Originally Posted by nsx

Unless DL wants to maintain the software to support capacity-controlled award redemption forever, the only remaining option is to convert the old miles to new points at some date in the future. DL might also add the option to reverse transfer points into miles to top off a miles award for redemption under the old rules during the transition period only.

Originally Posted by vxmike

That would be a large assumption for someone who holds a sizable balance of Skymiles to make. Delta has shown no such recent history of fair play regarding program changes.

Originally Posted by Deemus7

To me, this is my biggest worry with these rumored changes. I am currently sitting on almost 400k, which I know pales in comparison to many, but still is a significant chunk when I can only manage one international vacation a year (if that) because of limited time off of work. Mrs. Deemus and I hit the 5 year mark next May and were planning on burning these miles on one last "hurrah" of a trip before kids. I was hoping to FINALLY apply what I've learned on FT for open-jaw, stopovers, partner travel, etc. to visit some fantastic places, maybe MRU, SEZ, and/or JNB.

Now, with these rumors, I am sweating bullets. DL does have an unfortunate track record, so what am I supposed to do? Part of me wants them to just come on and tell us already, whereas the other part is holding out hope that changes won't come until at least July so I can lock in some semblance of flights for our dream trip above.

Originally Posted by Deemus7

This +1,000,000. I see no way for DL IT to effectively track and monitor both an old and new system for redeeming miles/points simultaneously. Even if they do it for a limited amount of time, that would also be waaaaaay too customer-friendly, which is sad to say but completely justified given their recent track record. I could see something like this:

Effective (insert date here), all SkyMiles will be converted into (insert new currency here) at a rate of (insert rate here). Prior to that date, miles can be redeemed using the old award chart. From that date forward, each (insert new currency here) will equate to $1 off the price of a ticket.

If that happens, the transition date becomes the key thing, and I shudder to think about the "redness" of the award chart in the days and weeks leading up to that date...

Originally Posted by pbarnette

EXACTLY! A huge part of why I'm not particularly upset is that I never thought miles to be anything other than a depreciating currency.

Originally Posted by Deemus7

I could see something like this:

Effective (insert date here), all SkyMiles have been converted into (insert new currency here) at a rate of (insert rate here). Prior to that date, miles could be redeemed using the old award chart. Since that date, each (insert new currency here) equates to $1 off the price of a ticket.

Originally Posted by DHalltheway

You do realize you can book trips 331 days in advance no? I have trips booked up to Dec this year and am looking into Jan/Feb next year already.

And the perk of being PM / DM is: waiver of Award Ticket Redeposit / Reissue

Originally Posted by florin

I see it slightly different. My corrections in bold.

Originally Posted by Deemus7

True, but my window won't open until the beginning of July (our anniversary is 5/31), and how will those free redeposits/reissues work when an old ticket is changed/canceled after the new system is in place? Using the voucher rule as an example (a ticket booked using a pre-12/15 voucher and changed or canceled after 12/15 resulted in a post-12/15 voucher), I would bet any changes after the new system roll-out would follow the new rules.

Again, we're working totally on hypothetical situations here, so who really knows? It just worries me that the miles I've worked hard to accumulate won't be able to be used in the way I was promised.

Originally Posted by DHalltheway

Well what is stopping you from using the miles this summer? =P

The redeposit rule helps you hedge your bet. I have 10 BE/WBC/J class tickets booked up to Dec this year.

Will I take all the trips I booked?

Not necessarily. I have the luxury to choose if I want to burn the miles or choose to take a paid flight and earn EQM & RDM.

But I have effectively hedge the value of most of my miles. So if this very minute DL announces the program change, instead of having 1 Million miles in my account halved in value due to rule changes. I have used 1 Million miles and gotten the full value of it!

Originally Posted by Crazyhotelguy

Now we know who the "gamers" are...

Originally Posted by DHalltheway

Well what is stopping you from using the miles this summer? =P

The redeposit rule helps you hedge your bet. I have 10 BE/WBC/J class tickets booked up to Dec this year.

Will I take all the trips I booked?

Not necessarily. I have the luxury to choose if I want to burn the miles or choose to take a paid flight and earn EQM & RDM.

But I have effectively hedge the value of most of my miles. So if this very minute DL announces the program change, instead of having 1 Million miles in my account halved in value due to rule changes. I have used 1 Million miles and gotten the full value of it!

Originally Posted by avidflyer

This is hands down the best strategy going at the moment. Lock in the current value and if all is well, and you do not want to take the trip, re-deposit. If it all goes south you are protected. Instead of guessing who is right or wrong all the PM/DM's reading this should do exactly the same thing. You have nothing to lose and could insulate yourself from devaluation should it happen. This is why Flyertalk exists.

Originally Posted by DHalltheway

Well what is stopping you from using the miles this summer? =P

The redeposit rule helps you hedge your bet. I have 10 BE/WBC/J class tickets booked up to Dec this year.

Will I take all the trips I booked?

Not necessarily. I have the luxury to choose if I want to burn the miles or choose to take a paid flight and earn EQM & RDM.

But I have effectively hedge the value of most of my miles. So if this very minute DL announces the program change, instead of having 1 Million miles in my account halved in value due to rule changes. I have used 1 Million miles and gotten the full value of it!

Originally Posted by avidflyer

This is hands down the best strategy going at the moment. Lock in the current value and if all is well, and you do not want to take the trip, re-deposit. If it all goes south you are protected. Instead of guessing who is right or wrong all the PM/DM's reading this should do exactly the same thing. You have nothing to lose and could insulate yourself from devaluation should it happen. This is why Flyertalk exists.

Originally Posted by Deemus7

Believe me, I WISH I was in a position to do that. Here's my dilemma:

-Vacation days for 2012 maxed out
-Work travel (paid by employer) is entirely domestic Y and generally booked 4-6 weeks out
-January through April is peak selling season for my company and thus I am prohibited to pre-book a 2013 vacation for that time

If I booked an international J award ticket for November, for example, there is literally a 0% chance of me taking the trip. So how does booking a phantom trip now help me? I will definitely lock in flights this July when my booking window opens for next May, but until then, I'm on pins & needles...

If there's something I'm missing, by all means, let me know!

Originally Posted by DHalltheway

You do know you can book tickets for other people yes?

There are people called "Parents and Siblings" who would love you to bits too!

Re-issue/re-deposit rules still valid cause they are your miles.

Originally Posted by Deemus7

Wait a second...you're suggesting that I use my miles on someone other than ME??? Who do you think you are!?!?!?!

Either you win the award for "Best child/sibling of the year" or I win the award as "Worst child/sibling of the year." I don't know if I want to answer that question...

Honestly though, my parents HATE to fly and my brother and sister live in NYC and don't really like leaving the city. I did try to surprise a friend who got married this weekend by using miles to upgrade them to BE on Sunday's ATL-FCO flight, but (shockingly enough) they were not in an upgradeable fare class.