Poll all you want...it is non-scientific.

Multi-billion dollar corporations don't change course because of a big steaming pile of internet crazy.

Actually.....DL has sent some elites a message....and, it is pretty-clear.

For many, if not most, companies, that someone else taking the flight will have a choice about airline, flight and schedule.

So the next big question is when the RDM changes will hit. Giving a GM (like me :p) double miles on a 5 cpm TCON T fare is clearly unsustainable. Time to start nailing down those intl J redemptions.

I think that for the average business traveler who flys on a routine basis, on discounted or standard tickets, the spend component is meaningless. To meet the $2500 minimum for a SE, and assuming 10 RT flights to achieve it, each RT would have to run $250, which is not a lot for a standard business flight. If you flew 10 RTs for a GM, the cost per RT would be $500 for a 5000 mile trip (again not unreasonable in a business setting).

The problems appear when mileage runs accumulate large numbers of miles for small amounts of money. In these cases, one is going to have to consider using the AMEX card or switching FFPs. International flying is also going to become an issue, especially with partners.

I am not a Delta elite but was considering it as my new secondary FFP. I think that I may have to reconsider now.:eek:

It is down right stupid. I know people who travel for a living and who work for companies that force them to purchase the cheapest seat available, which is usually inconvenient times, and is always the middle seat. They are also not permitted to expense WiFi or similar services. So, these companies end up with unhappy traveling workers who are also not productive on TCON and other long flights. The employees figure if the company is that short-sighted then they are going to sleep, read books, or watch movies. That is, do anything other than work.

Penny-wise, pound-foolish.

Companies like this deserve to fail.

My only complaint with the program is the varying amounts of tax and fees per ticket (given that these do not qualify for the MQD spend). Frankly, I had never looked at it prior to this announcement, but here are three example airfares I just booked.

Total Price: $159. Tax/Fee Component: 49.90
Total Price: $533. Tax/Fee: $68.50
Total Price: $357. Tax/Fee: 64.06

I bring this up because I think when we are looking at our 2012 dollars spent, it is more challenging than I expected to figure if you would have hit the appropriate threshold.

That's not quite accurate. Corporations have changed course when they realize they made a big mistake, and this I believe may be one of them. Though the real message back to them is a reduction in revenue. Like many others, I only fly DL period. Now maybe my revenue isn't what DL considers a priority any longer and frankly if that's the case I will now consider flying other carriers.

I can imagine Dwayne is getting a headache scanning through this...

I have lots of issues with this, but am putting them aside for now. My wife and I, both Diamond Medallions, have been high-level elite flyers on Delta for years. I have not tracked it, but anecdotally I know that some years we might be a bit below the the new $12,500, some years we would be above it. It's really based on our personal and business needs for any particular year. If we thought we'd be below it, we could alter our spend and get above it fairly easily.

As we also fly on non-Skyteam airlines, my wife keeps a spreadsheet so that we know we will each comfortably hit the 125,000 level, which also means tracking future planned, if unticketed, travel.

However, we just don't have the time or desire to start tracking MQDs, especially since it backs out certain fees (which would be higher on int'l flights). So the $25,000 "safe harbor" Amex spend would work for us/is easy to comply with, as we spend over $50,000 on Amex. And in this case, we would be doing exactly what Delta wants us to do, in that we have a non-Delta Amex card (as we'd rather be able to use the Rewards miles on non-Skyteam carriers), and would need to get a Delta Amex card.

However, and I realize that this doesn't impact most on this board as most aren't husband/wife Diamond elites, we currently maintain a single non-Delta Amex account with two cards. As I read this, we would each need $25,000 on completely separate Delta Amex accounts in order to qualify. This gets insanely unwieldy...we would literally have to make a "which card to use" decision for every purchase we make, to ensure that each of us hits the $25,000 separately.

We just don't have the time to deal with this. I hope they come up/clarify a better solution on the Amex side of this.

What about those Int'l fares that are half taxes/fees

Price per passenger: $694.40 (USD)
Taxes/Carrier-imposed Fees: $642.40 (USD)
Total for all passengers (1): $1,336.80 (USD)

Much of that is YQ/YR, which counts towards MQD as we understand it. MQD only excludes government imposed taxes/fees.

MQM earning rates on Skyteam Carriers!
 

I am surprised that this thread is almost 100% focused on domestic travel issues. The MQD issue is a minor hassle for me. Yes, I will now have to track this metric and book some flights on Delta.com rather than KLM.com (I do this to get free EC seating with less hassle). Otherwise, I don't care.

However, the cuts on MQM earnings on KE, CI, CZ, MU, and SU devalue the Skyteam alliance enough that I am tempted to switch to Southwest domestically and Oneworld internationally rather than fly Delta. I love flying Delta domestically, but I doubt I will get enough MQMs there to keep my status without help from long-haul international trips on partners.

Never fear, Delta IT is here!



LOL.......

An excellent summary. DL are a business, not a charity. You can still do MRs and other good stuff but you will not be able to game the system quite as easily in the past. I expect they will give this time and then nudge the Dollar levels up etc and otherwise nake other adjustments.

I probably will still make Plat because of the Delta Plat Amex. However, due to the large tax amounts on TATLs, the MQDs may not be quite as easy as I first thought. MQMs will still be fairly easy. If they send out the offer to purchase 10,000 MQMs for 1000 dollars (also on my Amex) it may be worth it bump up the MQD spend.

Actually, we are not supposed to purchase WiFi on the plane. :( I pay for it out of pocket. Since we have Verizon Wi-Fi cards on our computer and are provided the maximum usage plan, and the company pays for my home Internet access, I get it. When GoGo first started, we were sent a memo about this. We are also not allowed to expense reading materials for the plane.

Before purchasing monthly access, I did charge GoGo a couple times when I had something that had to be done, and nobody questioned it, but since it is technically not permitted, I just pay it on my own.

^ ^ ^

I have heard many stories of employees at other companies who bend the rules to purchase instant upgrade tickets on (for example) UA. I wish you were right, but it seems that many folks who travel a lot lose sight of what is right.

In any case, defense contractors are penalized when employees do not travel on the lowest available fare. That is federal procurement law. This has taken a huge bite out of airline revenue. I used to travel Y fares all the time. No more.

I really don't have a dog in this fight, as my travel is winding down and I will revert to complimentary annual FO on 3/1/2014.

I fully believe that the big 3 of Delta, United, and the soon-to-be Frankenline (AA, US, AW) will come to the realization that chasing elites is a zero sum game. Corporate travel will continue to be reduced, and VFR travel will occur as needed and when stimulated with low fares.

In today's travel environment, the elite programs aren't achieving any real return on investment other than to keep folks away from startup carriers such as VX. And even then, the legacies might be able to stomp on the startups with low fares as being more cost effective than elite benefits.

David