oldtirednbusy

Hello. I haven't posted in a while, but yes I got my package via Fed Ex Saturday. I currently sit at 6.5MM. So far this year I am at 45K in spending and I have 143K MQM (inc rollover almsot 400K) all BIS, no CC.
My flying is generally short notice generally full Y as I have no time to fool with having to worry about non refundable fares. The clients I work for do not argue with my cost of travel, as it is general knowledge I am trying to wind down and not a lot of people do what I do, so if they want me to do the job, they will pay. I am not a DYKWIA and if you have ever flown with me you would not know my status, (unless you were there the day I hit 6MM and Delta made a big deal of it) as I keep a low profile. I need to get where I am going and if there is a problem, I want someone to make sure I get where I need to go as soon as possible. I am old and tired. I do not care about people making a to do over me, and don't feel the need to tell my seat partner my status. I just want to get where I am going and then get home as my wife biotches that I am still working at this point. I am loyal Delta. I generally get my upgrade as I fly full Y or P. I thoroughly appreciated the level of service I got as an EP and was disappointed to see the program go. My hope is this program will assist in smoothing out some of the travel interruptions I have experienced recently.
I was told in the past by Delta that one of the reasons the EP program was dropped was that there was too much bragging about the status and for that reason I hesitated posting, but decided I would do so for the benefit of those who asked.

phenobarbital

Bragging about status? The people on this board...? Really?

oldtirednbusy

yeah, there's that.

Forgot to add that the letter said this is a trial which will end 02/2014. Hopefully at that time it will be made permanent. No gifts with it, which I really am not interested in. Would be grateful, but really am interested in anything which will make travel simpler at this point, which it seems this is trying to do.

Seriously, a top tier is to award your best customers. The diamond was supposed to do that, but when you can reach a top tier on a loyalty program, spending very little, it is no reward.
I think this program is trying to fix what the Diamond level was trying to fix, and failed miserably.
In short, I think if you have to ask why you aren't in, you aren't getting in.

DougSkymiles

+1

jsmith50

This is a tremendous oversimplification. Having personally gotten an explanation for how and who was selected for the trial period from a member of DL upper management, it seems that this initial rollout is as much a test of their systems capacity/readiness as it is a true reward of the top customers. His comment was that too many of DL's HVCs live in certain parts of the country, i.e. hub cities which resulted in them casting a larger net to capture, for now, lower spend HVCs with geographic distribution so that it wasn't just ATL's ability to handle, say car pickup and VIP services but also at smaller, more regional airports. He was also exceptionally clear that there would be some (if not many) who were initially invited who would not make the ultimate cut.

So, for now asking why you didn't get in isn't a conclusive 'you're not getting in'...though we may better be able to evaluate this come spring 2014.

oldtirednbusy

Sorry, I didn't mean to say this was the end. This is just a trial before the roll out. What I meant is if and when the program becomes more than a trial, if you have to ask while you aren't in, you aren't getting in.
Maybe I made it in the trial b/c my wife (who makes all the reservations) and I both are pretty good to give feedback, positive and negative. Also maybe b/c I am old and need help getting to my gates.

jsmith50

Just out of curiosity, are you located in a hub city? It seems from the anecdotal success I've heard thus far (most of it coming from way too much time in the last few days hanging around SCs, chatting with FAs/GAs, listening to the conversations in F, and now multiple conversations with my buddy at DL, seems that many are not from hubs, they're from St. Louis, Chicago, Nashville, San Francisco, DC, etc.)).

bubbashow

So far this year I am at 45K in spending and I have 143K MQM (inc rollover almsot 400K) all BIS, no CC.
My flying is generally short notice generally full Y as I have no time to fool with having to worry about non refundable fares. The clients I work for do not argue with my cost of travel, as it is general knowledge I am trying to wind down and not a lot of people do what I do, so if they want me to do the job, they will pay. I am not a DYKWIA and if you have ever flown with me you would not know my status, (unless you were there the day I hit 6MM and Delta made a big deal of it) as I keep a low profile. I need to get where I am going and if there is a problem, I want someone to make sure I get where I need to go as soon as possible. I am old and tired. I do not care about people making a to do over me, and don't feel the need to tell my seat partner my status. I just want to get where I am going and then get home as my wife biotches that I am still working at this point. I am loyal Delta. I generally get my upgrade as I fly full Y or P.

THIS is what DL is looking for that will NEVER be understood on this board.

oldtirednbusy

Not located in a hub. Almost always have to fly through ATL.

mdb

This would have sounded less D-bag like if this said.... "will never be understood by some on this board."

jsmith50

I think this is understood on this board, but this board is full of gamers trying to figure out how to short cut the 'legitimate' mechanism to any elite status whatsoever.

Speaking for me and me only, I didn't get bent out of shape when I didn't get a 360 invite despite the fact that DL.com shows that before my flight this morning I've flown 292K+ BIS miles this year, 2.5 MMs lifetime and have a MQD spend north of $105K this year with much of it paid J or Y for similar reasons as the OP. Rather than taking to FT and blasting DL, I sent a text message to my buddy at DL which led to several good conversations and a better understanding of what this initial roll out means for us as FFs and for DL as a company. In short, there is a right way to handle things and a wrong way and the wrong way is what we often see here and interpret as 'not understanding.' But, I'm always reminded that there is another elite class above all of us and that's the rich enough to only fly a private jet class that still refers to all of us as 'worker bees.' That, perhaps, is what is not understood on this board!

oldtirednbusy

Agreed.
Also stands to reason that those in non hub's would be chosen for the test as part of the program is getting members through the hub. I got a ride in MPS for the first time last week. Have been getting them in ATL for over a year off and on.

mdb

I think it is much better understood than maybe you think, of course not by all maybe not by most. A true HVC is exactly that, and I really have not heard complaints in this thread at least, that we should all be treated like HVC's.
Myself for example, am a primary INTL traveler and when I want the royal treatment I fly one of the high end Asian or Middle Eastern carriers.
What cheeses many off here, and what I think is not understood by some of the DL defenders, is that DL can often be disingenuous tward many of their mid level flyers, esp when they make policy changes.

FlyAO2

My question is....Does this mean DL is hiring? Because none of the agents I've spoken to in recent memory at DL can meet this requirement:

■The highest level of service from our Reservations Specialists and top priority call response from our Delta 360 desk; simply call the phone number on the back of your Medallion card and upon entering your SkyMiles number you will be routed to our dedicated team.

Perhaps this just means they'll do what they currently do with the rest of us medallions...have any clown pick up and just say "Special Member Services" - that makes him elite customer service agent

TheMadBrewer

This.

Since the merger, I've generally been happy with how I am treated by Delta at the airport and in the air (on the phone has been less stellar, some good, some terrible -- more of the latter this year -- but I don't call much so it's a small sample size). But these mid year, often stealth changes to the SM program drive me crazy (I do give them credit on the advance notice on MQDs). I just don't trust management. When they make a big deal about an "enhancement" I figuratively hold on to my wallet, worried about what they will try to sneak away with.

I've never gotten a ride in a Porsche in ATL -- and I don't expect. I don't expect a golf cart to ferry me from gate to gate. I did get the Meet & Greet in JFK once -- on a flight from DUB so we had precleared, so no really value. Impressed the hell out of my friend, though -- that was worth it

I know I am not a HVC and I don't begrudge those that truly are anything they receive from Delta. But I got where I am by following the rules as Delta set them out -- with no Mileage Runs, BTW (and no round trips to IST) -- and I truly have a choice of airlines, not being a "hub captive."