juniorwings

I have an upcoming trip on Delta in early Fall and have not registered for / used my Plat $200 credit yet. I don't really plan on traveling any more this year. I looked into the $79/ea way for "Economy Plus", but quickly determined it wasn't really worth it.

For my upcoming trip, I see the option to purchase a 3k SkyMiles "Mileage Booster" each way, for $59 each way. That's 6k SkyMiles for $118, or just a smidge under $0.02 a mile. But I wouldn't buy them unless I was getting reimbursed, too many other easy & free ways to get the skymiles out there

My questions for those who may have done this
1) Will Amex Plat reimburse for the Mileage Booster if I register Delta for 2012?
2) Is this the wisest use of the $200 credit for the remainder of this year based on me not traveling more this year? My only other choice is to try the Southwest GC trick, which I'm sure I would end up using next year.
3) If this is successful, then I have $80 more credit to go.. any thoughts?

#3 may be tough to answer, so I might do a Delta GC at the airport. More interested in thoughts / experiences on questions 1&2.

TIA!

FlyAO2

If you are going to do a DL gift card at the airport for the differnce, why not do the GC for the whole $200?

I don't think the booster is a good use of funds. While you are getting reimbursed, if you have other uses for the $118, you still spent it - money's fungible

MichaelKade

Not sure Economy Plus would even qualify.

"Statement Credits: Incidental air travel fees must be charged on the enrolled Card account for the benefit to apply. Incidental air travel fees must be separate charges from airline ticket charges. Fees not charged by the Card member's airline of choice (e.g. wireless internet and fees incurred with airline alliance partners) do not qualify for statement credits. Upgrade charges are not deemed to be incidental fees."

I don't see gift cards here but I can't see them being covered.

gooselee

Check here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...s-dl-only.html

And be sure to read some of the later posts, as Amex changed their stated rules in the past few months. Recent reports are that Mileage Booster still reimburses, but the door is closing (or may have fully closed) on gift cards.

Also, Economy Comfort and preferred seats is absolutely reimbursable, as they are considered seat assignment fees. You're in the same cabin, so it is not deemed an upgrade. Also, I burned through my entire $200 this year on DL Economy Comfort and preferred seat fees.

For your remainder, you could use it on SkyClub day passes if that's of interest to you. Even if it's not, I believe you can buy physical day passes at actual SkyClubs, and they make nice gifts to friends/family who might be taking trips soon (just check expiration dates).

juniorwings

Thanks guys, I think the best usage of the stipend will be to get the economy comfort tickets. But since there's 2 of us (me and my wife), I didn't actually want to spend extra money, so I'll buy for the LAX --> OGG direction Economy Comfort, and also buy an extra 3k bonus miles for $59 one way. The total will be $217, of which $200 ought to be reimbursed by Amex.

So, for $17 on my part, I will be getting -
2x EC seats (going only)
bonus 3k miles

I'm comfortable with that.

Thanks again!

krpjr

There is a way so that you can use that $200 towards a flight purchase .

juniorwings

I probably left out a pertinent fact, that this was a vacation package and was not purchased directly from Delta or Delta.com.

I kind of figured I could split the payment between 2 cards with $200 (or maybe a few dollar less to stay under radar) going on Plat and the rest on maybe my Delta amex card. However, I ended up buying the vacation package from Priceline (got an excellent deal ), so I was pretty sure that the charge would show "Priceline" as opposed to Delta, and therefore would not work in my case. I was really hoping I could find a close enough deal on DeltaVacations.com, but the cheapest I could find was still $600 more for a very similar package for both of us, not counting the fact that I also got a car rental from the Priceline deal. With all of that, it worked out to a $800 savings for a very similar package. So, although I would have gotten $200 off (theoretically) and double miles, the choice was obvious: cash saved > potential benefits

sbjnyc

I just checked on Amex nd I still have $31 remaining to be reimbursed. That's 6 boxes of travel treats (without getting the 20% discount) vs using it on something else, like ... miles? I used it for miles last year but not sure if there will be another 100% bonus before tHe end of the year.

NYCTraveller

It did for me. Worked wonders to pay the $80 for Economy Comfort on a long-haul TPAC flight and then got the credit back from my AmEx Plat.

juniorwings

Hey guys just following up... thanks for the good advice. I feel better about the Economy Plus vs just getting some more miles

And just FYI, I purchased on Saturday directly from the Delta.com site and this morning (Tuesday) they posted the credit to my Amex account. Showed as 2 seperate purchases for $79 each, followed by 2 seperate credits.

If I like Economy Plus, I might get it on the way back also, and my total cost will be $116 extra for 2 seats (200 credit - $158 applied - $158 more = $116 from me)

flyingdoc747

I tried scouring flyertalk, but couldn't find a definitive answer as to whether or not an Amex Plat considers Delta's Mileage Booster as an incidental. Has anyone received a reimbursement for the Mileage Booster add-on (up to $200 if Amex Plat or Centurion?)

Also, if I make a purchase today (12/31/2012) and it still is pending after Jan 1, will it still be considered a charge during 2012 or 2013? Thanks! Any help is appreciated! I never used the $200 incidental fee perk, so I'm a little nervous to buy the Mileage booster until I know for sure if I will be reimbursed. Thanks!

Adelphos

Think I will attemp to use this on an upcoming trip. I don't check bags (and I have one free bag as an FO if I needed to check a bag) and I don't need Day Passes, so my airline credit may best be used in this manner (I am generally fine with exit seats vs E+ when they are available, and as an FO E+ seats are discounted). I will report back

eturowski

Yes, AmEx WILL reimburse for Mileage Booster spending (also EC, on-board food/drinks, IFE, and SDC). I have received this credit in the past on my Platinum card.

TMitch6542

I bought the mileage boost last month and was NOT reimbursed. I was doing it as a test and no credit posted and it has been several weeks.

Adelphos

I just received a $128 reimbursement for my Mileage Booster purchases for this weekend's flights. It took about 3 days from when the charges posted to the reimbursement - it was automatic.