Jan 1, 2022, 10:29 am
Last edit by: mia
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.
Previous versions of this thread:
2020-2021: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...2020-21-a.html
2015-2019: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...15-2019-a.html
Read this primer first
Additional Collections/Split Tender -- THIS IS A LOOPHOLE. BE DISCREET
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:
Gift cards purchased directly from Delta online are often not activated until 24-72 hours later as an anti-fraud measure. Physical gift cards purchased in retail stores (grocery, office, etc.) may activate sooner. Buying a cheap eCredit avoids these issues.
More details:
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.
Previous versions of this thread:
2020-2021: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...2020-21-a.html
2015-2019: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...15-2019-a.html
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. (Gold card $100 credit is gone as of 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
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 -- exactly $250 is known to work)
- 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.
Gift cards purchased directly from Delta online are often not activated until 24-72 hours later as an anti-fraud measure. Physical gift cards purchased in retail stores (grocery, office, etc.) may activate sooner. Buying a cheap eCredit avoids these issues.
More details:
- 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. An existing eCredit, or modifying an unflown ticket, will work just as well. 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 $230 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.
- If for example you wanted to buy 2 $125 tickets ($250 total) using 2 $50 gift cards, if you bought both in a single transaction both gift cards would apply to the first ticket -- in order to get 2 $75 additional collection charges you would have to buy the 2 tickets in separate transactions using one gift card on each. Note that there may be other downsides to buying the tickets in separate transactions, including that you could be separated if there are schedule changes or day-of flight cancellations (Delta should be able to put you back together after the former, but may not be able to do after the latter), and there could be implications for how various benefits are treated, such as losing the ability to share a credit card holder bag fee wavier with companions or in some cases resulting in different rules around Medallion companion upgrades.
- 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 (and will remain as an ecredit in the account of the named person, available for future use).
- Using Pay With Miles for multiple people works differently as well -- see this post for details.
- 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.
- There is no particular reason to be in a rush to cancel the ticket. You can avoid the headache of guessing whether the risk-free period has passed by simply booking a ticket that is weeks or months in the future (just remember to cancel it, or change it to a ticket you actually intend to fly, before the flight time on the original ticket). Alternatively you can contact Delta and explicitly request an eCredit (they will be happy to hold on to your money even if you were theoretically eligible for a full refund)
- 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 such as food and drinks
- Wifi passes to the new Viasat system may reimburse; wifi purchases on the old Gogo system do not. More information about which provider is available on which plane can be found here; Viasat flights offer a $5 per flight pass while Gogo usually charges more than that and is purchased from a website with Gogo in the URL.
- 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 reimbursement reports: DL only (2022)
Jan 3, 2022, 10:04 am
#31
Join Date: Sep 2020
Programs: Hilton Diamond
Posts: 97
I'm wondering if I should use 2022's credits ASAP in case Amex closes this loophole, but now the tickets will only be valid for 1 year from purchase... Decisions, decisions...
Jan 3, 2022, 11:50 am
#32
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,064
I am ASSUMING that refundable tickets are always eligible for a FULL refund and that's why I chose to purchase that way. Hopefully, it won't come back to bite me.....
I'll update this post in a few days, when I confirm the credits have posted. However, I also wanted to use the credits now, in case terms changed in the future.
I have 2 Platinum cards and 2 Hilton Aspire cards ($200 x 2 + $250 x 2=$900 Total)
On January 1, I verified that my chosen airline was still showing DELTA for all 4 cards.
I purchased a fully refundable ticket for November 25, 2022 from MDW to MSP. The ticket price was $299.60. I used a $50.00 Delta Egift card and charged $249.60 to Aspire #1
Then I went in to MY TRIPS and changed (not refunded) my November 25 one-way trip to a November 25-November 28, 2022 FULLY REFUNDABLE ROUND-TRIP fare for $547.20. I used my refundable ticket that was $299.60 and charged $247.60 to ASPIRE #2, leaving me with a fully refundable ticket of $547.20.
Then I changed that ticket to another refundable trip with a value of $747.20. I applied my previous ticket and charged $200.00 to Platinum #1, leaving me with a refundable ticket of $747.20.
Then I changed that ticket to another refundable ticket with a value of $949.20. I applied my previous ticket and charged $202.00 to Platinum #2., leaving me with a refundable ticket of $949.20
As of today, all 4 charges show ADDITIONAL COLLECTION. However, I am still waiting for the airline credit meter to move.
1. Aspire #1=$249.60 ADDITIONAL COLLECTION
2. Aspire #2=$247.60 ADDITIONAL COLLECTION
3. Platinum #1=$200.00 ADDITIONAL COLLECTION
4. Platinum #2=$202.00 ADDITIONAL COLLECTION
Last edited by diesteldorf; Jan 3, 2022 at 12:07 pm
Jan 3, 2022, 12:43 pm
#33
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 79
I booked a refundable flight (because I am going to change it later for a flight that's more expensive anyway) with my eCredits, with about $225 going on my AMEX. There's nothing indicating that it worked yet (can't see if it posted as additional collection and the airline credit meter is still at $0/$200 used), but fingers crossed!
So I purchased an eGift Card for $300, then tried to combine my eCredit + GC to generate a charge of $225, and I get two types of errors:
- It won't let me redeem the gift card for 72 hours (by which time the price of my flight will go up)
- When paying for the flight, it says I can't combine eCredit with a GC.
Now I'm debating if I should forget trying to get the Amex $200 and just book the ticket ASAP before the flight price goes up.
And I don't know what to do with the $300 gift card that I won't need.
Last edited by ameskay; Jan 3, 2022 at 1:02 pm
Jan 3, 2022, 2:08 pm
#34
Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 5
Did the waiver of change fees
on Basic Economy tickets end already? My charges were posted on 12/30 and got Amex Credit on 12/31 and I am trying to cancel for eCredit now and it is showing me a $99 cancellation fee. Do I need to wait further or am I doing anything wrong?
on Basic Economy tickets end already? My charges were posted on 12/30 and got Amex Credit on 12/31 and I am trying to cancel for eCredit now and it is showing me a $99 cancellation fee. Do I need to wait further or am I doing anything wrong?
Jan 3, 2022, 2:25 pm
#35
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,064
Did the waiver of change fees
on Basic Economy tickets end already? My charges were posted on 12/30 and got Amex Credit on 12/31 and I am trying to cancel for eCredit now and it is showing me a $99 cancellation fee. Do I need to wait further or am I doing anything wrong?
on Basic Economy tickets end already? My charges were posted on 12/30 and got Amex Credit on 12/31 and I am trying to cancel for eCredit now and it is showing me a $99 cancellation fee. Do I need to wait further or am I doing anything wrong?
https://thriftytraveler.com/news/you-win-delta/
Sorry I wasn't able to provide better news.
Last edited by diesteldorf; Jan 3, 2022 at 8:38 pm
Jan 3, 2022, 2:57 pm
#36
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: 18,929
Did the waiver of change fees
on Basic Economy tickets end already? My charges were posted on 12/30 and got Amex Credit on 12/31 and I am trying to cancel for eCredit now and it is showing me a $99 cancellation fee. Do I need to wait further or am I doing anything wrong?
on Basic Economy tickets end already? My charges were posted on 12/30 and got Amex Credit on 12/31 and I am trying to cancel for eCredit now and it is showing me a $99 cancellation fee. Do I need to wait further or am I doing anything wrong?
specifically for BE tickets purchased after 12/9 for travel in 2022, and from the previous version of this thread it seems you bought at the end of December so your tickets are subject to this policy
Jan 4, 2022, 5:46 am
#37
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 1
anyone have a dp on whether taxes greater than 5.60 on an award flight count? have 900 in credits and would like to book some delta award flights that have taxes of about 120 to Dominican.
Saw a couple posts last year but no definitive answers.
thanks
Saw a couple posts last year but no definitive answers.
thanks
Jan 4, 2022, 7:38 am
#38
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,064
As of today, all 4 charges show ADDITIONAL COLLECTION. However, I am still waiting for the airline credit meter to move.
1. Aspire #1=$249.60 ADDITIONAL COLLECTION
2. Aspire #2=$247.60 ADDITIONAL COLLECTION
3. Platinum #1=$200.00 ADDITIONAL COLLECTION
4. Platinum #2=$202.00 ADDITIONAL COLLECTION
1. Aspire #1=$249.60 ADDITIONAL COLLECTION
2. Aspire #2=$247.60 ADDITIONAL COLLECTION
3. Platinum #1=$200.00 ADDITIONAL COLLECTION
4. Platinum #2=$202.00 ADDITIONAL COLLECTION
Last edited by diesteldorf; Jan 4, 2022 at 8:49 am
Jan 4, 2022, 8:44 am
#39
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 10,041
Pretty sure they do as long as the itinerary originates in the US.
Jan 4, 2022, 11:11 am
#40
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: 18,929
(I'm assuming at least one of those is an AMEX Plat and will get 5x MR either way)
Jan 4, 2022, 12:49 pm
#41
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: SFO/SEA
Programs: Amex Biz Cent, Marriott LTP, Avis PC, Hilton Owners Diamond, AS MVP
Posts: 3,380
New to using Amex plat with DL as my airline fee credit option (previously did AS and UA but now DL is my most used airline). What's the best way to follow this gift card/ecredit process if I have multiple amex plat fee credits to use? Do i need to buy a gift card for each one or can the first ecredit be "recycled" into buying a more expensive ticket for fee credit #2 and then again for #3? I think this might be similar to what user diesteldorf mentioned a few posts before me but not positive.
Hypothetical steps:
1 - buy $50 DL gift card
2 - purchase ~$250 flight with $50 GC and ~$200 remaining charge on Amex Plat #1
3 - cancel flight from step 2 for ecredit of ~$250
4 - purchase ~$450 flight using the ~$250 ecredit from above and then remaining ~$200 on Amex Plat #2
5 - cancel flight from step 4 for new ecredit of ~$450
6 - purchase ~$650 flight using the ~$450 ecredit from above and then remaining ~$200 on Amex Plat #3
7 - cancel flight from step 6 for final ecredit of ~$650
Hypothetical steps:
1 - buy $50 DL gift card
2 - purchase ~$250 flight with $50 GC and ~$200 remaining charge on Amex Plat #1
3 - cancel flight from step 2 for ecredit of ~$250
4 - purchase ~$450 flight using the ~$250 ecredit from above and then remaining ~$200 on Amex Plat #2
5 - cancel flight from step 4 for new ecredit of ~$450
6 - purchase ~$650 flight using the ~$450 ecredit from above and then remaining ~$200 on Amex Plat #3
7 - cancel flight from step 6 for final ecredit of ~$650
Jan 4, 2022, 1:04 pm
#42
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: 18,929
Jan 4, 2022, 4:25 pm
#43
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 258
I appreciate in advance confirming I have this correct before buying.
I have a round trip flight that will cost roughly $305.
$142 is the flight, $163 is taxes and fees.
If I buy a $100 gift card from delta, apply it to my reservation, then continue check out and pay the remaining $205 with my platinum amex I should get the $200 reimbursed???
I have a round trip flight that will cost roughly $305.
$142 is the flight, $163 is taxes and fees.
If I buy a $100 gift card from delta, apply it to my reservation, then continue check out and pay the remaining $205 with my platinum amex I should get the $200 reimbursed???
Jan 4, 2022, 5:02 pm
#44
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: 18,929
I appreciate in advance confirming I have this correct before buying.
I have a round trip flight that will cost roughly $305.
$142 is the flight, $163 is taxes and fees.
If I buy a $100 gift card from delta, apply it to my reservation, then continue check out and pay the remaining $205 with my platinum amex I should get the $200 reimbursed???
I have a round trip flight that will cost roughly $305.
$142 is the flight, $163 is taxes and fees.
If I buy a $100 gift card from delta, apply it to my reservation, then continue check out and pay the remaining $205 with my platinum amex I should get the $200 reimbursed???
Alternatively, if this is a domestic trip* find a flight (between any two domestic airports) that costs between $55 and $105 and buy that ticket first, then click Modify Flight and change it to the one you actually want. No gift card needed.
*I am less sure if an international fare might have additional restrictions that would make this trickier but maybe somebody knows one way or the other...
Jan 4, 2022, 6:35 pm
#45
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 258
It is international so I will stick with the gift card method I guess