I thought this was for US based only?

How is it unsustainable, when you need the double miles just to make up for the diminished value of SkyPesos relative to the competition.

Mid level is the defacto base level for SkyPesos, making them worth about 40% less (give or take) than the competition.

David

It is in the FAQs... there is no YQ on domestic flights. But, let DL bean counters institute that too in 2014

Delta's FAQ clearly states that both the fare and surcharges are included in the MQD calculation and that only government-imposed taxes and fees are excluded.

The real problem is Delta shouldn't have been handing out MQM's like candies for years, and now we're in this situation with too many medallions. I agree it needs to get fixed, because as a PM I shouldn't be 25 of 90 on an upgrade list. But, I don't believe this is the way to go about it.

If you combine the new thread with the 50% bonus loss to the M fare, it should attract a lot of attention from those of us who do mostly international travel.

Everyone,

I'm a professional researcher and I've created a decent survey to address the issues we've been discussing the forum.

The survey is three questions. The first one addresses the MQD requirement and the second addresses the new MQM accrual rates. These are separate issues and should be discussed separately. The third question addresses how you think these program changes TOGETHER will affect revenue.

Please take 30 seconds to do it and I will periodically post the results. Hopefully if we approach this in an organized way we can provide clear feedback to Delta, which, good or bad, is the most beneficial for us and them.

The link is here:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y63TYGB

Despite what some people may believe here, I doubt that Delta's marketing team who worked on this change is naive or dumb. You can bet they worked the spreadsheets and scenarios six ways to Sunday - I certainly would have expected to see this if I was part of the (probably board level) management to sign off on this.

Now I am one of the people this program is designed to demote. I'm a Diamond Medallion, I get there the hard way, flying down the back on the cheapest tickets. I make about a dozen international trips each year (practically all on Delta planes, but if no DL route is available always on DL partners) but my total spend is slightly south of the $12k needed. Delta doesn't want me as a Diamond, because frankly there's far too many of us, and no real exclusivity (of course, it still wants my money). I fly out of Orange County (SNA) and the priority line often is more congested than the regular boarding line. I hardly ever get upgraded to/from ATL, and never to MSP (only 12 first class seats on that route). Wherever I go, I bump into tens of other Diamonds. So Delta wants to make the top tier mean something special to the most important people to them, those who spend.

Unfortunately my budget dictates my spending, and not some company policy. I am worth the same to Delta (in revenue dollars) as a person who makes 2 flights a year in paid business class (because that's his company's policy).

However, this is going to be interesting. Remember, I see tens of Diamonds whenever I travel. DOWN THE BACK. So, what will I, and people like me, do, come January 2014 when I know I will not be Diamond in 2015?

The answer is, I don't know yet. I think the success of this program for Delta, relies not in it's own hands, but in United's and American's. These three companies have essentially the same product when it comes to airline seats and routes. Delta has to be banking that UA and AA see this change, and follow suit. Because, if they don't, then the people like me will look at the grass on the other side, and find it greener. Even worse, if UA or AA implemented a Switch To Us program, for Diamonds like me, it'd be a no brainer. I fly usually internationally via ATL (going to Europe anyway), and my HQ is also in Atlanta. Today's fare SNA-ATL on UA is actually $200 cheaper than Deltas (I realized this is the first time I've been to United's web site for years - note what drove me there!). I pay the small difference today to Delta because of loyalty and because of the Diamond benefits, like free Economy Comfort.

If the hundreds of people like me move away because of this, Delta will lose the revenue of probably 80% of it's Diamond base (not 80% of the revenue though because the top 20% contribute far more). Delta's planes are fairly full right now, but they'd definitely see occupancy rates decline. Whether it'd be significant I don't know, I have not the ability to run the numbers comparison Delta's marketing people will have done.

What will happen is anyone's guess. I suspect that UA and AA will jump on the Dollars route, and that will be the end of top level perks for someone like me. I agree with an earlier comment in this thread, it may ultimately mean the end of airline partnerships, like Skyteam, Star Alliance etc. because they are punishing people who fly on team member's planes.

However, if I was in UA marketing I'd be thinking a little outside the box, wondering how I can both stick it to my competition and gain cheeks on seats at the same time. But I won't hold my breath for that to happen.

Question 3 is funny. Not just sort of funny. Really funny.

Wow. Quite a few more posts since my last visit yesterday.

My point above isn't that other alliances are/will be better. It's that I had a specific loyalty to flying DL simply because it was easy to keep Silver status, and the benefits thereof. That's the whole point of a Loyalty Program.

When I could, I would get the boss to approve a DL ticket, even at a slightly higher cost over AA or *A, etc... and simply deduct the difference from my per diem, because I wanted to make sure I kept at least 25,000 miles, and liked the rollover. As long as it was within 10-15%, he agreed, and everyone was happy.

Also, when flying for "fun", I again chose DL, even at a slightly higher cost for the above reasons.

However, they've completely killed the rollover as a viable benefit, and taken away the 25,000 as the primary method of status. This makes it possible that I will be unable to consistently keep status with them.

All of the above adds up to this: It makes no difference if I move to another alliance who then makes a similar change. If I can't keep status on DL, what difference is there if another airline also doesn't allow me to achieve status?

I know several people who are in the same "business light" travel bucket. We all travel just enough that a Loyalty Program makes sense for us to be LOYAL to one airline. Again, that was the purpose of these programs. ...to get us to aggregate as much travel as we could with one carrier. It was a simple (and prior to the recent changes), effective way to force a monopoly on the individual flyer. Instead of shopping price for every flight, mid-level travelers and above were motivated to shop only their preferred carrier.

These changes revert the system back to the way it was ~35 years ago, before the Loyalty Programs, when we all shopped every airline for price.

I know I’m dating myself now, but back before the Loyalty Program existed, 100,000 miles on a single airline was a big deal. You got an award plaque, a set of capt’s wings, etc… There were some of us who made a game of trying to get our 100,000 mile wings on as many airlines as possible. The Loyalty Programs changed that almost overnight.

…and now the pendulum is swinging back. Once again, I am forced to revert to one who is motivated only by the cost of the ticket, and not by my Loyalty Program benefits (or lack thereof). …but without the wings for 100,000 miles <sigh>. ;)

I know my poll was a bit less scientific, but this looks great. Thanks!

And yet Delta is selling MQMs at this very point in time. :confused:

David

If UA and/or AA do not follow the suit this can get very interesting.

You totally inspired me, so thank YOU!

For those who need some comic relief...
 

My favorite thread on FT is this one about dumb things companies do to save money. It's hysterical.

Mike