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)
Jul 3, 2019, 8:30 am
#1637
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 354
However, on TPG i noticed that somebody commented they bought 3 DL GCs on 6/25 and one of them was reimbursed on 6/29. Makes me wonder if they bought with a DL CC (I'm guessing DL gold) , or an amex plat/gold/aspire? They didn't specify. Here's the link: https://disqus.com/by/disqus_Uif6ldHWa8/?
Jul 3, 2019, 8:43 am
#1638
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 354
interesting DP, did you purchase the GCs in the same order you listed them here? If so, my guess is that the subsequent charges were delayed by DL as a fraud/accident prevention measure. Common automated practice when there are multiple charges by same user (IP address?) and same item/timeframe. Hence the latter 2 charges fell into the post 6/22-6/23 bracket, and weren't reimbursed.
Jul 3, 2019, 9:08 am
#1639
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 17
I'm going to bite the bullet and buy a $50 gc today with my Platinum card for the DP. Fingers crossed, but I still have the Aspire credits to fall back on.
Jul 3, 2019, 3:44 pm
#1640
Join Date: Mar 1999
Location: Alpharetta, GA, USA
Posts: 946
When I saw there was a possibility of GCs not being reimbursed anymore on Saturday morning, I went ahead and paid the same day change fee $75 on my Amex Gold (had the full $100 credit still to use). It posted Sunday and was reimbursed Monday. Makes me think that GCs are no longer working for the fee credit based on lack of data points saying otherwise.
Jul 4, 2019, 12:09 am
#1641
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 4,470
If the DL situation is not revived, will there be just one airline left whose GC's get reimbursed?
Jul 4, 2019, 3:24 pm
#1643
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 1
Looks like all gift card options are no longer working for AMEX at this time. Question. I have a existing reservation in coach...if I upgrade my seats to first class or comfort plus and pay with my amex platinum, will that trigger the AMEX reimbursement?
Jul 4, 2019, 6:46 pm
#1645
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Mexico City
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold, Marriot Gold, IHG Silver, Choice Platinum, Wyndham Gold
Posts: 3,842
Scroll back up and see a similar situation posed by another poster. I was also thinking of upgrading to comfort but don't want to take a chance. So, I am planning on paying for a seat selection to the emergency row and buy some in-flight food/beverages for reimbursement.
Jul 5, 2019, 9:18 am
#1646
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 2
I've been keeping up with this forum solely for this GC issue we've been having, and I think it may interesting to point out that we've had one positive DP past the initial 6/22-6/23 threshold.
"Purchased $50 Delta Gift Card with Hilton Aspire Amex on 6/25 and was reimbursed on 6/27."
It comes from the latest TPG speaking about how this airline credit GC trick isn't working anymore. Can't post direct URL (new user) but easily searchable. Don't know how reliable the DP is, but then again, how reliable is any DP if it's self-reported. Maybe there's some hope?
"Purchased $50 Delta Gift Card with Hilton Aspire Amex on 6/25 and was reimbursed on 6/27."
It comes from the latest TPG speaking about how this airline credit GC trick isn't working anymore. Can't post direct URL (new user) but easily searchable. Don't know how reliable the DP is, but then again, how reliable is any DP if it's self-reported. Maybe there's some hope?
Jul 5, 2019, 11:21 am
#1647
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 354
I've been keeping up with this forum solely for this GC issue we've been having, and I think it may interesting to point out that we've had one positive DP past the initial 6/22-6/23 threshold.
"Purchased $50 Delta Gift Card with Hilton Aspire Amex on 6/25 and was reimbursed on 6/27."
It comes from the latest TPG speaking about how this airline credit GC trick isn't working anymore. Can't post direct URL (new user) but easily searchable. Don't know how reliable the DP is, but then again, how reliable is any DP if it's self-reported. Maybe there's some hope?
"Purchased $50 Delta Gift Card with Hilton Aspire Amex on 6/25 and was reimbursed on 6/27."
It comes from the latest TPG speaking about how this airline credit GC trick isn't working anymore. Can't post direct URL (new user) but easily searchable. Don't know how reliable the DP is, but then again, how reliable is any DP if it's self-reported. Maybe there's some hope?
The thing that i noticed all these positive DPs have is they purchased multiple GCs in the same transaction. i believe in the USCreditcardguide example they purchased 5, and 2 were reimbursed.
Last edited by 808traveler; Jul 5, 2019 at 11:27 am
Jul 5, 2019, 11:26 am
#1649
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 354
here's the link to the article Doctorofcredit
Jul 6, 2019, 6:41 am
#1650
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Mexico City
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold, Marriot Gold, IHG Silver, Choice Platinum, Wyndham Gold
Posts: 3,842
The above transaction I completed on July 1st, posted today (July 6), as an Airline Reimbursement for $100.52. So, partial payments work. There is hope!
Edit:. This was on a AMEX Platinum card. The credit card transaction originally posted as Delta Airlines Atlanta "additional collection" under document type.
Last edited by Global Adventurer; Jul 6, 2019 at 7:12 am