Jan 6, 2020, 1:19 pm
Last edit by: rrgg
Please read: This is a community-maintained wiki post containing the most important information from this thread. You may edit the Wiki once you have been on FT for 90 days and have made 90 posts.
Reminder: you must enroll and select your airline BEFORE making a reimbursable purchase. http://www.americanexpress.com/airlinechoice -or- "Call the number on the back of your Card to select a qualifying airline."
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
Quote:
TL;DR: Anything coded as an additional collection (a.k.a. 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, provided that the amount charged to your card is $250 or less (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 always $250 or less)
How to do it: With waived fee for cancellation/changes on non-refundable tickets (due to COVID-19) you get an eCredit when cancelling it, so you can:
Paying for a ticket partially with SkyMiles
NOTE that DL has two different programs for partially paying with SkyMiles, that seem superficially similar, but are quite different
other non Gift Card options
these may not credit automatically, but people have had success getting them processed manually after the fact
(DEAD) eGift Card (eCert) details
Reminder: you must enroll and select your airline BEFORE making a reimbursable purchase. http://www.americanexpress.com/airlinechoice -or- "Call the number on the back of your Card to select a qualifying airline."
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 (the Gold credit is going away in 2022). Hilton Aspire AMEX is eligible for a $250 airline credit.
- You must click here to 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.
- 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
Quote:
TL;DR: Anything coded as an additional collection (a.k.a. add/collect or a/c), including difference in fare when changing flights,
How to do it: With waived fee for cancellation/changes on non-refundable tickets (due to COVID-19) you get an eCredit when cancelling it, so you can:
- Buy a non-refundable ticket with any combination of gift card/eCredit plus your AMEX, again provided that the residual amount charged to your card is $250 or less
- After credit has posted, and at least 48 hours after buying it, cancel it (ensure there's no fee for cancelling it) so you get an updated eCredit for the full ticket amount.
- alternatively, if you buy a ticket far enough in the future, there is no particular need to cancel the ticket, just change it once you have some new dates or itinerary in mind (you can change origin, destination or both)
- however, note that the waiver of change fees on Basic Economy tickets is ending: https://www.delta.com/us/en/travel-p...sbeforeapril30
- thus you should use main cabin tickets for this purpose (assuming DL does not extend the BE policy due to omicron etc.)
- You can even use the result of (2) as an eCredit to repeat step 1 with a different AMEX card if you have multiples. Note that in this context, changing an unflown future ticket is exactly equivalent to an eCredit in the amount of the ticket's value.
- 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). This is just an example; as per the previous bullet there is no reason it needs to be specifically $50, or even a gift card. The "additional collection" is what leads to the credit, the reason why it is "additional" is unimportant.
- In general, only additional collections less than ~$250 are automatically reimbursed. If you use a $50 gift card to buy a $500 ticket, a $450 additional collection will be generated but it will not be auto-reimbursed by Amex.
- If you already have gift cards or ecredits in particular denominations that don't line up well with the price of the ticket you want to buy (additional collection will end up being too much to get auto-reimbursed or too little to efficiently use up the fee credit), consider whether you may be able to reach a better outcome by splitting up the purchase -- buying a round trip as two one ways or buying multiple passengers separately. But, note that buying 2 one-ways instead of a round trip can sometimes cost more, making it not worthwhile, and note the caveats about multiple passenger purchases below, as well as considering the risk that buying 2 passengers separately can have negative implications for Medallion upgrades (if applicable) as well as creating the risk that you are separated from your travel companions if there is a flight cancellation.
- The "additional collection" transaction notation shows up after the transaction posts, on the website only (both desktop and mobile) if you click into a transaction to view the details (it does not appear in the app, or while the purchase is pending)
- Note that special care is needed when booking tickets for 2 or more people in a single transaction.
- When booking multiple people in a single transaction on Delta.com, each person's ticket charges to the credit card in a separate transaction, and gift cards are used starting with the first ticket until they are exhausted. So for example if you were booking 2x $210 tickets, for a total transaction of $420, if you used a $200 gift card the charges would post to Amex as a $10 additional collection on the first person and a $210 regular ticket charge for the second person, resulting in only a $10 reimbursement. For the same two tickets if you used a $220 gift card, the first person would be covered entirely by the gift card and the second person's ticket would charge as a $190 additional collection, resulting in a $190 reimbursement.
- This would work differently if ecredits are used instead of gift cards since ecredits are not transferrable -- ecredits can only be applied to a ticket for a person whose name is on the ecredit; if other people are booked in the same transaction, any leftover ecredit balance will *not* be applied to those other people.
- Canceling a ticket within the 24-hour[1] risk-free period generally results in funds being returned to where they came from (GC back to GC and CC back to CC) even if the ticket is non-refundable; also, Delta interprets the 24-hour risk free cancellation period generously -- you actually have until midnight of the day following the day of booking (in which time zone is oft-speculated but unclear). Thus, this can work out to nearly 48 hours if the timing is exactly right. Hence the suggestion above to cancel only after 48 hours, or avoid canceling altogether.
- Caution when buying multiple tickets in a single transaction: 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). In this situation you would need to book the two tickets separately to get the credit on each one.
- FCM offers may require accepting for the entire trip (vs just one segment) or calling in to up-fare the whole trip (please post data points either way)
Paying for a ticket partially with SkyMiles
NOTE that DL has two different programs for partially paying with SkyMiles, that seem superficially similar, but are quite different
- Pay With Miles is a feature available to DL-branded AMEX cardholders that lets you pay for part of your ticket using SkyMiles in increments of 5,000 miles = $50. If you use PWM then the remaining amount charged to your card posts as additional collection and will qualify for the fee credit (multiple data points)
- Miles + Cash is like buying an award ticket but using cash to substitute for some of the miles. As an example, you might be offered a ticket for 40,000 miles + $5.60, or 30,000 miles + $205.60 (these numbers are made up). If you choose the latter option what you are really doing is buying 10,000 miles for $200, then using those 10,000 miles plus 30,000 that you already had to buy the 40,000 ticket + $5.60 in taxes. This will post as two separate transactions, $200 for the miles purchase, and $5.60 for the taxes on the award ticket. The $5.60 will be reimbursed (just like any other award ticket). The $200 seems like it does not get automatically reimbursed, although it may post as "Frequent Flyer Fee/Purchase" in which case you have a pretty good case for getting it credited manually by contacting AMEX.
- Note: Miles + Cash is usually a terrible value (even for SkyMiles)
- See the list of FAQs at the bottom of the "Pay With Miles" page for more info (search in particular for "What is the difference between Pay with Miles and Miles + Cash?")
other non Gift Card options
- baggage and other service fees (same day change/standby, change fees, etc.)
- taxes on award flights (including the $5.60 September 11 security fee)
- in-flight purchases (EXCEPT wifi) -- although currently nothing available due to COVID?
- 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)trip extras have been discontinuedThe $59 for Delta Skymiles Select is reimbursed (posts 2180, 2182)SkyMiles Select is no longer available for purchase
these may not credit automatically, but people have had success getting them processed manually after the fact
- seat purchase fees (if you buy an upgrade and it does not credit automatically and you call in, do not call it an upgrade, call it a seat purchase/assignment fee)
- premium beverages purchased in the Sky Club (post 462)
(DEAD) eGift Card (eCert) details
- gift cards have not worked since 2019/06/22 and this section has been removed to save space. See the 2015-2019 version of this thread for historical details.
Airline fee $250/$200/$100 reimbursement reports: DL only (2020-21)
Dec 24, 2021, 4:15 pm
#1741
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: ATL, BHM, DUB, County Wexford
Programs: DL DM, AA ExPlt, Diamond HH, HY, BW, & Titanium Elite Marriott
Posts: 4,864
How long does it usually take after the transaction until you see your benefit slider show the
$200 used?
$200 used?
Dec 25, 2021, 9:29 am
#1743
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: ATL, BHM, DUB, County Wexford
Programs: DL DM, AA ExPlt, Diamond HH, HY, BW, & Titanium Elite Marriott
Posts: 4,864
Dec 25, 2021, 8:52 pm
#1744
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: NYC, CDG, NCE
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 2,634
Amex Plat $200 airline credit on DL Gift cards?
Has anyone had any recent experience buying DL gift cards and getting credited on the Amex (NON-DL) Plat card?
A few years ago it worked, but I recently read a website that says it doesn't work.
Didn't manage to spend it on anything else this year so I'm trying to use the value.
Any other clever ideas?
One last flight this year coming up tomorrow on an AF codeshare...
Hate to lose it.
A few years ago it worked, but I recently read a website that says it doesn't work.
Didn't manage to spend it on anything else this year so I'm trying to use the value.
Any other clever ideas?
One last flight this year coming up tomorrow on an AF codeshare...
Hate to lose it.
Last edited by remyontheroad; Dec 25, 2021 at 9:28 pm
Dec 25, 2021, 9:01 pm
#1745
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Minneapolis MN
Programs: DL PM
Posts: 491
IIRC the gift card thing no longer works. Biggest use for me has been to reimburse guest passes to the SkyClub when travelling with a companion. Not the best value for money but it makes things more comfy!
Dec 25, 2021, 9:32 pm
#1746
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,239
TONS of discussion here, in the Amex forum.
Airline fee $250/$200/$100 reimbursement reports: DL only (2020-21)
Airline fee $250/$200/$100 reimbursement reports: DL only (2020-21)
Dec 25, 2021, 9:57 pm
#1747
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: NYC, CDG, NCE
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 2,634
Of course - didn't think to look there. Thank you.
TONS of discussion here, in the Amex forum.
Airline fee $250/$200/$100 reimbursement reports: DL only (2020-21)
Airline fee $250/$200/$100 reimbursement reports: DL only (2020-21)
Dec 25, 2021, 10:17 pm
#1748
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Left Coast
Programs: UA 1K & 1MM, HH Diamond, Marriott/SPG Gold (UA comp)
Posts: 1,354
I found I had an existing $10 eCredit on my acct and so I purchased a refundable 1 way economy fare for $170 and added an upgraded seat for $35, which took me to $205. With the $10 eCredit, it was a net $195 charged to my Amex Plat. But it rang up as 2 separate charges of $160 and $35, so I am guessing that I will only get a credit of $160 now.
Maybe I should cancel and just find a fare that is closer to $200 without the upgraded seat added on, as that's not refundable per the T&C (unless the eCredit trumps that and I get the full $195?)
Maybe I should cancel and just find a fare that is closer to $200 without the upgraded seat added on, as that's not refundable per the T&C (unless the eCredit trumps that and I get the full $195?)
Dec 26, 2021, 7:51 am
#1749
Join Date: Oct 2019
Programs: Flying Blue, Hilton Honors, Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 2,407
What do you mean by upgraded seat? I believe that a charge for selecting a seat within the class of service purchased (e.g. a "preferred" seat on DL) qualifies for reimbursement, while purchasing an upgrade (which on DL would include Comfort+) to a different class of service does not.
In any event, yes, I'd expect that you'll get a $160 credit automatically, and may or may not get the $35 (depending on if DL posts it as an additional collection).
In any event, yes, I'd expect that you'll get a $160 credit automatically, and may or may not get the $35 (depending on if DL posts it as an additional collection).
Dec 26, 2021, 5:45 pm
#1750
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL DM, SPG Gold
Posts: 77
I recently flew ATL-AMS on KLM (006 ticket) and paid for an upgrade from economy to business. 50K SkyMiles and 300E fee. My remaining DL credit was applied to that fee.
Dec 26, 2021, 10:40 pm
#1751
Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 4
can i buy the egift card now and purchase the ticket with it right now? or do i need to wait a day after buying the egift card before using it? Also can i use my amex platinum to buy the gift card as well?
Dec 27, 2021, 9:13 am
#1752
Moderator: Hyatt; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Caesars Diam, Marriott Tit, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester
Posts: 18,947
You also don't need to start with a gift card, you can start with cheap ticket #1 and then once the ticket is issued you can change it to ticket #2 which costs more, and the additional cost between #2 and #1 will be credited (as long the difference is less than $250)
It does not matter how you acquire the gift card, and as alluded to above, you don't even need necessarily need to use a gift card.
Lots of other collected wisdom/tips/etc. can be found in the wiki if you scroll to the top of the thread or use << to go to the first page and look at the top.
Dec 27, 2021, 9:46 am
#1753
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: DTW - Rochester Hills, MI
Programs: Cathay MPC, IHG Diamond Ambassador, Domestic Airline Nobody
Posts: 715
Generally you've got it. Only nuance is, best to wait 48 hours between transactions (or make flight changes rather than cancellations) -- Delta's risk free cancel policy runs until midnight the following night so cancelling 24 hours after booking will usually lead to a refund, which you don't want.
I went in to cancel this morning and as I follow the cancellation process the final screen reads, "Your flight is eligible for a refund/redeposit of miles under Delta's Risk Free Cancellation program. If you have purchased Delta Comfort+ ™ seats, our Mileage Booster, and Priority Boarding products with this trip, your extras will be cancelled and charges automatically refunded and/or miles redeposited." So I have not cancelled it yet.
I don't know what I was thinking, but I booked this flight for needlessly close for 12/29, so I can wait another day to cancel, but probably need to do something no later than tomorrow. But I'm wondering if the wording will change on that final screen after midnight tonight? Or is that just the standard wording? Should I just use twitter customer support and just ask them to cancel it and leave it as an ecredit?
As a side note, I think the "buy the gift card and wait 24 hours" only applies to online purchases directly from Delta, right. I just purchased a physical gift card locally and did wait the 24 hours just because I was trying to followed the instructions precisely. But I would not think in my case the 24 hours would matter, right?
Dec 27, 2021, 9:59 am
#1754
Moderator: Hyatt; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Caesars Diam, Marriott Tit, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester
Posts: 18,947
I'm curious if the wording changes on the website. I purchased a ticket on 12/25 (Comfort+ to get me to the right amount). It's now 12/27... 36 hours past the purchase. I understand the "runs until midnight the following night" would mean (in this case) midnight of 12/26.
I went in to cancel this morning and as I follow the cancellation process the final screen reads, "Your flight is eligible for a refund/redeposit of miles under Delta's Risk Free Cancellation program. If you have purchased Delta Comfort+ ™ seats, our Mileage Booster, and Priority Boarding products with this trip, your extras will be cancelled and charges automatically refunded and/or miles redeposited." So I have not cancelled it yet.
I don't know what I was thinking, but I booked this flight for needlessly close for 12/29, so I can wait another day to cancel, but probably need to do something no later than tomorrow. But I'm wondering if the wording will change on that final screen after midnight tonight? Or is that just the standard wording? Should I just use twitter customer support and just ask them to cancel it and leave it as an ecredit?
I went in to cancel this morning and as I follow the cancellation process the final screen reads, "Your flight is eligible for a refund/redeposit of miles under Delta's Risk Free Cancellation program. If you have purchased Delta Comfort+ ™ seats, our Mileage Booster, and Priority Boarding products with this trip, your extras will be cancelled and charges automatically refunded and/or miles redeposited." So I have not cancelled it yet.
I don't know what I was thinking, but I booked this flight for needlessly close for 12/29, so I can wait another day to cancel, but probably need to do something no later than tomorrow. But I'm wondering if the wording will change on that final screen after midnight tonight? Or is that just the standard wording? Should I just use twitter customer support and just ask them to cancel it and leave it as an ecredit?
You can cancel any time up until departure, though you probably don't want to leave it literally until the last minute, but even the night before should be fine.
People have also had success calling in (or Twitter/SMS) and requesting specifically an eCredit instead of a refund so that avenue is available too.
As a side note, I think the "buy the gift card and wait 24 hours" only applies to online purchases directly from Delta, right. I just purchased a physical gift card locally and did wait the 24 hours just because I was trying to followed the instructions precisely. But I would not think in my case the 24 hours would matter, right?
so it could just be that I've bought one, gone home, and used it later that evening or something.
Dec 27, 2021, 10:50 am
#1755
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 137
If I have already hundreds of dollars in Delta ecredits, is there a way to just use, say, $10 of that ecredit balance and apply it to my flight purchase? That way I wouldn't have to buy another $50 gift card in the new year.