Jan 18, 2016, 10:57 am
Last edit by: MaxVO
This thread is a continuation of: Airline fee $200/$100 reimbursement reports: DL only [2011 - 2015]
Credit posting delays range from several business days (typical) to several weeks (seen in Oct 2015). The T&Cs state that it could take up to four weeks, so wait at least that long before worrying, and certainly don't contact Amex prematurely
Caution: effective from 22 June 2019, gift card purchases from Delta do not get reimbursed.
Read this primer first
additional collections/split tender
THIS IS A LOOPHOLE. BE DISCREET
Anything coded as an additional collection (aka add/collect or a/c), including difference in fare when changing flights, and accepting an FCM offer, also triggers the credit and will be reimbursed; this may (insufficient data) only happen if the additional amount collected is below ~$250 (regardless of card type, e.g. there have been reports of full $100 credit for Gold card on a/c over $100 and full $200 credit for Plat on a/c over $200 but less than $250)
other non Gift Card options
(DEAD) eGift Card (eCert) details
This Section is not applicable effective 2019/06/22!
Credit posting delays range from several business days (typical) to several weeks (seen in Oct 2015). The T&Cs state that it could take up to four weeks, so wait at least that long before worrying, and certainly don't contact Amex prematurely
Caution: effective from 22 June 2019, gift card purchases from Delta do not get reimbursed.
Read this primer first
- In the Amex Membership Rewards family, both the Consumer and Business versions of the Platinum and Centurion cards qualify for a $200 airline credit. The Premier Rewards Gold (PRG) card is eligible for a $100 airline credit.
- You must
click here to<--(link dead) select Delta as your enrolled airline before you make a reimbursable purchase, else the benefit won't apply. The feature is activated immediately upon airline designation. Try logging in to your AMEX account and selecting the airline. This link may work - If you've selected DL in the past and don't wish to change airlines, there's no need to select again; current selection rolls into future years until modified.
- The T&Cs state the eligible charges, but YMMV, so don't call and ask especially about the fuzzier cases below because that will probably hasten closing of any loopholes.
- The credit is per account, not per card. If the main account has authorized users with additional cards, eligible charges may still be made on those cards, but they'll count jointly towards the same account limit.
- Credits are capped per calendar year, meaning you could tap the full amount on Dec 31st and again on Jan 1st in the extreme. Transaction date, not posting date, determines the year. Note: This is not my experience. I purchased Dec 31, 2016, posted Jan 1, 2017 and went against my 2017 credit. (TheMadBrewer)
- You will get a partial credit to bring your total annual reimbursements to the limit exactly if a qualifying charge takes you past the limit.
- After four weeks, if you've read this Wiki carefully and posted here seeking assistance but the credit still has not arrived, consider chatting with Amex online. Politely mention the "Delta extras" you thought would be reimbursed within four weeks and they'll handle it.
additional collections/split tender
THIS IS A LOOPHOLE. BE DISCREET
Anything coded as an additional collection (aka add/collect or a/c), including difference in fare when changing flights, and accepting an FCM offer, also triggers the credit and will be reimbursed; this may (insufficient data) only happen if the additional amount collected is below ~$250 (regardless of card type, e.g. there have been reports of full $100 credit for Gold card on a/c over $100 and full $200 credit for Plat on a/c over $200 but less than $250)
- Relevantly, split tender where you partially pay with a gift card, existing credit, VDB voucher etc. and partly charged to your card, are processed by DL as an add/collect and trigger the credit per above.
- Thus if you anticipate actually buying, say, a $200 DL ticket, you could buy a single $50 gift card, then buy the ticket using $50 GC and $150 on your card (the $150 will be reimbursed)
- Canceling a ticket within the 24-hour risk-free period generally results in funds being returned to where they came from (GC back to GC and CC back to CC). If you have no immediate travel plans but anticipate travel in the next year, consider buying a fully refundable ticket and then changing it later once you know your future travel dates. IF a lot of people suddenly start refunding tickets after getting the credit reimbursement this may hasten the demise of this particular loophole.
- Caution when buying multiple tickets: for example if you buy two $125 tickets in one transaction (total $250) and use one $100 GC or even two $50 GCs, they will all be applied to the same ticket and you would see one additional collection for $25 on that ticket and a separate "normal" charge for $125 for the second ticket. In this scenario only $25 will be reimbursed (instead of the $150 you might be expecting)
other non Gift Card options
- baggage and other service fees (same day change/standby, change fees, etc.)
- taxes on award flights
- in-flight purchases (EXCEPT wifi)
- SkyClub access/guest fees (but NOT gift cards purchased at a SC, which are actually activated at a 3rd party web site)
- mileage boosts (post 2499)
- The $59 for Delta Skymiles Select is reimbursed (posts 2180, 2182)
- seat assignment fees (may need to call in to have processed manually)
(DEAD) eGift Card (eCert) details
This Section is not applicable effective 2019/06/22!
- Delta eGift Cards (eCerts) have been reimbursed in practice, even though technically they do not meet the criteria listed by Amex for reimbursement. The name on the eCerts doesn't matter and need not match your card, but you must purchase using an eligible Amex card and meet the other criteria detailed in this Wiki.
- Denominations over $50 will not generate the credit. Multiple $50 eCerts will. The smallest denomination available is $50.
- To order, use this direct link to the eGift cert order page, or navigate via Delta.com>Shop>eGift Certificate.
- No need to place separate orders using multiple carts/checkouts. By adding multiple certs to one order (e.g., 4 x $50), even though they are in the same cart, the certs will post as separate transactions and still generate a credit for each.
- eCert purchases may initially authorize (show pending) as ticket purchases before posting to (finalize on) your statement. Multiple-eCert orders may authorize the combined value as a single pending ticket purchase. Don't worry; they'll post later as separate eCert charges in the qualifying amounts.
- eCerts are generated instantly, but the codes are not valid for use until 72 hours after purchase, so don't order expecting to use them in a pinch.
- A maximum of three eCerts may be redeemed per online transaction. Splitting a round-trip into two one-ways will allow you to use additional eCerts, but in some cases two one-ways may cost more than a single roundtrip so compare carefully to decide whether using more than 3 certs on a single trip is worthwhile.
- If purchasing a ticket for more than 1 person, splitting the purchase into a separate transaction for each person would also allow the use of more than 3 certs on a single trip at (usually) no additional cost. However this could have an adverse effect on ability to upgrade, upgrade priority, and other elite benefits, and on the likelihood of being reaccommodated on the same flight in the event of a flight cancellation.
- There is one recent REPORT of a telephone agent allowing more than three eCerts to be used when purchasing one ticket.
- eCerts do not expire. Their T&Cs are listed here.
Airline fee $250/$200/$100 reimbursement reports: DL only (2015-2019)
Jan 15, 2017, 9:09 pm
#271
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: DL Scattered Smothered Covered Medallion, Some hotel & car stuff, Kroger Plus Card
Posts: 10,745
Bought 4x $50 gift cards in one transaction which posted as 4 separate expenses on my statement. It was immediately covered by the Delta fee reimbursement. But 10 days later, it was reversed and now I'm stuck with a $200 balance on my card. Has anyone else experienced the same?
Jan 15, 2017, 10:13 pm
#272
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 40
Bought 4x $50 gift cards in one transaction which posted as 4 separate expenses on my statement. It was immediately covered by the Delta fee reimbursement. But 10 days later, it was reversed and now I'm stuck with a $200 balance on my card. Has anyone else experienced the same?
Jan 16, 2017, 10:36 am
#273
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 488
On Jan 3 I bought 2 Delta $50 electronic GCs. On Jan 4, I got a credit of $100 on my gold Amex. Nothing reversed to date.
Jan 17, 2017, 6:33 am
#274
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: LON, PDX
Programs: DL PM, AS MVP 75K, HH/SPG/MR Gold, Amex Plat, PRG, CSR
Posts: 2,064
Bought 4x $50 eGCs on Jan 14. Posted 15th, reimbursed automatically 16th. Will watch and post if reversed.
Jan 17, 2017, 5:12 pm
#276
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 5
Bought 4x $50 gift cards in one transaction which posted as 4 separate expenses on my statement. It was immediately covered by the Delta fee reimbursement. But 10 days later, it was reversed and now I'm stuck with a $200 balance on my card. Has anyone else experienced the same?
Jan 17, 2017, 10:03 pm
#277
Join Date: May 2004
Location: PWM
Programs: Marriott Platinum Hyatt Diamond Hilton Gold SPG Gold National Executive Avis Preferred Hertz Gold
Posts: 633
Thank you AMEX bought 4 $50 e-certs and was reimbursed within three days which included MLK day holiday. Very happy--good luck to all.
Jan 19, 2017, 7:54 am
#278
formerly known as s2kdriver80
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Long Island, New York, USA (JFK <--> OTP)
Programs: Delta SkyMiles, SPG, Marriott Rewards, Amex MR, Chase UR
Posts: 317
Stupid question - any reason why these gift cards should be bought in $50 increments rather than $100 (PRG) or $200 (Platinums) in one shot?
Jan 19, 2017, 8:03 am
#279
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Brooklyn
Programs: Delta Diamond, Bonvoy something good; sometimes other things too
Posts: 5,050
For Delta that limit seems to fall somewhere between $50 and $100 -- I recently bought a $100 GC to test it and was not reimbursed. The actual limit might be like $65 or something, but since most people are trying to spend an even $100/$200, buying gift cards in $65 increments wouldn't be much more useful than buying them in $50 increments.
(Some more expensive fees which are nonetheless valid under the T&Cs might not be automatically reimbursed, but in those cases customers can ask Amex to make a manual reimbursement -- but that doesn't work for GCs since those aren't valid under the T&Cs.)
Jan 19, 2017, 8:06 am
#280
formerly known as s2kdriver80
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Long Island, New York, USA (JFK <--> OTP)
Programs: Delta SkyMiles, SPG, Marriott Rewards, Amex MR, Chase UR
Posts: 317
Gift cards are not a valid use of the fee credits under the T&Cs, but because Amex doesn't have full visibility as to what each charge that comes through consists of, they apparently use certain rules to guess whether each charge counts or not. And it seems that one such rule is that charges below a certain amount are assumed to be valid fees, even if they're not, and are automatically reimbursed.
For Delta that limit seems to fall somewhere between $50 and $100 -- I recently bought a $100 GC to test it and was not reimbursed. The actual limit might be like $65 or something, but since most people are trying to spend an even $100/$200, buying gift cards in $65 increments wouldn't be much more useful than buying them in $50 increments.
(Some more expensive fees which are nonetheless valid under the T&Cs might not be automatically reimbursed, but in those cases customers can ask Amex to make a manual reimbursement -- but that doesn't work for GCs since those aren't valid under the T&Cs.)
For Delta that limit seems to fall somewhere between $50 and $100 -- I recently bought a $100 GC to test it and was not reimbursed. The actual limit might be like $65 or something, but since most people are trying to spend an even $100/$200, buying gift cards in $65 increments wouldn't be much more useful than buying them in $50 increments.
(Some more expensive fees which are nonetheless valid under the T&Cs might not be automatically reimbursed, but in those cases customers can ask Amex to make a manual reimbursement -- but that doesn't work for GCs since those aren't valid under the T&Cs.)
Last edited by DeltaFlyer IntrepidClass; Jan 19, 2017 at 8:16 am
Jan 19, 2017, 8:11 am
#281
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Brooklyn
Programs: Delta Diamond, Bonvoy something good; sometimes other things too
Posts: 5,050
Presumably there are a fair number of non-Flyertalker Amex Platinum card holders (particularly longtime card users, since this credit is only 7ish years old) who don't know about this trick and who routinely fail to get the full value from their credits, and Amex is happy about that too.
It's an interesting contrast to the Chase Sapphire Reserve credits, which are almost impossible to avoid obtaining if you use the card regularly.
Jan 19, 2017, 8:17 am
#282
formerly known as s2kdriver80
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Long Island, New York, USA (JFK <--> OTP)
Programs: Delta SkyMiles, SPG, Marriott Rewards, Amex MR, Chase UR
Posts: 317
I think Amex also has somewhat mixed feelings about all of this. On the one hand they don't want to give away money unnecessarily. But on the other hand they know that a lot of people are doing the math on the Platinum card and thinking "it's worth it to me at an effective annual fee of $250, but not at an effective annual fee of $450", so Amex doesn't want to crack down too hard on people claiming the fee through loopholes for fear of losing those customers altogether.
Presumably there are a fair number of non-Flyertalker Amex Platinum card holders (particularly longtime card users, since this credit is only 7ish years old) who don't know about this trick and who routinely fail to get the full value from their credits, and Amex is happy about that too.
It's an interesting contrast to the Chase Sapphire Reserve credits, which are almost impossible to avoid obtaining if you use the card regularly.
Presumably there are a fair number of non-Flyertalker Amex Platinum card holders (particularly longtime card users, since this credit is only 7ish years old) who don't know about this trick and who routinely fail to get the full value from their credits, and Amex is happy about that too.
It's an interesting contrast to the Chase Sapphire Reserve credits, which are almost impossible to avoid obtaining if you use the card regularly.
And also, regarding that limit... I recently paid $385 for excess checked baggage and put it on my Business Platinum - automatically approved without manual intervention. Maybe just for even numbered amounts there are limits I guess?
Jan 19, 2017, 8:47 am
#283
Moderator
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,954
Jan 20, 2017, 5:45 am
#284
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
I'm still waiting to see what happens with that before we make calls.
Jan 20, 2017, 6:55 am
#285
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,857
Shot in the dark here, but perhaps you had already exhausted your 2016 credit earlier in the year?