Trust me. I looked at your location before posting that sentence.

For business, I don't pay attention to cards people use, but for personal, we tend to throw cards in the middle and split the check evenly, so it's hard not to see everyone's cards.

Yowzah! Top post on page 100!!!!!

I agree with your first part but not the second. You say the MQDs (mcdollars?) are reasonable but it's about 2/3s of Deltas operating costs. As has been posted here earlier, selling miles to AMX is more profitable. If DL's operating margin is 1cpm then $12.5k MQDs is less profitable than the $25k spend.

PS it's snowing in NYC.

Then don't market it as a "Loyalty Program" and don't tell customers how much you love them and are looking out for them.

I have long considered SM in the same light as what you just posted, which is why I rolled my eyes when I saw the "Loyalty programs should reward loyalty" marketing Delta put out a few years ago. If it's a business decision for them, it's a business decision for me. Don't appeal to my emotions if you don't mean it.

This is one of many reasons why people don't trust companies any more than they trust the government. We've been misled by both for far too long.

(Now that I think about it, our mistrust of the government may stem more from complete incompetence on their part. But that's a different thread.)

This post right here shows that you don't understand business, and that you can't figure out DL clearly has a reasoning for the AmEx exemptions and the perks for having the AmEx. DL makes quite a bit in kickbacks from AmEx and from selling the miles and MQMs one receives for using a DL AmEx. DL AmEx users are raking it the cash for DL, regardless of whether they fly 50 times a year, once a year, or not at all. So for DL AmEx users, even if they're not directly spending money on tickets on DL, they're still contributing handsomely to DL's bottom line, and that's why DL extends benefits to AmEx users. DL has determined that if you spend $25K a year on their branded AmEx in addition to flying the minimum amount of mileage, the kickbacks they receive justify the benefits they extend you. It's not rocket science to figure out.

I never said they cheated. I said there was nothing "elite" about those travel patterns. Mileage runners maximized their miles under the old rules. Those rules are now changing.

DL is still loyal to those that are loyal to them - financially.

They do in a lot of ways.

For one upgrades. Why should a gold that actually stays at Hiltons, etc and earns status have to compete for an upgrade against someone that earned their status with a credit card? What is the difference between a person who stays at properties a lot and loses an upgrade to someone with a lot less stays who has a credit card, over competing for a first class seat?

Or lounges. Some lounges will give golds access:( And those lounges are usually packed. As a loyal guest to Hilton why should I have to take my breakfast to my room to eat from the lounge because seats are being taken by credit card holders?

And for peak travel season, why should I have to compete for an award stay invenetory against someone who has their status throught a credit card?

There is no difference between a hotel awarding status on a credit card than an airline or any other travel program or loyalty program.

What I hate about Delta and credit cards is they give Skyclub access to certain Am Ex card holders and sell day passes. They need to return that to a paid membership club.

I don't think that the new rules will eliminate mileage running entirely (i.e. some people will still 'top up' provided they have the spending but not the EQM), but they will reduce some of the MBWMBW type streaks of huge amounts of miles on T-fares throughout the year. I still think that a better choice would have been to eliminate/reduce the medallion bonus on certain fares, so that people didn't rack up 30k EQM for < $1k like has been known to happen. I know that position may be seen as heresy to some...

+1. Better than driving high M fare paying customers to other airlines by cutting their bonus. Most M fare customers can get discount J and all the bonuses with ANY other airline.

My own experience: Was going to end last year at 74,982 miles and 88 segments, with more than enough spend to qualify for PM under the new rules. Even before an international trip that contributed 21k+ miles, the spend was there but the miles weren't. I would still do an MR under the new rules to top off my mileage to get to the 75k line.

While the mega-MRs are likely gone, the top-off MRs are probably alive and well.

Been saying that all along in this thread. This new rule eliminates MRs as being the SOLE method of obtaining status, but still allows for one to use MRs to reach the next tier level if just short on MQMs or MQDs. DL will still likely offer the deeply discounted fares like the $500 round trips to IST, but DL is saying if you wish to pursue those, then you won't be getting a very high status level with it, and will leave those fares for those passengers truly looking for the cheapest way from A to B, rather than those looking to maximize status.

It's correct that the landscape changed but the airlines should get along with the changes too! How many people flew on Delta 25 years ago? How many international partners were bringing in customers? I started my FF carrer with DL in 1994 and it was harder and more expensive as it is today to qualify for any status.
If Delta ( or any Airline ) would like to create a certain status for their top 2% customers they are free to do so. LH did this with the "HON Circle" requiring 600.000 Mqm's within 2 years. When the found out that more and more people doing HON-Run's the simply changed the rules for qualification: paid C and F flights only count for their top tier status now.
Delta could have easily set up the Kriptonium Medallion level at say 200.000 Mqm's if the wanted to but they choose to thinning out the ranks on the existing levels instead.

If the mileage runners don't buy those seats, someone else will? I think more than likely those seats go empty, or else DL wouldn't need to offer those fares. I've never done a mileage run, but I once booked a $450 ai flight from MCO-FCO on DL in 2009, as we were going there anyway to do a Mediterranean cruise. The flight from ATL to FCO still had about 30-40 empty seats.

BTW, do we believe that the MQD requirement will really decrease the 70 flyers strong upgrade list from ATL-MSP? It might change the bottom 25%, but I think it will have minimal effect at the top. The "fake" Diamonds don't take hub-2-hub flights, and won't really affect your upgrade chances.

Yes, but I think DL would rather that "someone else" be someone who won't be using up benefits during the trip. Would DL rather sell that seat at $450 to someone who is A) only getting a seat in regular Y and maybe one free bag and will pay for a second checked bag or perhaps pay for EC or B) an Elite who will get a complimentary EC, a couple free checked bags, use the SkyClub, etc. etc. etc. The key word in all this is "rather" implying DL, can't enforce it, but I can tell you which DL would prefer. Many people on here don't see it, but those benefits DL extends to Elites cost DL money. DL extends them to you because they determined that you bring in enough revenue to offset the costs of those benefits and those benefits encourage you to come back and spend more money. People are just getting upset that DL is finally putting a dollar value on those benefits and saying "to receive them, you have to justify our expense of extending them to you." Is it much different than a coupon for a restaurant or store having a "minimum spend" requirement to justify the benefit of the coupon?

Stuff changes. At one point in time, DL defined its most valuable customers under one set of criteria. Going forward, the definition is changing. No explanation is necessary.

When I go to the market each week, I either buy Coke, Pepsi or 7-Up products. Every week, at least one is on sale. I purchase whichever is cheapest. Sure, I'm a member of Coke's loyalty program, so if it's close, I'll buy the Atlanta product. I don't stand in the aisle whining that the people on North Avenue owe me an explanation when Coke Zero is $1.80/2L and Canada Dry Diet Ginger Ale is $1.00/2L!

Does Blockbuster need to explain why it once courted people renting VHS tapes, but is now closing the very stores they used to attract those once premier customers? Should Kodak and Polaroid, once giants of American industry, explain why they no longer value Instamatic and One-Click customers the way they used to? Do you still expect Winstons to be recommended by doctors? Are you still looking for Corinthian Leather in your Cordoba?

It's ridiculous to expect a business to be locked into its out of date non-contractual marketing definitions, just as it is ridiculous for someone who made the mistake of getting emotionally involved with his/her airline to act like a spurned spouse. DL doesn't need to explain anything other than what the rules will be going forward. You need to evaluate what is best for you and choose which available program suits your needs.