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

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

Old May 8, 2019, 12:23 pm
  #1531  
Moderator: Hyatt; FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
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It seems worth reiterating that add/collect under $200 appears to trigger the credit too, including any remaining amount when you pay only part of a ticket using a gift card.

This doesn't help those who are already in possession of a pile of $50 GCs, but may be useful to strategize for the future, for those who are going to spend on DL anyway.
Zorak is offline  
Old May 8, 2019, 1:05 pm
  #1532  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,809
What is meant by add/collect under $200?

Tks!

Originally Posted by Zorak
It seems worth reiterating that add/collect under $200 appears to trigger the credit too, including any remaining amount when you pay only part of a ticket using a gift card.

This doesn't help those who are already in possession of a pile of $50 GCs, but may be useful to strategize for the future, for those who are going to spend on DL anyway.
HawaiiO is offline  
Old May 8, 2019, 1:11 pm
  #1533  
 
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2
Sorry- I did not understand the LAX-LAX is a gift card purchase. If that's the case, then I'll try to change to DL w/AMEX and see how it goes. Thanks for your assistance.
JTOP is offline  
Old May 8, 2019, 1:39 pm
  #1534  
Moderator: Hyatt; FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
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Originally Posted by HawaiiO
What is meant by add/collect under $200?
Broadly speaking, any change to a ticket that results in an additional amount needing to be collected due to higher fare and/or change fee.

Notably, if you use a gift card to pay for part of a ticket, it seems to get processed in such a way that any remainder is treated as a/c, and if you pay that remainder with your Plat card... there are a few data points in the thread of amounts below $200 being reimbursed.
HawaiiO likes this.
Zorak is offline  
Old May 8, 2019, 3:21 pm
  #1535  
 
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Originally Posted by Zorak
Broadly speaking, any change to a ticket that results in an additional amount needing to be collected due to higher fare and/or change fee.

Notably, if you use a gift card to pay for part of a ticket, it seems to get processed in such a way that any remainder is treated as a/c, and if you pay that remainder with your Plat card... there are a few data points in the thread of amounts below $200 being reimbursed.
Interesting
EasternTraveler is offline  
Old May 9, 2019, 10:25 pm
  #1536  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 314
Given the gift card trick may be disappearing, what spend actually DOES count? There just aren't that many auxilliary charges, especially because I fly first class a lot so with no bag fees. Also, I noticed AmEx is asking my AU for their primary airline, even though i have already supplied one. Does the AU get to choose a different one than the primary?
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Old May 9, 2019, 10:32 pm
  #1537  
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Originally Posted by qofmiwok
Given the gift card trick may be disappearing, what spend actually DOES count? There just aren't that many auxilliary charges, especially because I fly first class a lot so with no bag fees. Also, I noticed AmEx is asking my AU for their primary airline, even though i have already supplied one. Does the AU get to choose a different one than the primary?
Why is it a given that the GC trick is going away?

Credit can be used for SC passes, excess baggage fees (if you check more than the FC allowance), change fees, in flight food/drink if not in FC, and many other items as listed in T&C (plus many others not listed).
krazykanuck likes this.
gooselee is offline  
Old May 11, 2019, 1:43 pm
  #1538  
stc
 
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Originally Posted by mia
koreanair720 reported purchase on May 3, reimbursement on May 6. Is that not recent?
Also, purchased 3x50 late on 5/8, charged on 5/9, credited 5/10.
stc is offline  
Old May 12, 2019, 6:30 pm
  #1539  
 
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 1
$50 e-certs purchased on 05/01. Reimbursed showed up 05/03.
2*$50 e-certs purchased on 05/05. Reimbursed showed up 05/06.
$50 e-certs purchased on 05/08. Reimbursed showed up 05/09.
banche is offline  
Old May 13, 2019, 2:35 pm
  #1540  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 76
4 x $50 purchased last week in single order. Reimbursement showed up a few days later.
David Simon is offline  
Old May 14, 2019, 10:14 pm
  #1541  
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: NYC
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Are the tax and fees on a Delta award ticket reimbursable? Thank you!
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Old May 14, 2019, 10:47 pm
  #1542  
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Originally Posted by kgkg
Are the tax and fees on a Delta award ticket reimbursable? Thank you!
Technically, no.

In practice, yes.
gooselee is offline  
Old May 15, 2019, 9:00 am
  #1543  
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: NYC
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Originally Posted by gooselee
Technically, no.

In practice, yes.
Thank you!
kgkg is offline  
Old May 17, 2019, 11:23 am
  #1544  
 
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 3
Thanks to everyone for the info!

I purchased 4x$50 gc from Delta on my Amex Plat in separate transactions on 5/13. Posted on 5/14. All $200 reimbursed on 5/16.
I was able to use the gc on 5/14. I called Delta and applied all 4 to a single plane ticket.
roxymigs is offline  
Old May 18, 2019, 6:16 am
  #1545  
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
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Purchased 1x$50 on 5/15. Posted on 5/16. Reimbursed on 5/17.
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