gemdigital

I'm pretty sure I am not a HVC. My spend with DL has been in the $30k range per year. And due to travel to Africa I've made DM the last 2 years. So where does a small business owner who's really paying his own way land in this mess?

dean1121

i almost posted a new thread "who will get to 1,000,000 rollover first" I may do it this year and every time I look at the amount of rollover I have accumulated I actually laugh out loud.

Finally some sanity and understanding that devaluation by giving every man and his dog PM/DM status is being noticed big time. As stated, I can't wait for a revenue based program. All you $10,000 DM's can fly coach where if you think about rationally is where you belong.

bartendress

Interesting. I guess I missed that wrinkle (one of many) in the SM program.

Fortunately, I've yet to stare purchasing full Y in the face. The only time I'm allowed to book B or M (minus an inquisition from accounting) is if/when that's the only booking class available.

Ps- Am I the only person that finds it hard to believe that DL would scrap this engrained, completely complex, hard to follow, hire a bunch of lawyers to help you follow 25% of it, WELL ESTABLISHED BUREAUCRACY... mine field that is the current SM program in favor of a 'now for something completely different' SM program?

Seriously?

DCAproducer

^ Same here. May not be paying for BMY/J/F/A fares often, but I travel enough to rack up the MQM's. I'm fine with "adding" a way for people to earn status faster by paying more for tickets. People who always pay for F are not competing for upgrades.

We shall see where this goes.

javabytes

I don't disagree that there should be a DL equivalent of GS, but I think changing the rest of the tiers as well as award earning/redemption to a strictly revenue-based program is a mistake.

Tomphot

I'm sure I'm not a HVC with regard to total spend with DL.
By spending over $110,000 per year on 2 AmEx cards, it brings in 50k MQMs which helps make me DM.
With a major change to the program, I'll drop the AmEx spend and move that over to a rebate card.
I'll also go ahead and start traveling with which ever airline gives me the best price and schedule.

dean1121

Perhaps a GS/White envelope real elite level might be a better way to go, state up front what you have to do and let people go for it.

Sounds like they are going scorched earth on the whole program and starting again.

SamuelS

This.

Oh, and I love your signature line.

SamuelS

We don't often agree, but on this subject, we definitely agree!

goodandclassy

lol maybe, if it (seems to) make money, even short-term!

but i can't imagine how the implementation would not be botched.

akonradi

Are you suggesting that you think of DL management as a rational group?

goodandclassy

do you all remember This Interview?
Look at the last two questions. This has been a long way coming

it can also explain why the award calendar has shown zero improvement over the last X years while the revenue engine has been updated several times. It won't be all that difficult to incorporate a third and fourth column to say, for example, buy this flight for 100k SkyPoints (sm) in Y and 250K SkyPoints (sm) in J

also, mileage upgrades have been promised for online for a long time. I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing FCM banners with X dollars and/or Y SkyPoints for price points

at that point, i can also see the fare restrictions dropping out - which will be the enhancement brought to you by the new and improved the SkyPoints(sm) program

jsmith50

Correct, miles that never expire was something that hit last year. However, as long as your SM account was active, you could accumulate an unlimited number of miles. I don't ever see a time when I would have stopped flying altogether so I fully expected that my miles would have not expired anyway. My understanding, is that now with non-expiring miles it applies to the total balance of your account regardless of when they were accrued. So, as long as DL doesn't reneg on this promise, then even when I stop flying actively, I'll be able to enjoy my miles for a long time to come!

rylan

Well its a good thing they never expire, since it'll take a lifetime of flying to be able to afford a couple tpac J tickets once this goes through.

Anyone familiar with SkyBonus can tell you the redemption levels are insane.. and not only that it is restricted to the super-low fare buckets unless you want to pay a 3x more points for "enhanced availability". If that is the model, then we're in for a whole new world of hurt.

DHalltheway

These are just teething issues IMO and should come to pass.

I have been reading about UA's situation but I doubt it will last for a prolonged period of time.

Your suggestion for AA sounds good, it is not a very viable option for one who is based in Asia due to the limited reach of the airline.
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While I don't have much invested in DL compared to many of you, I have an attachment to the airline in the short time that I've been flying it.

A major devaluation by DL will make me consider if I want to continue flying them or not. DL is the top US legacy carrier imo but if the values don't add up I am gone.