2014 SkyMiles Program Changes

You live overseas, so you don't count. (Same for me.)

No. Nobody is entitled to an opinion. Or more precisely, everyone is entitled to an opinion, but unless your opinion matches that of a certain poster, that opinion is wrong and you are a whiner.

You live overseas, so you don't count. (Just like Dovster and me.) Welcome to the club!

And that poster is only a gold if their profile is correct, so they aren't being effected by the SWU changes since they aren't eligible for SWU's like we are.

Curious what the over/under is on date upgrade co-pays are introduced and how much they will be. I think they will be introduced late next year for at least all international routes and probably the transcons. Maybe the intro of copays will cause a change at which point regional upgrades may be used on the BE transcons.

This is not a good change for me personally, but I think it is probably good overall. I think that those who think they will be getting WC-HI upgrades on a regular basis are going to be disapointed. The loss of tcon comp upgrades and the gain of HI comps is a big net negative for me.

I bought YBM with my own money. Please explain how this can be "an improvement for most international travelers" when I as a PM now cannot obtain an UG certificate that can be used internationally even on a full fare.

I doubt it.

I for one never thought SWUs were a scam but it is simply a fact that DL did make them harder and harder to use even while they were charging more on the base fare than other airlines, but for me it still made sense at least until this year. Now that they're gone, what's the benefit of PM for those living overseas?

^ And just think, we haven't even heard from all of our apologists yet!

If someone living overseas flies 125K plus (or even enough for gold), aren't they probably still doing US domestic flights for those kind of MQM's for status. If someone is diong only internationial flights, unless they are flying monthly or flying in J (in which case status wouldn't even matter that much) it's pretty hard to rack up those kind of miles. If I lived in another country, I would probably use that carrier as my main carrier and not Delta unless my final destination is Atlanta, DTW or MSP.

People living overseas who are PM or DM who can fly on Y, M, B fares and used the SWU's did get screwed on this, but so did the US travellers that fly international a lot in this situation.

Overseas residents did come out ahead with the MQD requirement though, being exempt.

Guess I'm in that club as well.

APD ex-LHR will still annoy me...even more so when using a GPU. At least were exempt from MQD.

First off, here is the LL article on this:
http://loyaltylobby.com/2013/12/10/d...sfosea-flights

Also, I highly encourage those unhappy with this to fill out a TTU complaint. Let your voice be heard first before you vote with your feet. I just got a reply from DL that was personalized and proved to me it was actually read. DL said they would consider and discuss my feedback. Not that I expect a change, but input does help. ^ to DL for at least reading my email.

I agree with the last two comments here. I think DL is betting their DM/PMs who fly this regularly will buck up and pay for J. But in reality while there are many tcon folks that may pay up, many will also leave for a more better suited airline that gives more generous rewards on tcon flights. AA, UA, etc.

I think more likely cabins will go out empty. Or DL will be forced to do op-ups for Y oversells or Shena will appear in force.

Expect this too. The tcon changes really are FCM if you ask me.

Congrats, I've heard many more horror stories than success stories. I've said it here before, the AF upgrade is probably the best use of SWU's for DL.

Don't forget those who are LAX/SFO based that are flying DL while non-hub. Many of those (me included) choose to often fly connections if not going to JFK as a non-hub captive. Since tcons were primarily the reason I stayed with DL, I'm reconsidering.

JFK-LHR and JFK-LAX/SFO may be similar in time, but different in service (in some cases). JFK-LHR is mostly served by 764 or 744's meaning DL's new flatbed BE, but all JFK-SFO flights and some JFK-LAX flights are still being run on the old 752s.

You live overseas so you don't count. The list of us is growing like sugar crystals on a string.

So you think complimentary UGs and UG certificates were crowding out paid premium cabin flyers? Gimme a break. You know DL would just not allow advance UGs on flights if they routinely sold out the premium cabin--like they did for JFK-LAX/SFO/SEA.

Can I interest you in a bridge?

I feel for my fellow flyers who are not as lucky as I am. What's "funny" about the whole thing is that I get that perk from my employer for being a loyal, long time employee (who is damn good at my job ). They actually "have my back" and take care of me for being loyal through some tough times. As for Delta, not so much. I won't gouge my employer to fly them. For international I consistently find good routings that are less expensive in BC (or in a few cases F) on OALs. The only way DL would get my business internationally would be if I can actually the new GUs to make the fare competitive. But, I suspect that the availability to use the GUs will be very, very limited. And if it requires a lot of effort to use the GUs to make a ticket competitive, I will just continue to buy the straight up BC fares on OALs and paper the "virtual birdcage" with unused GUs (like I'm doing with the current SWUs this year ). With some companies, loyalty really is a two-way street .