And I would offer that this might not have been needed without the ill-considered rollover scheme wildly inflating Medallion ranks and putting that financial performance at risk.

Those who pay more should get more. It apparently was a rule they recently came across. And now enthusiastically embrace.

The argument here isn't that the new spend component is inequitable. Just that those relying on 50k MQM annual rollovers to unconditionally re-earn status can argue the devaluation amounts to breaking faith. Ending rollovers would have been, too.

It would scarcely be the first time for this team:

Delta's Promise to Memphis

I can't wait to see how some of the posters here come to defend and praise DL when they convert the system to revenue based redemption and your skypesos get valued at 1c/mi across the board. Sure, it'll only take 600k miles for an S fare BE ticket.

I don't know what constitutes defense or praise, but revenue based redemptions are coming.

The whole idea of award travel is predicated on taking seats the airline would fail to save anyways and making them available as a reward. Between capacity cuts, rising yields, and pricing the premium cabins to actually sell (FCM) there simply aren't very many empty seats today. While exploiting the difference in the pricing of premium cabins in miles vs. dollars has been great for many of us, those days are coming to an end.

Delta never has this dilemma; all of the NonRev staff has filled all of the BE seats long before they have to sell any or UG any Elites.....

Delta never has this dilemma; all of the NonRev staff has filled all of the BE seats long before they have to sell any or UG any Elites.....

Insightful and accurate.

Delta's number one allegiance isn't to it's customers, it's alliance partners, it's join venture partners, or it's employees, but to it's shareholders.

At the end of the day, Delta isn't loyal to it's customers, and it's customers needn't be loyal to Delta. Instead, our job is to let our dollars do the talking and take our business elsewhere if we see fit, thereby encouraging competition and entrepreneurship.

At this particular moment in the airline business cycle, the supply side (and by extension, the shareholder) has the advantage. Demand will catch up, though. I eagerly await a new set of airlines to pop up, incite fare wars, cut everyone's margins, and leave Delta and the other legacies with no economic profits. It's happened over and over, and I expect it can't be too far away now.

50000 more miles until I make my million miler. After that its good bye Skyteam and good bye American Express. I'll keep my lifetime Silver just in case I have to fly Skyteam. Ever since NWA was taken over by Delta, flying and booking with Delta has been crap. Crappy planes, unfriendly staff, the worst booking engine and unavailibility of mileage flights... and now MQD requirements. I have tried to avoid using Delta metal on my overseas journeys and now they want to make me fly their junk metal...sorry I want to fly carbon fiber dreamliners and giant modern airships.

I have been trying to book mileage flights for my family and every time it shows availibility of "low" mileage flights it won't book it, I called, I tried each segment seperate and it just won't work. I will burn my remaining 800000 miles and switch to Star or One...

any suggestion on those two

On both United and American it is possible to book one way "saver" mileage flights at almost all times of the year...very cool

I don't know why this is so hard to comprehend for some people. It is not about how I make status vs you or somebody else. People simply pointed out that there are $$$ spent on DL that do not count towards the threshold. As a result, the average passenger has to spend more than $2,500 on DL related expenses to meet the target to make silver.

This is not about you, me or Bubba. This is about: "How much does it really cost me to make silver on DL?" And the answer is: "More than $2,500, probably closer to $3,000".

Absolutely correct. DL is not about fairness, no airline is. DL thinks they can make more money this way. Each passenger should evaluate if this new system is beneficial to them and either be one of the few, exclusive elites or move to a different airline.

I'm pretty sure that rollover and MQDs address different issues. Rollover finds a way to reward those that fly more. MQDs ensure that those receiving benefits pay a reasonable amount for them. The two are not at all contradictory.

Breaking faith? Folks should have known what they were getting into. Expecting the terms not to change for years on end is naive.

I would offer that, if Memphis wants a hub, they should work to improve the economic viability of their city to attract one. The people who have broken the most promises to Memphis are the elected officials that allowed it to become what it is.

If you are interested in Skyteam Elite+, PM me. It won't give you upgrades, but you do get better seats, increased luggage allowance, etc. Lounge access is unclear at this time.

And you wonder why people question your credibility.
Passengers are at fault for not anticipating DL changing the terms of the program???
Memphis is at fault for DL cutting service by 49%???
Wow. Delta really can do no wrong for you, huh? You and that Koolaid...

So, let me get this straight. You enter into a program where you are told it can change at any time. You have witnessed changes being implemented several times. And yet you believe that changes won't happen in the future? That is pretty much the definition of naive.

Yes. Memphis is poor and small and poorly situated relative to other potential hubs. DL made the only rational choice and Memphis's civic leaders did their constituents a disservice by pretending that their position as a hub was sustainable. If Memphis wants a hub, they need leaders willing to stimulate the local economy and encourage population growth.

You know what? I have tried to be respectful, despite the fact that you repeatedly post incorrect statements and question my integrity. If you can't do the same, then I suggest that you stop posting. Seriously. Constantly being wrong just makes you look ill-informed, but then attacking others because they are right makes you look petty.

It is a cab ride!
 

The changes are bad for one reason: It becomes more expensive to fly. THAT is it. It is just a cab ride...that is all it is. The programs are a great way to mitigate some of your expense when you are forced to take a cab to work every week. It has nothing to do with being "elite". Being "Elite" because you can afford to take a flight (cab) to work WAS real about 30 years ago. Today there are maybe 2% of the entire US population who cant afford to fly.

I swear people here really believe we are in the 70's. Posters spouting: "Elite" status is for those who pay, if you cant afford it tough!" WHO cant afford it? My CAT can afford FC on Delta. It has nothing to do with being able to afford it., The opposite is the REAL issue: There are not enough seats for those willing to pay more to sit in them. The spread used to be thousands now it is hundreds or tens.

Bottom line: The "elite" ranks are indeed swelled but those who think they will be "thinned" are completely lost in their own worlds. They wont be thinned because they were never elite including those who can pay $500 one way instead of $300 one way...NOBODY IS ELITE and it is JUST A FREAKING CAB RIDE.

See, here is the problem. I never said that DL should not or could not change the program at any time. I am taking issue with your statement that it is the passenger's fault. Two very different issues no matter how much you want to make them one.

Here is an outsider without any proprietary market research data access (YOU) and you have determined that Memphis is "poor, small and poorly situated". Yet, DL with all their research and access to data did not see it like this at all and promised that the int'l flight would stay and that there would be even more flights. Then, DL cuts service by 49%. Either they were untruthful or completely unaware of how "poor, small and poorly situated" Memphis is. Neither is good. And here comes you, blaming Memphis for this. Again, DL made a promise it probably should not have made. But blaming Memphis for DL's decisions is just asinine.

Delta has the right to change the program any way it sees fit. Delta also has the right to cut service when it wants to. But blaming the passengers and citizens for those decisions is just ridiculous.
Should American Airlines blame DL passengers for its bankruptcy? I mean if those DL passengers had booked on AA, this would not have happened.
Should Ryanair blame Lufthansa for offering better service thus forcing Ryanair to compete with low fares?
What's next? Blaming the smart kid in your son's school for constantly acing the exams resulting in others getting Cs and Bs since they are grading on a curve???
I have no problem with DL's decisions. I have a problem with your lack of pragmatism and constructivism and complete inability to see when DL's decisions are less than perfect.