".
The idea of this ever happening with CO was lost when it became apparent many months ago that CO was slowly souring its ties to Amex (although nobody predicted just how isolationist they would become with their CC relationship). It just remained see how the DL change would pan out, and when.
Maybe part was due to the gradual cementing of ties as affiliate CC issuer, maybe part was due to the many requests and inquiries to CCS, maybe part was due to the obvious "this is exactly what happened with US" or the futility of paying significant amounts for everyone to be 3rd tier - only to have them resent them for it.
-- (slight OT complete) --
Anyway:
in 2010
HH introduced fast-track to Diamond (automatic Diamond non-USA)
Various upscale car "benefits" added
US lounge access added (with no flight requirement)
$200 credit added
CO lounges will be lost
CO elite status willl be lost
UA elite status (indirect) will be lost
But to have DL revert to 2009's status as 2nd tier is so overwhelming to "seal the deal for some time to come"?
(it's genuine question, don't read into it wrong)
Mar 1, 2011, 6:15 am
#19
Join Date: Oct 2007
Programs: Plat:US,DL (ex KL,AF,LX,LY) Gold:BA,VS (ex CO,UA).Plat.SPG,HGP Diam.HH. ICHG Plat RA. Amex Centurion
Posts: 673
Yep.
While I was originally led to understand that the official announcement was a few weeks away (and thus the website "leak" was a premature accident that was soon corrected) - it seems the change occured sooner than they anticipated.
In fact, they were so uncertain about the timing of the change to plat, that they paid who-knows-what to send all Cents their gold cards a couple of weeks ago (knowing that they would have to re-do all of them as plat if/when the agreement was signed)...
Still no formal announcement, however.
While I was originally led to understand that the official announcement was a few weeks away (and thus the website "leak" was a premature accident that was soon corrected) - it seems the change occured sooner than they anticipated.
In fact, they were so uncertain about the timing of the change to plat, that they paid who-knows-what to send all Cents their gold cards a couple of weeks ago (knowing that they would have to re-do all of them as plat if/when the agreement was signed)...
Still no formal announcement, however.
Mar 1, 2011, 6:33 am
#20
Join Date: Oct 2007
Programs: Plat:US,DL (ex KL,AF,LX,LY) Gold:BA,VS (ex CO,UA).Plat.SPG,HGP Diam.HH. ICHG Plat RA. Amex Centurion
Posts: 673
DL Platinum would mean a lot to me, so I hope this thread isn't just getting my hopes up. 
S.Bling, while you are correct that this would only realign us back to having DL's 2nd tier, I think most of us had given up hope that it would happen siince many had queried AmEx about it and we were told emphatically no, that Centurion would not get Platinum.
Susan
S.Bling, while you are correct that this would only realign us back to having DL's 2nd tier, I think most of us had given up hope that it would happen siince many had queried AmEx about it and we were told emphatically no, that Centurion would not get Platinum.
Susan
The other 10% aren't in a position to say anything when negotiations were at a premature stage (and all of their calls are recorded for posterity).
Once in a while they let "hints" slip - like when I mentioned last year that they alluded to the fact that one of their domestic partnerships would possibly end (turned out it was CO and it was a severe cut in ties).
Recently when someone in IT posted the DL PM info prematurely too.
Who knows what else (if anything) is in the pipeline...
Mar 1, 2011, 6:40 am
#21
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SUX
Programs: BA Silver; HHonors Gold; SPG Gold; Points but dirt with everyone else
Posts: 8,050
For the questioning about gold vs. plat on DL, note that this is definitely an upgrade for Centurion cardholders. Two big perks that PM get that GM doesn't are unlimited free award redeposits and changes and free Economy Comfort seating on international flights. (Economy Comfort won't be on the domestic fleet.) These are effectively "top tier" benefits, so I wouldn't say that this change is just about restoring the second tier in terms of upgrade priority. There are definite advantages to PM over GM.
Mar 1, 2011, 8:11 am
#25
Join Date: Oct 2007
Programs: Plat:US,DL (ex KL,AF,LX,LY) Gold:BA,VS (ex CO,UA).Plat.SPG,HGP Diam.HH. ICHG Plat RA. Amex Centurion
Posts: 673
Mar 1, 2011, 8:26 am
#27
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,773
This would have made a huge difference in our travel booking for later this month if we'd been Platinum (with the upgrade certs that come with it). We are trying VS instead, but I'm happy to shift my loyalty back to Delta next trip due to this. Thanks DL and AmEx - good move!
Susan
Mar 1, 2011, 8:35 am
#28
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SUX
Programs: BA Silver; HHonors Gold; SPG Gold; Points but dirt with everyone else
Posts: 8,050
^ Wow, both my husband and me as well!!!! I am both thrilled and pi$$ed at the same time. This would have made a huge difference in our travel booking for later this month if we'd been Platinum (with the upgrade certs that come with it). We are trying VS instead, but I'm happy to shift my loyalty back to Delta next trip due to this.
Thanks DL and AmEx - good move!
Susan
This would have made a huge difference in our travel booking for later this month if we'd been Platinum (with the upgrade certs that come with it). We are trying VS instead, but I'm happy to shift my loyalty back to Delta next trip due to this. Thanks DL and AmEx - good move!
Susan
Mar 1, 2011, 9:22 am
#29
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: BOS
Posts: 2,315
My account was upgraded to Platinum, and I have the option of choosing my perk.
Folks, go to this link...
https://dn.delta.com/skymiles/choice...lectdetails.do
Thoughts on which Perk is the best choice?!
Folks, go to this link...
https://dn.delta.com/skymiles/choice...lectdetails.do
Thoughts on which Perk is the best choice?!
Mar 1, 2011, 10:25 am
#30
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Planet Earth
Programs: AMEX Cenutrion, DL Platinum, CO Gold, US Plat., VS Gold, HHonors Diamond, SPG Gold, PC Plat.
Posts: 71
FWIW, I also noticed the glitch (i.e., the reference to SM Platinum status) on the Centurion web site last week (by chance) and immediately called Centurion Member Services about it, because on the Cenutrion web site, the only reference to SM Platinum status was on the introductory "Air" benefits page (when you clicked through to the actual DL benefit, the SM Gold benefits came up, as they did previously). The very nice Centurion rep. with whom I spoke told me that she didn't know offhand, but that she would check. After placing me on hold for five minutes so that she could contact the AMEX Marketing Department, she came back and told me that while this hadn't been officially confirmed yet, PM status for Centurion people was in the works. She also promised to call me back as soon as she had a definitive update. Over the past week, I managed to forget about the whole issue, considering it a long-shot anyway, but earlier this morning, the same Centurion rep. called me back to confirm SM PM status as of today. How's that for great Centurion customer service?! Unlike airline customer service, Centurion customer service just keeps getting better and better.
Like others here, I checked the DL web site after I hung up with the Centurion rep., and saw that my PM status was now official as well. This bump-up, combined with the $200 fee credit for 2011 (I actually used mine for United, on which I have no elite status and which, consequently, charge me for everything when I fly them), helps a great deal in making my travel experience better. I think that I will choose the 20K bonus miles as my PM elective one-time perk, since the SWU certificates, if used to fly from the U.S. to Europe, require the purchase of a Y, B, or M fare that keeps getting higher and higher as the years go by (gone are the days when I could pay $950 r/t from JFK to CDG or FCO and use the SWUs to upgrade into BusinessElite).
Like others here, I checked the DL web site after I hung up with the Centurion rep., and saw that my PM status was now official as well. This bump-up, combined with the $200 fee credit for 2011 (I actually used mine for United, on which I have no elite status and which, consequently, charge me for everything when I fly them), helps a great deal in making my travel experience better. I think that I will choose the 20K bonus miles as my PM elective one-time perk, since the SWU certificates, if used to fly from the U.S. to Europe, require the purchase of a Y, B, or M fare that keeps getting higher and higher as the years go by (gone are the days when I could pay $950 r/t from JFK to CDG or FCO and use the SWUs to upgrade into BusinessElite).
Last edited by zhlobsky; Mar 1, 2011 at 10:58 am