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)
Jan 2, 2020, 3:16 pm
#16
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 4
Posting for 3 potential DPs:
Purchase 1
Total Cost: $392.40
Payment Method: $50 GC + $50 GC + $50 GC + $242.40 CC
Credit Card Used: AMEX Aspire
Method of Purchase: ONLINE
Purchase 2
Total Cost: $392.40
Payment Method: $50 GC + $50 GC + $50 GC + $242.40 CC
Credit Card Used: AMEX Aspire (different aspire than that of purchase 1)
Method of Purchase: ONLINE
Purchase 3
Total Cost: $372.40
Payment Method: $50 GC + $50 GC + $34.70 eCert* + $237.70 CC
Credit Card Used: AMEX Platinum
Method of Purchase: OVER THE PHONE
*Needed to talk to agent on phone to combine eCert (which was from a previous partially used GC) with the GC for the transaction
I confirmed with the phone agent that I needed the ticket to be coded in the same form as it would if it was an online purchase, and he confirmed that it would. Time will tell...
Purchase 1
Total Cost: $392.40
Payment Method: $50 GC + $50 GC + $50 GC + $242.40 CC
Credit Card Used: AMEX Aspire
Method of Purchase: ONLINE
Purchase 2
Total Cost: $392.40
Payment Method: $50 GC + $50 GC + $50 GC + $242.40 CC
Credit Card Used: AMEX Aspire (different aspire than that of purchase 1)
Method of Purchase: ONLINE
Purchase 3
Total Cost: $372.40
Payment Method: $50 GC + $50 GC + $34.70 eCert* + $237.70 CC
Credit Card Used: AMEX Platinum
Method of Purchase: OVER THE PHONE
*Needed to talk to agent on phone to combine eCert (which was from a previous partially used GC) with the GC for the transaction
I confirmed with the phone agent that I needed the ticket to be coded in the same form as it would if it was an online purchase, and he confirmed that it would. Time will tell...
Jan 2, 2020, 4:04 pm
#17
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 40
I did same method over the phone for child's ticket and it worked.
Jan 2, 2020, 4:13 pm
#18
Join Date: Jan 2020
Programs: Delta
Posts: 3
I have the same situation. I made the purchase on 12/31 and now it's posted as 01/01. The representative I talked to just now said it would use my 2020 credits. I am confused.
12/31 Purchased $266.60 flight tickets partially paid by $50 GC and AMEX.
01/01 Posted as Additional Collection
So far 01/03 no credits have shown up. Does anyone have similar situations?
12/31 Purchased $266.60 flight tickets partially paid by $50 GC and AMEX.
01/01 Posted as Additional Collection
So far 01/03 no credits have shown up. Does anyone have similar situations?
Last edited by Zhenghang524; Jan 3, 2020 at 6:18 am Reason: More information
Jan 2, 2020, 5:15 pm
#19
Join Date: May 2012
Location: BOS, YYZ, HKG, TPE
Programs: OZ Diamond, DL Gold, QF Gold, HH Diamond, Bonvoy Titanium, WoH Explorist, Shangri-la Jade
Posts: 304
keep us updated! It currently hasn't touched my 2020 counter yet so I'm hoping that's a good sign. It seems that maybe the reps have been informed that these transactions should be treated as using next year's credits.
Last edited by DreamHigh; Jan 2, 2020 at 6:15 pm
Jan 2, 2020, 7:46 pm
#20
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: SLC
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Titanium + LT Gold
Posts: 198
I have a Delta flight later this week and the fee to upgrade to first is only $99. Is this fee covered by the Platinum credit?
Jan 2, 2020, 7:52 pm
#21
Join Date: May 2012
Location: BOS, YYZ, HKG, TPE
Programs: OZ Diamond, DL Gold, QF Gold, HH Diamond, Bonvoy Titanium, WoH Explorist, Shangri-la Jade
Posts: 304
Jan 2, 2020, 9:42 pm
#22
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,063
- 12/29 selected DL for Aspire, Plat, and Gold (all 100% unused credits for 2019)
- 12/29 purchased (unneeded) $339 refundable one-way domestic flight (LAX-SFO), with 2x$50 existing DL GCs, charged $239 to Aspire
- 12/29 changed to $448 refundable one-way domestic flight (LAX-PDX), charged $109 to Gold
- 12/29 changed to $640 refundable one-way domestic flight (LAX-DFW), charged $202 to Plat
- 12/30 all 3 transactions posted
- 12/31 $239 credit posted to Aspire, $100 credit posted to Gold, $200 credit posted to Plat
- I have a $640 refundable DL ticket I can change or cancel for ~1 year
I was busy using my Gold and Aspire credits last night. I will also update my post when and if the credits post.
I'm a little curious, since I will also have a fully refundable ticket, will Delta allow you to keep booking future travel as the dates open up, so you can basically keep the funds alive until you are ready to use them? I would rather keep the funds with Delta than request a refund online and risk Amex clawing back the credits.
Jan 2, 2020, 11:36 pm
#24
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 27
I just attempted to make a single ticket booking using a Delta GC + multiple Amex cards over the phone and was shot down (agent said only two methods of payment were allowed per ticket). I recall a recent post in this thread that indicated spltting across multiple cards was possible, but can’t find it now. Is there any way to pull this off?
Additionally: tried to use my Delta GC 40 hours after purchasing it on their site, and while the card worked in the checkout and showed its value, it just redirected me back to the flight search when attempting to book the flight, and failed. Calling up to book this over the phone didn’t work either - agent told me it wasn’t working and informed me of the 72 hour wait requirement. Guess there’s no way around that wait.
As a result of these failures (and a weird test fare refund process that denied me access to my other Delta GC on hand), I’m gonna have ~72 hours between booking a flight and downgrading my Aspire card in time for an AF refund. I really hope that it’s possible for credits to post after the product changes.
Additionally: tried to use my Delta GC 40 hours after purchasing it on their site, and while the card worked in the checkout and showed its value, it just redirected me back to the flight search when attempting to book the flight, and failed. Calling up to book this over the phone didn’t work either - agent told me it wasn’t working and informed me of the 72 hour wait requirement. Guess there’s no way around that wait.
As a result of these failures (and a weird test fare refund process that denied me access to my other Delta GC on hand), I’m gonna have ~72 hours between booking a flight and downgrading my Aspire card in time for an AF refund. I really hope that it’s possible for credits to post after the product changes.
Jan 3, 2020, 2:54 am
#25
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 4,477
For all of those airlines, if the original payment was not from a gift card, then the refund can not be to a gift card.
Jan 3, 2020, 7:42 am
#26
Join Date: Jan 2020
Programs: Delta
Posts: 3
Need to confirm whether credit is by Transaction/swipe date or Post date, AMEX CSR is saying post date, previous dp say otherwise. Will update.
Transaction date 12/31, post date 01/01. 2020 meter has not moved (which hopefully is good news)
Charges are for KLM Economy Comfort Seat Selection. Charges posted as Miscellaneous Fee(s) and Tax(s)
Interestingly, received award miles (and GM bonus) as well as MQD. Showed up as Comfort+ earnings.
Transaction date 12/31, post date 01/01. 2020 meter has not moved (which hopefully is good news)
Charges are for KLM Economy Comfort Seat Selection. Charges posted as Miscellaneous Fee(s) and Tax(s)
Interestingly, received award miles (and GM bonus) as well as MQD. Showed up as Comfort+ earnings.
Jan 3, 2020, 10:09 am
#27
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,842
How do u change the refundable DL ticket from one destination to another?
Thanks
Thanks
- 12/29 selected DL for Aspire, Plat, and Gold (all 100% unused credits for 2019)
- 12/29 purchased (unneeded) $339 refundable one-way domestic flight (LAX-SFO), with 2x$50 existing DL GCs, charged $239 to Aspire
- 12/29 changed to $448 refundable one-way domestic flight (LAX-PDX), charged $109 to Gold
- 12/29 changed to $640 refundable one-way domestic flight (LAX-DFW), charged $202 to Plat
- 12/30 all 3 transactions posted
- 12/31 $239 credit posted to Aspire, $100 credit posted to Gold, $200 credit posted to Plat
- I have a $640 refundable DL ticket I can change or cancel for ~1 year
Jan 3, 2020, 12:33 pm
#28
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,063
2. Click on MY TRIPS at the top.
3. Click on VIEW ALL TRIPS
4. Look at the trip you want to change and click on DETAILS in the upper right corner.
5. Click on the red MODIFY FLIGHT button
6. Click on the red START FLIGHT CHANGE button
7. Pick/search for new flights simply pay the difference in fare between your old flight and the new one.
Hope this helps. Good Luck.
Jan 3, 2020, 4:59 pm
#29
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: FL
Programs: AA PLAT, HILTON DIAMOND, MARRIOTT LIFETIME TITANIUM
Posts: 616
I know you can buy Delta gift cards at grocery stores, but does this also work if you purchase Delta e-gift cards directly on delta.com?
Jan 3, 2020, 5:15 pm
#30
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 4,477
If you choose a refund, can the entire amount credit to one of your payment cards?
And if you choose a credit for future travel, can it be later used for a different / multiple people traveling?