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

Old Jan 18, 2016, 10:57 am
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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 Dec 14, 2018, 4:14 pm
  #1096  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 52
Originally Posted by Hawkeyefan
Are you saying its worth a call to see if Y to E+ upgrade can be reimbursed?
It didn't work for me.. paid $189 for E+ seat on Y tkt, did not post automatically, called to get reimbursement, agent said it should qualify..nothing few weeks later.. called again , second agent said it would not qualify, promised to investigate first agent's assurance of reimbursement.. nothing happened.. luckily for me there was a schedule change so I just cancelled tkt and got my money back
kar69 is offline  
Old Dec 14, 2018, 5:28 pm
  #1097  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 85
Man, is there *anything* useful you can do for the $200 airline credit?
NDS88 is offline  
Old Dec 14, 2018, 5:54 pm
  #1098  
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SEA
Posts: 138
Originally Posted by NDS88
Man, is there *anything* useful you can do for the $200 airline credit?
Of course. You can use them to offset the cost of in-flight purchases, luggage charges, lounge access, and flights paid in cash (by bouncing through GCs).

Whether these are valuable to you specifically is a different matter.

At the very least there's always the GC resale market. If you're uncomfortable with that, you could purchase GCs and donate them to the charity of your choice, taking the tax deduction. Or, if you have a family member that often uses (different airline), switch your annual credit to that airline and gift something cool to the family.
daloosh likes this.
weaseltown is offline  
Old Dec 15, 2018, 6:08 am
  #1099  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: DL PM, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, AA, WP
Posts: 840
Originally Posted by weaseltown
At the very least there's always the GC resale market. If you're uncomfortable with that, you could purchase GCs and donate them to the charity of your choice, taking the tax deduction. Or, if you have a family member that often uses (different airline), switch your annual credit to that airline and gift something cool to the family.
Just got the Aspire card and put in for my DL gift cards, no problems. I didn't even realize there was a resale market, but if people will buy fake status challenges on the bay, then of course, why not real gift cards? What put me over the edge on getting the card was that 1) it's the end of the year, so I can get the airline credit now and next month, 2) it's not so much trouble to redeem three gift cards per ticket, and 3) the Amex upgrade was literally about three clicks.

But certainly if I didn't use them myself, someone else in my family must need to buy airfare now and then, so I like your suggestions. As a datapoint, my experience has been buy gift card on day 1, see them post at Amex on day 3, reimbursement on day 5.
daloosh is offline  
Old Dec 19, 2018, 2:45 am
  #1100  
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 6
Report back, I posted while ago and I am confirmed it will not get reimbursed. (Been a week already and my previous experience tell me it often posted in 2-4 days, and it will be very risky to call Am EX for it.)

Now I am getting it through the correct channel and give up Airbnb gift card deal, I am making sure it is Atlanta, not Cashstar site.
this time will be 50x5 for HH.

Wish me luck.
uwey is offline  
Old Dec 19, 2018, 8:40 am
  #1101  
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 6
Originally Posted by uwey
Report back, I posted while ago and I am confirmed it will not get reimbursed. (Been a week already and my previous experience tell me it often posted in 2-4 days, and it will be very risky to call Am EX for it.)

Now I am getting it through the correct channel and give up Airbnb gift card deal, I am making sure it is Atlanta, not Cashstar site.
this time will be 50x5 for HH.

Wish me luck.
After the purchase, I saw the location pop up for my transaction as Atlanta and DELTA AIRLINE.
It should be posted in a few days, I would never get baited by other incentive programs....

By Jan/1 I am about to get all e gc again.
uwey is offline  
Old Dec 19, 2018, 12:33 pm
  #1102  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 97
Fudge! I just bought 2x50gc for my gold card cleared yesterday. Hoping it'll go through but now I'm skeptical.
rjruiz is offline  
Old Dec 19, 2018, 1:20 pm
  #1103  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: PSC
Programs: Hilton Diamond/IHG Platinum/DL Plutononium
Posts: 1,728
Originally Posted by kar69
It didn't work for me.. paid $189 for E+ seat on Y tkt, did not post automatically, called to get reimbursement, agent said it should qualify..nothing few weeks later.. called again , second agent said it would not qualify, promised to investigate first agent's assurance of reimbursement.. nothing happened.. luckily for me there was a schedule change so I just cancelled tkt and got my money back
Was this on Delta?

I bought an upgrade to F last week for $89, in the past it has triggered the credit, but it still hasn't posted after 5 days. Worried it isn't going to trigger.
hi55us is offline  
Old Dec 19, 2018, 8:57 pm
  #1104  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 52
Originally Posted by hi55us
Was this on Delta?

I bought an upgrade to F last week for $89, in the past it has triggered the credit, but it still hasn't posted after 5 days. Worried it isn't going to trigger.
Yes, Delta international flight
kar69 is offline  
Old Dec 21, 2018, 10:02 am
  #1105  
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 6
So I purchased the Delta $50 e-gift card on the desktop site and it is showing as Atlanta airport but under document type on Amex it states passenger ticket. Not sure what I did different than others - if someone has a suggestion I would appreciate it No reimbursement -
klinut is offline  
Old Dec 21, 2018, 5:18 pm
  #1106  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 20
Bought 2 x $50 gift cards via the link provided, reimbursement within 1 day of transaction posting. Ordered 2 more.
mirob is offline  
Old Dec 21, 2018, 5:25 pm
  #1107  
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 14
Is anyone else having trouble making the actual purchase? The page just refreshes when I click to buy.
n923la is offline  
Old Dec 21, 2018, 11:27 pm
  #1108  
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: AMEX Plat, AMEX Hilton Aspire, CSR, Citi AA Plat
Posts: 2
Exclamation AMEX Plat & AMEX Hilton Aspire Airline Fee Help Needed

This is my first year with both the AMEX Plat and AMEX Hilton Aspire. With the AMEX Part I purchased 3x $50 DL (physical) GCs that posted 11/28 and don't think I'll be getting the airline credit. I read the Wiki, but I'm cautious to call or buy the cards again if they don't trigger the reimbursement. I did buy from a desktop site, but thought it was because I selected physical and not eGCs. I also have the AMEX Hilton Aspire and did 1x $50 DL eGC that posted 12/20 and idk if it will trigger either because it's coded as airline travel. If the Aspire doesn't post the reimbursement I'm thinking of calling and asking to change it over to another airline since nothing has posted yet.

Below are the actual transactions; help needed please and thank you!

AMEX Platinum Purchase:
DELTA AIR LINES GC
25 PEARL STREET
PORTLAND
ME
04101
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (THE)
Additional Information: NOK GIFT CARDSGIFT CARDS
Reference:
Category: Merchandise & Supplies - Internet Purchase

AMEX Aspire:
Document Type: PASSENGER TICKET
ATLANTA AIRPORT
-
ATLANTA
GA
30344
UNITED STATES
800.221.1212
Additional Information: DELTA AIR LINES
Reference:
Category: Travel - Airline
D11M311 is offline  
Old Dec 22, 2018, 7:42 am
  #1109  
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Truth or Consequences, NM
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott Titanium, Hertz President's Circle, UA Silver, Mobile Passport Unobtanium
Posts: 6,186
Originally Posted by D11M311
This is my first year with both the AMEX Plat and AMEX Hilton Aspire. With the AMEX Part I purchased 3x $50 DL (physical) GCs that posted 11/28 and don't think I'll be getting the airline credit. I read the Wiki, but I'm cautious to call or buy the cards again if they don't trigger the reimbursement. I did buy from a desktop site, but thought it was because I selected physical and not eGCs. I also have the AMEX Hilton Aspire and did 1x $50 DL eGC that posted 12/20 and idk if it will trigger either because it's coded as airline travel. If the Aspire doesn't post the reimbursement I'm thinking of calling and asking to change it over to another airline since nothing has posted yet.

Below are the actual transactions; help needed please and thank you!

AMEX Platinum Purchase:
DELTA AIR LINES GC
25 PEARL STREET
PORTLAND
ME
04101
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (THE)
Additional Information: NOK GIFT CARDSGIFT CARDS
Reference:
Category: Merchandise & Supplies - Internet Purchase

AMEX Aspire:
Document Type: PASSENGER TICKET
ATLANTA AIRPORT
-
ATLANTA
GA
30344
UNITED STATES
800.221.1212
Additional Information: DELTA AIR LINES
Reference:
Category: Travel - Airline
The purchase with the Pearl Street address will not be reimbursed. That address is the address of CashStar - who is the merchant - and thus will not trigger the reimbursement.

I think you'll be reimbursed for the second purchase, listing Delta Air Lines as the merchant.
Diplomatico is offline  
Old Dec 22, 2018, 5:44 pm
  #1110  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 891
so hope i am not too late, have 100 from Amex Gold and 200 from Business Platinum to spend. I bought couple of them through this link in the wiki, https://www.delta.com/egift/eGiftPur...D_eGift_Launch[* I hope thats the right link, can someone please confirm?
troyhouse is offline  

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