Jan 18, 2016, 10:57 am

FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides

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

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.

For other airlines:
AA Thread
AS Thread
B6 Thread
DL Thread
F9 Thread
HA Thread
NK Thread
UA Thread
WN Thread

Airline fee $250/$200/$100 reimbursement reports: DL only (2015-2019)

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Jun 5, 2019, 6:24 am

#1561

superret

Join Date: Jun 2014

Posts: 14

Purchased 4 x $50 (seperately) 5/31
Posted 6/1
Reimbursed 6/3

Jun 6, 2019, 6:51 am

#1562

Raj Ambavane

Join Date: May 2019

Posts: 11

2 Hilton Amex Aspire ($500)

Just got $250 worth of Delta gift card. First tried with $50 in one transaction and then 4 X $50 in one transaction. Everything worked liked clockwork. Used desktop and the link in this Wiki. Just got the first $50 on my finance Hilton Amex back and bought the last 4 X $50. Total of $500 delta gift cards this year and $500 hopefully next year to take a nice trip in 2020. Thank you all for the info you guys post on this forum. You guys rock!

Jun 6, 2019, 12:21 pm

#1563

andym129

Join Date: May 2019

Posts: 8

Quote:

Originally Posted by luoxiao

Do you purchase with computer or phone?

Computer and after it posted it broke up a day later and then each was reimbursed. Must practice patience. 😁

Jun 8, 2019, 11:22 am

#1564

lbotez

Join Date: Jun 2012

Posts: 493

Delta seems to allow you to upgrade to first class with cash or miles. I was wondering if you do this upgrade, will you get reimbursed? It's like $79 (Madison to LaGuardia). I'm leaning towards "no;" since it says "no upgrades;" but since it's only $79 per ticket, does anyone think it's worth a try? Or I could use my delta miles.

Also, I want to collect this on my Amex Hilton Aspire card. I just upgraded this card, so I'm to totally convinced this even works (like it does on my Amex Plat card)... Anyone have any problems with this card?

Jun 8, 2019, 1:05 pm

#1565

LittleDove

Join Date: Oct 2015

Posts: 8

Amex Aspire
Purchased $150 (3X$50) in a single transaction using link in thread on a laptop
6/4 Pending at $150
6/5 Posted as 3X$50 transactions DELTA AIRLINES-ATLANTA
6/7 Reimbursed 3X$50

Thanks!

Jun 8, 2019, 5:44 pm

#1566

marksyr

Join Date: Feb 2018

Location: DTW

Programs: Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, IHG Platinum Elite, Marriott Gold Elite, MGM Pearl

Posts: 10

Amex Gold Delta SkyMiles
Purchased $50 Delta Gift Card online with desktop browser
Posted 6/3
Reimbursed 6/5

Jun 10, 2019, 9:31 am

#1567

uppereastsider

Join Date: Mar 2014

Location: NYC

Programs: DL Platinum, AA Plat Pro, Bonvoy Lifetime Platinum, JetBlue Mosaic 3, Amtrak Select

Posts: 966

Just bought a $99 FCM offer and got reimbursed on my Amex Plat

Jun 12, 2019, 8:28 am

#1568

gdoubleu

Join Date: Feb 2013

Location: MEL

Programs: QF Gold, FB Plat, Accor Diamond, Hilton Gold, Marriot Gold – ex-UA 1k, ex-AA Plat, ex IHG Plat

Posts: 148

1 x $100 GC
Purchased right after airline benefit swap politely requested (and granted) on 06/07
Reimbursed on 06/10

edit: added bonus, I got 5x MR points on this transaction tagged as "DELTA AIR LINES DELTA.COM"

Last edited by gdoubleu; Jun 12, 2019 at 9:20 am Reason: Clarity

Jun 12, 2019, 9:17 am

#1569

scubadu

Join Date: Sep 2008

Location: AUS

Programs: BAEC Gold, AA PPro, Hyatt Globalist, Amex Plat

Posts: 7,041

Quote:

Originally Posted by gdoubleu

$100 GC
Purchased right after airline benefit swap politely requested (and granted) on 06/07
Reimbursed on 06/10

edit: added bonus, I got 5x MR points on this transaction tagged as "DELTA AIR LINES DELTA.COM"

Are you saying this was a single $100 gift card purchase that was reimbursed? Or two $50 cards?

Regards

Jun 12, 2019, 9:19 am

#1570

gdoubleu

Join Date: Feb 2013

Location: MEL

Programs: QF Gold, FB Plat, Accor Diamond, Hilton Gold, Marriot Gold – ex-UA 1k, ex-AA Plat, ex IHG Plat

Posts: 148

Quote:

Originally Posted by scubadu

Are you saying this was a single $100 gift card purchase that was reimbursed? Or two $50 cards?

Regards

1 x $100 – I will edit my post for the sake of clarity
And the bonus 5x is on a US Plat.

Global Adventurer likes this.

Jun 12, 2019, 11:33 am

#1571

uppereastsider

Join Date: Mar 2014

Location: NYC

Programs: DL Platinum, AA Plat Pro, Bonvoy Lifetime Platinum, JetBlue Mosaic 3, Amtrak Select

Posts: 966

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbotez

I took this offer (also known as FCM or first class monetization) for $99 and received a credit on my Amex platinum

Jun 16, 2019, 5:02 pm

#1572

TropicalTripper

Join Date: Feb 2006

Location: DCA/IAD

Programs: AA EXP, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, HHonors Diamond, National Exec, Hertz PC, Nexus

Posts: 412

Used Hilton Aspire AMEX to buy a one-way upgrade to from DCA-SLC-YVR on 5/15. It posted as a $247.52 USD (but charged in CAD). The credit hadn't posted as of today so I chatted with the AMEX rep who agreed to issue a credit in the amount I have remaining for fee credit this year. The charge posted as 'upgrade charge.' I gather from previous posts that C+ fees usually credit automatically so I'm not sure what happened here.

Jun 17, 2019, 11:38 am

#1573

Geeshv

Join Date: Jan 2016

Posts: 2

I was reimbursed for 2 x $11.20 for two award tickets back in March. I didn't even notice until I checked my credit today expecting it to be at $40 after two baggage fee reimbursements.

Jun 17, 2019, 12:25 pm

#1574

Zorak

Moderator: Hyatt; FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Jun 2015

Location: WAS

Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Caesars Diam, Marriott Tit, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester

Posts: 18,928

Quote:

Originally Posted by TropicalTripper

I've gotten reimbursed for additional charges up to $200 (on a Plat), and did not get reimbursed for $400+. If $247.52 didn't get reimbursed then that helps lower the upper bound... or it could be semi-random ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

My other thought was that reimbursement might only be triggered by amounts below the annual cap specific to each product but I think Aspire is $250? So that blows that theory.

Jun 18, 2019, 1:50 pm

#1575

Amendment

Join Date: Jul 2014

Posts: 7

Bought 2x $50 GC via the wiki link on 6/12, got reimbursed on 6/14. Doing it again today for the rest of the $100 via same 2x $50, not expecting any issues.