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American Express and Delta Airlines extend partnership to 2029.

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American Express and Delta Airlines extend partnership to 2029.

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Old Apr 2, 2019, 9:43 am
  #1  
mia
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American Express and Delta Airlines extend partnership to 2029.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/ho...0402005631/en/

Ongoing investment in industry-leading benefits for Delta SkyMiles Credit Cards from American Express

Complimentary access to the award-winning network of Delta Sky Clubs around the world for Delta Reserve Card Members and Platinum Card® Members from American Express

Delta participation in the Membership Rewards program from American Express, allowing those points to transfer into the SkyMiles® Program

Delta as an American Express Card-accepting merchant
Delta expects its benefit from the relationship to double to nearly $7 billion annually by 2023, up from $3.4 billion in 2018,
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Old Apr 2, 2019, 11:09 am
  #2  
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I'll take inevitable conclusions for $500, Alex.

That said glad to see it continue though those 2 are so joined at the hip I can't have imagined it ending anytime soon.
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Old Apr 2, 2019, 12:25 pm
  #3  
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Fantastic. Free access to the Sky Clubs is a very valuable benefit for me. Yay for Amex.
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Old Apr 2, 2019, 6:40 pm
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Originally Posted by krazykanuck
I'll take inevitable conclusions for $500, Alex.

That said glad to see it continue though those 2 are so joined at the hip I can't have imagined it ending anytime soon.
I said that about Costco and Amex in 2015!
But I'm glad to see this news since I am enjoying the Skyclubs with my AX Platinum.
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Old Apr 2, 2019, 9:31 pm
  #5  
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All the more reason to spend those miles. God only knows what’s going to happen to award redemption rates with the amount of SkyPesos that must be issued for DL to double its benefit here.
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Old Apr 2, 2019, 9:48 pm
  #6  
 
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Originally Posted by javabytes
God only knows what’s going to happen to award redemption rates with the amount of SkyPesos that must be issued for DL to double its benefit here.
Good point. I'm trying to figure out just how they jointly plan to more than double the financial benefit to DL from 2018 to 2023. $3.4 billion a year is already a large number, and to more than double in 5 years? It's not just as simple as Amex buying twice the number of miles - why would Amex do that if it didn't also double the amount of revenue it earns from DL passengers? I would imagine that a large number of frequent DL flyers already have an Amex product - how is this going to double? I know they wouldn't make such a statement without a concrete plan to achieve it - I wonder what it is.
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Old Apr 3, 2019, 6:50 am
  #7  
 
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It's still a weak transfer partner since Skymiles are worth somewhere along the lines of 1 cpm. Transfer ratio should increase to 1:1.5 or even 1:2. When I can get a domestic first class flight on American for 25,000 miles (one way), it shouldn't cost me 50,000 miles for the same on a Delta flight.

AMEX needs to up their game a little and increase the value of MR's or else they'll continue to be seen as just another card issuer.
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Old Apr 3, 2019, 9:58 am
  #8  
mia
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Originally Posted by mikesyr18
It's still a weak transfer partner.....
These stereotypes are not helpful. I am researching a trip on which DL offers a better schedule, on a more comfortable aircraft, for fewer miles than AA.
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Old Apr 3, 2019, 10:39 am
  #9  
 
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Originally Posted by mia
These stereotypes are not helpful. I am researching a trip on which DL offers a better schedule, on a more comfortable aircraft, for fewer miles than AA.
One occurrence out of every hundred or even a thousand doesn't mean it's a stereotype.
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Old Apr 3, 2019, 1:53 pm
  #10  
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Originally Posted by mikesyr18
It's still a weak transfer partner since Skymiles are worth somewhere along the lines of 1 cpm. Transfer ratio should increase to 1:1.5 or even 1:2. When I can get a domestic first class flight on American for 25,000 miles (one way), it shouldn't cost me 50,000 miles for the same on a Delta flight.

AMEX needs to up their game a little and increase the value of MR's or else they'll continue to be seen as just another card issuer.
The problem is not Amex. It’s DL that is toying with the value of its own miles under the dynamic award pricing model.
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Old Apr 4, 2019, 10:41 am
  #11  
 
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Originally Posted by javabytes
The problem is not Amex. It’s DL that is toying with the value of its own miles under the dynamic award pricing model.
The problem is AMEX when they give cardholders a 1:1 ratio.

They have the same problem with Jet Blue... Only one with 250:200 while Citi and Chase do 1:1
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Old Apr 4, 2019, 10:51 am
  #12  
 
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Originally Posted by mikesyr18
The problem is AMEX when they give cardholders a 1:1 ratio.

They have the same problem with Jet Blue... Only one with 250:200 while Citi and Chase do 1:1
​​​​​​
The co-branded Delta cards would become even less competitive for most spend if the Membership Rewards / Skymiles transfer ratio was 1 to 1.5 or 1 to 2.

The beauty of MR points is that you can choose to transfer to Delta, or choose not to... If you need to top off your Delta account with extra miles for whatever reason, Membership Rewards is a good tool, but the main purpose of Membership Rewards points is optionality, not Delta Skymiles. The main value in the Delta cards generally are perks for non-elites (free bags, earlier boarding), lounge access, the companion tickets and the MQM and Skymiles Boosts for Delta elites that spend a lot.
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Old Apr 4, 2019, 1:59 pm
  #13  
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Originally Posted by mikesyr18
The problem is AMEX when they give cardholders a 1:1 ratio.

They have the same problem with Jet Blue... Only one with 250:200 while Citi and Chase do 1:1
On JetBlue you have a competitive argument, but for DL that will never happen as long as the DL Amex itself also earns 1 mile/$ on everyday purchases.
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Old Apr 4, 2019, 6:27 pm
  #14  
 
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Originally Posted by Adelphos
​​​​​​
The co-branded Delta cards would become even less competitive for most spend if the Membership Rewards / Skymiles transfer ratio was 1 to 1.5 or 1 to 2.

The beauty of MR points is that you can choose to transfer to Delta, or choose not to... If you need to top off your Delta account with extra miles for whatever reason, Membership Rewards is a good tool, but the main purpose of Membership Rewards points is optionality, not Delta Skymiles. The main value in the Delta cards generally are perks for non-elites (free bags, earlier boarding), lounge access, the companion tickets and the MQM and Skymiles Boosts for Delta elites that spend a lot.
Anyone planning to use their points within the U.S has slim pickings then. Neither Delta, Marriott, or Hilton offer individual points worth anything. Jet Blue is still 250:200 - not sure why AMEX hasn't fixed their transfer ratio to match Chase and Citi (who also don't charge an excise tax). Choice privileges? Not worth it.

Citi used to offer 1.6 cpp redemptions through their portal on AA purchases through their Prestige card... Maybe AMEX should do the same with Delta and the Platinum. Delta miles are next to worthless unless you accumulate at least 50,000 of them.
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 6:35 am
  #15  
mia
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Originally Posted by mikesyr18
....Neither Delta, Marriott, or Hilton offer individual points worth anything......
Don't be distracted by the number of points or the value of "one" point. Instead, look for value by calculating the amount of spending required to earn a trip or a stay. Also, don't fall into the trap of thinking that you must use Skymiles to travel on Delta.
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