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)
Dec 31, 2018, 10:41 am
#1156
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: AA 1M
Posts: 31,474
Do purchases of gift cards that get reimbursed count towards spend required to get bonus?
Dec 31, 2018, 11:09 am
#1157
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: NW Florida
Posts: 283
Duplicate
Last edited by pjpoker; Dec 31, 2018 at 11:11 am Reason: Duplicate post
Dec 31, 2018, 11:10 am
#1158
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: NW Florida
Posts: 283
You literally have nothing to lose by trying (also - why not 4 eGCs to use all the credit?).
1. If you buy and they credit to 2018, you've captured the 2018 credit. Yay!
2. If you buy and they credit to 2019, you've lost the 2018 credit. Oh well, at least you tried.
3. If you do nothing, you've lost the 2018 credit. But...you have no idea if #1 would have occurred.
1. If you buy and they credit to 2018, you've captured the 2018 credit. Yay!
2. If you buy and they credit to 2019, you've lost the 2018 credit. Oh well, at least you tried.
3. If you do nothing, you've lost the 2018 credit. But...you have no idea if #1 would have occurred.
Agreed but I am changing my airline choice for 2019 so if it didn't come off 2018 it wouldn't come off at all.
Dec 31, 2018, 11:18 am
#1159
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: DL Scattered Smothered Covered Medallion, Some hotel & car stuff, Kroger Plus Card
Posts: 10,745
Still, I'd say there isn't anything to lose. This is the only/final opportunity you'll have to get your $190 credit. The absolute worst case is it doesn't get credited at all, and then you've just pre-paid for $200 of DL flights (which are transferable to others if that was your plan).
I would actually tend to think that the credit is based on the transaction posting date, meaning it would be in 2019 and you're SOL already
. But...this also very much seems like buying a lottery scratch-off where you're guaranteed to get your money back if it's not a winner.
Dec 31, 2018, 11:37 am
#1160
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 4
Ahh, I see.
Still, I'd say there isn't anything to lose. This is the only/final opportunity you'll have to get your $190 credit. The absolute worst case is it doesn't get credited at all, and then you've just pre-paid for $200 of DL flights (which are transferable to others if that was your plan).
I would actually tend to think that the credit is based on the transaction posting date, meaning it would be in 2019 and you're SOL already. But...this also very much seems like buying a lottery scratch-off where you're guaranteed to get your money back if it's not a winner.
Still, I'd say there isn't anything to lose. This is the only/final opportunity you'll have to get your $190 credit. The absolute worst case is it doesn't get credited at all, and then you've just pre-paid for $200 of DL flights (which are transferable to others if that was your plan).
I would actually tend to think that the credit is based on the transaction posting date, meaning it would be in 2019 and you're SOL already
. But...this also very much seems like buying a lottery scratch-off where you're guaranteed to get your money back if it's not a winner.
Dec 31, 2018, 11:47 am
#1161
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,403
For me, four gift cards purchased separately on December 26th, posted December 27th, and credited on December 28th. Easy.
Dec 31, 2018, 12:36 pm
#1162
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: DL Scattered Smothered Covered Medallion, Some hotel & car stuff, Kroger Plus Card
Posts: 10,745
Dec 31, 2018, 2:57 pm
#1163
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 2
I have $48 left on my $200, any chance of a gift card?
Realized today when I went to do my annual gift cards with the Amex Credit I had $98 bucks left (took my wife who is a saphire reserve type into the Skyclub a couple of times). So I did a $50 egift and now I'm guessing I'm out in the cold on the remaining $48. Unless some bright person has another idea?
Dec 31, 2018, 3:24 pm
#1164
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Truth or Consequences, NM
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott Titanium, Hertz President's Circle, UA Silver, Mobile Passport Unobtanium
Posts: 6,192
Realized today when I went to do my annual gift cards with the Amex Credit I had $98 bucks left (took my wife who is a saphire reserve type into the Skyclub a couple of times). So I did a $50 egift and now I'm guessing I'm out in the cold on the remaining $48. Unless some bright person has another idea?
Dec 31, 2018, 3:37 pm
#1165
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 2
Oh, is that a possibility? I was under the impression that if it was charge was under $50 the gift card wouldn't be reimbursed. If I can just pay $2 that would be great.
Dec 31, 2018, 9:46 pm
#1166
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: DL PM, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, AA, WP
Posts: 840
Welcome to FT, Mik145! We hope you stick around and learn some stuff and make some friends!
I think the deal is that you cannot buy a card for more than $50 to be reimbursed, not that a charge under $50 would not work ($50 is the min). It is the last day of the year, not sure when it will post. I have found it's pending for a day or so and then posts. I saw somewhere that it depends on transaction date, but it seems to follow posting date for me.
Good luck!
I think the deal is that you cannot buy a card for more than $50 to be reimbursed, not that a charge under $50 would not work ($50 is the min). It is the last day of the year, not sure when it will post. I have found it's pending for a day or so and then posts. I saw somewhere that it depends on transaction date, but it seems to follow posting date for me.
Good luck!
Jan 1, 2019, 2:59 pm
#1167
Join Date: Jan 2019
Programs: Delta
Posts: 1
eCert or Physical Gift Card ??
Hello,
I was reimbursed last year for 5 $50 eCerts. I would like to get the physical gift cards this year. Does it matter what form you choose to get the reimbursement? Thanks.
I was reimbursed last year for 5 $50 eCerts. I would like to get the physical gift cards this year. Does it matter what form you choose to get the reimbursement? Thanks.
Jan 1, 2019, 7:16 pm
#1168
formerly willbbiddy
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 208
Do the credits take away from sign up bonus spending?
Jan 1, 2019, 7:19 pm
#1169
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Truth or Consequences, NM
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott Titanium, Hertz President's Circle, UA Silver, Mobile Passport Unobtanium
Posts: 6,192