Time to limit SkyClub access
#106
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: MN
Programs: Lots of programs, dirt on all of them!
Posts: 11,938
Out of curiosity, when did DL start granting free admission to AMEX Plat customers?
I ask because everyone seems to agree that the overcrowding has really hit critical mass over the past few years.
If AMEX holders have had this benefit for some time prior to the overcrowding problem, then there are only two explanations:
- AMEX has dramatically increased the number of Platinum cardholders, or....
- AMEX card holders are not the source of the overcrowding
I tend to think the latter is true. I say this as an AMEX Platinum card holder who never even thought about that card until I started reading this site. In other words, I have seen no evidence of a massive publicity campaign to get people to apply for the Platinum card. (In fact, I've read articles reporting that AMEX is actually cancelling cards, even for people with accounts in good standing.)
I ask because everyone seems to agree that the overcrowding has really hit critical mass over the past few years.
If AMEX holders have had this benefit for some time prior to the overcrowding problem, then there are only two explanations:
- AMEX has dramatically increased the number of Platinum cardholders, or....
- AMEX card holders are not the source of the overcrowding
I tend to think the latter is true. I say this as an AMEX Platinum card holder who never even thought about that card until I started reading this site. In other words, I have seen no evidence of a massive publicity campaign to get people to apply for the Platinum card. (In fact, I've read articles reporting that AMEX is actually cancelling cards, even for people with accounts in good standing.)
#107
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: MSP
Programs: Delta Gold Medallion, Sky Club
Posts: 589
#108
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Dallas, TX
Programs: Delta SkyMiles, AA
Posts: 441
#109
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: Delta DM, 4MM, SC, AmEx Reserve, UA Plat, SPG/Marriott Platinum, Hertz Gold
Posts: 2,383
Your solution is based on the idea that somehow many of the people that use the clubs are somehow doing so for free.
How do you arrive at who is a 'lower' category of entry?
If pax A pays $450 outright to use the club, does he have right of first entry? He has generated only $450 in income for the year to DL.
If pax B obtains access as a DM, does he have right of first entry? He has potentially generated tens or maybe hundreds of thousands dollars in revenue for DL, and granting him access as a small token of appreciation is a small price.
If pax C pays $50 for the day, does he get first right? He has paid more directly to the club than anyone else for a single use.
If pax D accesses the club via his AMEX PLAT or CENT card, and uses the clubs very often then he can possibly generate more revenue to the club directly than any of the others, and as a group (all AMEX access combined) definitely more than the others.
Your stratified system is built on a false premise that some customers are some how more entitled than others to use a product that they are all paying for.
This of course does not apply to guest access, and I think we can all agree that this is an area that needs to be addressed.
How do you arrive at who is a 'lower' category of entry?
If pax A pays $450 outright to use the club, does he have right of first entry? He has generated only $450 in income for the year to DL.
If pax B obtains access as a DM, does he have right of first entry? He has potentially generated tens or maybe hundreds of thousands dollars in revenue for DL, and granting him access as a small token of appreciation is a small price.
If pax C pays $50 for the day, does he get first right? He has paid more directly to the club than anyone else for a single use.
If pax D accesses the club via his AMEX PLAT or CENT card, and uses the clubs very often then he can possibly generate more revenue to the club directly than any of the others, and as a group (all AMEX access combined) definitely more than the others.
Your stratified system is built on a false premise that some customers are some how more entitled than others to use a product that they are all paying for.
This of course does not apply to guest access, and I think we can all agree that this is an area that needs to be addressed.
#110
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Location: Toledo, OH
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#111
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: MSP
Programs: Delta Gold Medallion, Sky Club
Posts: 589
#112
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: BNA
Programs: Delta GM, SC, NFL Owner (GB Packers!)
Posts: 20
My pet peeve lately has been just accessing the clubs. I find myself waiting in line for my boarding pass to be scanned while folks with any AMEX are trying to talk/argue their way into the clubs, and then there are those who are eligible but when told that their card level will cost them a day fee or limit the number of guests they can bring in, the DYKWIA and bullying of the agents begin. ORD was backed out the door yesterday afternoon. I buy the 3 year membership because I appreciate the free wi-fi, a glass of wine to unwind with, and the service when encountering cancellations, etc.
I apologize if I offend someone, but the level of courtesy has really lowered considerably.
Someone upthread mentioned solutions?
A) Training of the agents to enforce the rules.
B) Parents, please be responsible parents!
I apologize if I offend someone, but the level of courtesy has really lowered considerably.
Someone upthread mentioned solutions?
A) Training of the agents to enforce the rules.
B) Parents, please be responsible parents!
#113
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,825
$450 / year
They better care. If one pays $450 / year for your Plat card, with a defined set of benefits, and then those benefits are denied, then you have a right to be angry. Which AMEX would care about.
#114
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: Delta DM, 4MM, SC, AmEx Reserve, UA Plat, SPG/Marriott Platinum, Hertz Gold
Posts: 2,383
It's AMEX Plat that I think most people on this thread have been referring to.
$450 / year
They better care. If one pays $450 / year for your Plat card, with a defined set of benefits, and then those benefits are denied, then you have a right to be angry. Which AMEX would care about.
$450 / year
They better care. If one pays $450 / year for your Plat card, with a defined set of benefits, and then those benefits are denied, then you have a right to be angry. Which AMEX would care about.
Last edited by jsmith50; Oct 18, 2011 at 3:08 pm Reason: clarification
#115
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,825
I still keep my paid SC membership (because it's reimbursed by my employer;not quite $450/year) despite the fact that I can get in with my AmEx Reserve or my DM status and I have often been denied entry at ST partner lounges due to "space availability." SC paid membership guarantees me a defined set of benefits which includes partner lounge access, by your logic, I should be angry, which DL should care about...but they don't! So why does that make AmEx any more special?
Here is my perspective:
1) You should be upset when you are denied rightful access for whatever reason ('SC paid membership guarantees me a defined set of benefits which includes partner lounge access')
2) DL (or whoever) should definitely care when you are angry because you were deinied a benefit that you should have received
3) AMEX is not 'any more special' (It is equally special)
So, in your case, if I were denied a benefit (club access) that I should have received, I would write a note to whoever it is that had provided that benefit, and ask them for compensation (points, miles, day pass, whatever).
#116
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Join Date: Jun 2008
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Posts: 12,646
It's pretty sick when you see someone with their bare feet propped up on the coffee table in front of them.
(And I have no trouble with neat, clean jeans)
#117
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: HSV
Programs: HHonors Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 880
Regarding dress code in general, I don't think you can do too much. As another poster said, where would you draw the line?
If I'm on my way to a vacation, I may be in shorts. Is that okay? It should be.
#118
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2008
Programs: Formaldehyde Medallion DL DieMiles
Posts: 12,646
Yes, we have become a more casual culture when it comes to attire.
But, I'd maintain that there was a greater sense of propriety derived from the concept of "membership" in the club.
One tends to take better care of what one belongs to. The more the clubs come to look like bars, the more people will treat them like, and behave as if they were in, a bar.
#119
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: SEA
Programs: UA Silver, BA Gold, DL Gold
Posts: 9,779
What amount do you think would be fair for a SC membership, $500,$750, $1000? If you desire an exclusive feel than you have to charge exclusive prices. How much would you be willing to pay? Personally, if there was good food and free drinks then I would easily shell out close to $1000.
Honestly, in what world is $350 a lot of money? Why do people expect more than what they are getting? Frankly, $15 per entry is about right for the current DL lounge product, if not a bit low, "overcrowding" and all.
#120
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Join Date: Sep 2009
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My suggestion: No one under 21 is admitted. Period. This includes babies, children with parents, young DMs, etc. The only "exception" for some people's minds is that pregnant people would be admitted, provided they are not in labor.