iwascool

WARNING - I will use the word upgrade several times. To alleviate the burden on those that are compelled to insert 'Want First, Buy First' whenever someone even thinks of using the word, I will self-tag.

DM averaging: 180 segments, $22,000 MQD and $1,400 in change fees. Suffice it to say that I am not the whale that Delta is so desperately seeking.

Important to note that I do not fit any type of normal FT profile as miles do not mean much to me. I value upgrades 'WANT FIRST, BUY FIRST' and above average help desk support during IRROPS. I would never consider actually using a credit card other than a cash back card.

Next year my miles were going to be cut by 18%. Once I realized the irony of being bothered by a reduction in something I do not value, it forced me to take a rational look at my travel choices.

I fly out on Sunday nights, back on Friday afternoons and am upgraded 'WANT FIRST, BUY FIRST' 54% of the time (basically Sunday nights). A switch to AA/USA would cut my segments to ~115 so even if I never got an upgrade 'WANT FIRST, BUY FIRST' I would not be in steerage much more than I am now.

I am joining the small movement of flyers that are making choices based on price and convenience and not by a loyalty program that all but promises more than it ever intends to deliver (seems like I might by alluding to upgrades here so I better tag this, 'WANT FIRST, BUY FIRST').

Until AA/US Air start closing hubs, I should have >95% of my trips with them so I don't expect any challenges to my newfound freedom from chasing the carrot.

Delta made a decision that is in their best interests and I am simply doing the same. I'm not leaving bitter, I'm just leaving.

Burj

Thank you for sharing. Stepping back and looking at the big picture, SkyMiles 2015 is big change for Delta. The general presumption is that, they know what they are doing and are making decisions using sound logic based on good data.

However there have been other changes they made that they then had to quietly modify/roll back, for instance no upgrades on JFK-LAX/SFO/SEA.

It will be interesting to see how these changes affect ALL of Delta's customers (not just the FT crowd).

Maybe you can revisit this thread in a 6 months or 1 year and update it with what your experiences have been after you leave DL.

EarlVolFan

I'm a DM that is 20K away from being a 2 million miler and the lifetime, er, complementary annual, Gold status that it brings and I have reached the same conclusion as the OP.

I have just priced some trips 45 days out where Delta is $800 and everyone else out of TYS is $300. I am not sure what their business strategy is, but I am not paying $500 extra for free bags and the ever lessening chance of upgrades.

Adios, Delta, after 20+ years as a loyal customer, I am a free agent again.

beckoa

Congrats.

I imagine you'll eventually earn the extra 20K even as a free agent. But enjoy being unshackled. ^

mdb

I am hub captive and am jealous of you flexibility and choices.

VegasJosh

As a long time DM I am joining you in the Free Agent ranks in 2015, I fly mostly out of Bangkok and have only 1 flight per day to pick from. I often pay more for Delta as my DM status got me 125% of miles flown vs no milage bonus on most Asian carriers. Now that this is gone and I will only get 1/11, I will get about the same miles with Delta as another Asian carrier I will go based on price and airline quality. Based on my searching it looks to be a race between CX, AA, and ANA....I will try them out and go with a new program or programs based on price and comfort. I am not bitter or anything, its a business for Delta and a business for me as well, and it was a very nice partnership for 12 years.

pbiflyer

With the booking of 4 award tickets to Europe for next summer and a couple other trips, my sky peso balance is about 100k.
I make status on segments with Delta. Next year, my SM earning potential with them will drop about 20-25%. With the low balance in my account, I will also start flying the AA/US combo. More direct flights, more choices. It just makes business sense for me. No more ATL madness, no more summer thunderstorm IRROPS.
No hard feelings Delta, you made a choice and I did too.

gooselee

I value DL customer service and IRROPs quite a bit (UGs are pure icing for 2 hour flights), but if I lived in a place where flying them required an extra 65 segments a year, this decision would have been made a long, long time ago, regardless of any differences between elite benefits or mileage programs.

Even with horrible IRROPs recovery on another airline, that's ~35% fewer IRROPs possibilities in general...

ATLnuke

I always felt sorry for all the flyers who would intentionally add segments or rearrange their schedule for a few hundred/thousand skymiles valued at around half a cent. Probably half the reason airline rewards exist is to encourage people to make irrational choices with respect to their travel purchases.

It is hilarious to see all these people, most of them with "great" jobs and "successful" careers, finally lift the wool over their eyes as if they just found out santa claus isn't real. Kudos to them, although I feel like I am watching news crews interviewing the dumbest people in the occupy wall street camp all over again.

JBJ2435

I have to say I really appreciate this thread. It puts things in perspective for me. When they axed SWUs that killed the motivation to keep achieving PM year after year. Most of my flying is personal, but willing to buy up to go in BE, or buy GAP. I dont spend enough to meet the MQD and just decided it is no longer worth trying to spend on Amex to be exempt (never MFS anyway)...if my expenses reach threshold great, if not, OK. Thanks for the thread, very liberating!

emrdoc

You don't think DFW and MIA have thunderstorms? And how about ORD during the winter? I think there are many reasons to drop Delta but hubs are not one of them.

DLdweeb

Preparing for the inevitable "don't let the door hit you" posts in 3 - 2 - 1.....

OP - sounds like you are making the right decision. With program devaluation all around (not just DL), flying based solely on price and schedule makes a lot of sense.

DL2SXM

Umm, most east coast airports suffer from summer thunderstorm irrops.

DL2SXM

The OP has a different tone to his post. I think most low spend businesses and folks (like me) who primarily travel for leisure and pay for there own tickets feel the same way the OP does. The only reason I'm still gonna hang on to delta is primarily due to the Amex waiver. Once that's gone, I can be AA executive Platinum for 25,000 less MQMs a year with no spend threshold, or UA top tier at 25,000 less MQM + only 10,000 in MQD, that's $5,000 less then DL.

Eventually, delta will only have fortune 500 companies as elites. The diamond and Platinum kettles will have been eliminated from the ranks due to our greediness and lack of spend.

I'm only a few hundred thousand miles away from lifetime gold but probably wont make it. It sucks to have to start from scratch but when DL shows you the door, its time to leave.

Sez_Who

Really not a small movement at all, this is exactly what most pax do. FT is a bit of an outlier community with so many who chase/hold on to status for lots of reasons.

I left DL many years ago because of an issue (long story). No FT rant, just left. Of course DL won’t ever miss me or you or anyone else who runs to another airline. We are not metric material but we can do what works best for each of us. Good for you for choosing what works best for you. Hope it works out the way you want.


Sorry, now confused. So this is not about price at all, just convenience. Nothing wrong with that, just different than what you said before. Good luck with AA.