jrl767

ok, let's pull those spur-of-the-moment and fare-based threads a little farther: if I want to go WAS-SEA tonight, DL will sell me BWI-ATL-SEA for $173.60 or DCA-ATL/DTW/MSP/SLC-SEA for $191.60; they will also let me use 12.5k miles for AS nonstops, but hit me for at least 20k miles for the privilege of flying DL metal

MSPeconomist

To charge 20,000 miles for a $191 fare is basically equivalent to pay with miles pricing at one cent per mile with rounding.

mnredfox

So has anyone proven the OP wrong with an example? Does this mean mooper will no longer be able to book all his trips at lows with close-in dates?

paul21

While your math is correct there is currently no consistent correlation between revenue fare buckets, fare prices, and award level. Just look at noncompetitive vs competitive routes. A close in $600 ind-bos and $150 lax-dfw in different fare buckets both want 20k miles.

MSPGabe

I didn't spend too much time looking, but I can tell you DTW-ESC (Escanaba, Michigan) was the first one I checked and it was at 12.5K.

paul21

Nice find. It looks like flights covered under essential air service are exempt from the minimums. I checked HIB, COD, ABR, BTM, INL and they have N for this Friday. Any nonessentials found yet?

MSPeconomist

What about international award tickets? In the past, I've tended to do well with low availability close to the departure date.

GUWonder

At least for DL metal the award ticket prices rise the closer it comes to departure date, and close-in changes in availability at the traditional "low" prices don't take place like it used to take place at this time last year. For international, long-haul flights on DL's own metal, in the aggregate there is now a de facto "close in" mileage price booking surcharge that didn't exist at this time last year.

Is anyone really that surprised that DL would make this kind of move? I expected it from DL, and thus I had run down large DL SkyMiles balances before the start of this year.

RealHJ

For some (but it looks like not all) routes O, and also X, awards are almost eliminated as of Jan 1. At 331 days DL used to have one (but never more than one) normal O and X seat, which would remain so until booked (but never more than one released, even very close in, DL would rather fly the BE cabin empty), then rest at double or quadruple level. (This may not be so on all routes, but so true on ones I've checked, which is flights out of HNL.) Now it's 0 O or X at any time on some routes (starting from 331 days out), with OL and XL being the lowest you can hope for on a few days, and the rest higher still. On other flights, though, O and X can be still found with a greater frequency than one finds unicorns, according to FT reports. The dividing line seems to be, at least for O, that as of Jan 1 DL will not give more than 5cpm. E.g. if the flight is $3000 OW, it won't be available at the O 50,000 level and instead only at OL 65,000. When the price is higher, then the award level will be at a higher level also; e.g. if $4500 then it'll be at 100,000. However, it's not an absolute 1:1 for on, but so generally true, though >5cpm values are very, very rare now, which is in stark contrast to how it was until Dec 31.

ricvaflyer

I used to be able to buy last-minute award tickets fairly inexpensively, depending on the flight of course.

Definitely not anymore...it has to be weeks out in order to find the cheaper buckets, which eventually appear (so it's not a fare price per say). Kind of annoying -- was looking forward to getting last minute one way deals at half what I was getting before when I needed some emergency travel.

andymo99

Has anyone analyzed the new effect of Medallion status on low tier availability?

RealHJ

While YMMV, I am generally seeing the same price for one-way now as it was for RT before, with a bit of +(more so) or -(less so) variance, due to the yet further inflated award pricing, and much more scarce than ever before O & X (normal award level) availability. So, with one way pricing now you no longer get stopovers, are severely limited in routing, and will pay (roughly, on the average) as much for one-way as you did for RT (with stopover and open-jaw, so traveling to three destinations in total) before. Exactly as expected and as most knew it was going to be, knowing tricksy DL.

n7371f

I was wondering if it was just me...

Something is up. I've flown LAS-SEA numerous times the last year on last minute award tickets since the route launched and I've never had issues finding award tickets at 25k...until January 1. Now everything is 45k roundtrip within a few days. Sure, Alaska is showing at 25k.

I wouldn't be surprised in the least bit if Delta did this. Of course it could be the most egregious bait and switch of them all.

mnredfox

How close in did you look?

Per this thread, it appears that all medallions get the same availability. Rationale is increased lows. But no one said it was the lowest level, just more at the "lower levels".

mattya9

Sounds pretty fishy to me. I just got an email from DL last night advertising one-way fares from "select cities" in the contiguous 48 states to "select" Florida cities for only 10k miles each way. Of course Delta gives you all the restrictions and blackout dates but does not give you these "select" cities. I know this is to get people on the website and look, however, the whole beating around the bush and not giving all the information to customers doesn't speak highly of this "new" rewards system they touted. Just my two cents. Anyone else get this email?

OPS