nabco

That's not comparing apples to apples saying Marriott will provide a soft landing....with Marriott the benefits between Gold, Platinum and Platinum Premier really are no different, I've been all three....with Delta the benefits are hugely different between Gold, Platinum and Diamond...regardless of loyalty requiring you to actually fly the segments or miles in only fair to those that actually do.

jackplum

Exceptions have been made in the recent past and not for a soft landing but a hard one!

It is a matter of getting to the right person. A starting place would be the leadership listing on Delta.com and who is who in the SkyMiles arena. Without naming names, it should be fairly straight forward.

Your loyalty history may very well matter - again - with the right person.

The only problem I see is the time factor as other have mentioned.

Good luck

yolandearagon

I've ranted before about some of the things on various threads and as of next year I will be using consolidators or the best fare airline (after 40 years of loyalty to Delta, 30 to Amex, and Platinum for a decade or more). But my latest rant is about lies. I called Delta last night (and cannot find the thread where missing cards for 2015 had not yet appeared, so I apologize) to ask where my Platinum card is for 2015 since many DMs seem just recently to have gotten them and some Plats (including me) not at all). The elite rep told me my credentials were mailed January 5th (!!!) -- did any of you get you 2015 cards then??? Anyway, I called around 9pm last night EST, and received it in today's USPS. Not possible without priority, so all I can say is Delta is spinning things however they want about everything.

Phoenixtinct

I have to disagree with a lot of responders here - enforcing requirements is one thing but when OP tried to satisfy them and through no fault of his own couldn't, I don't think he should be penalized for it. Certainly, it's times like these that past history should be taken into account especially if flier has a 20+ year history and qualifies on segments, which is a lot harder than any other way.

Of course, that would assume that you're dealing with a loyalty program - with all the changes being made, you can't expect airlines to be in a giving mood these days - with all the so called devaluations taking place. So, they certainly won't go out of their way to do something for you unless they have to. And since you didn't meet the published requirements - they may try to convince you that your loyalty matters but in fact, those are just empty words.

Let me give you an example in a similar situation I experienced with United last year. I was about 5,000 miles short of reaching Platinum on United because of a mis-credited flight and a few ineligible ones. I ended up calling the United Premier line on December 29th and an agent/supervisor helped me add the flight that was credited to another program and subsequently removed and reviewed a few others I had taken but did not credit, so ultimately I ended up with 74,700+ miles, i. e. 300 miles short of the published requirement for Platinum. Given that I had a few TAM and Turkish flights ineligible for credit, she clearly saw that I had flown significantly throughout the year and told me she would grant me Platinum status due to an (un)official policy that every member within 750 miles of the next level gets awarded the higher status. I was very greatful and really enjoyed 1 particular perk it came with - no fees on award tickets. Thus, I can say that United can be a bit flexible sometimes - but not always. I'm hoping - for your sake - that Delta may have something similar in place that allow for people who are close but didn't quite make it to award the next level status anyway. I wouldn't give up if I were you. Keep trying and hopefully, you'll get someone who really cares. I believe that despite how many people may say No to you, you only need to find one to say Yes and you're all set. Good Luck!

javabytes

If an appeal does not yield success, I suggest packing your things and moving to Seattle, where you'll probably be targeted for a Medallion fast track promo in about three seconds.

tyroner

Well I hope the OP does better with UA. I am a 1k based out of LAN and I am generally pretty happy with United (I used to fly Delta). UA has flown out of FNT for quite some time (but it was to Cleveland prior to the dehubbing) and the recent connection is to O'Hare.

I will say that you should expect to be stranded more often in ORD and to familiarize yourself with the Bluewater and Wolverine Amtrak schedule.

As to the granting of status - there is a thread in the United forum on how United does it. They will charge you a pretty penny for missing the needed miles/segments too.

GRALISTAIR

+1

SuperG1955

There is no one listed in the Corporate Leadership Team responsible for SkyMiles.

Frogbone

Must have been that empty spot on the bottom right of that page.

Skymiles leader got removed as an enhancement

davetravels

It's been reported here that they used to do this, but did away with it when rollover MQMs started.

davetravels

The difference, IMO, is that there are dozens, if not hundreds of hotel chains to spend your money at. There are only 3.5 large airlines left. [.5 being SW/WN, which of course doesn't count if you fly int'l]. They can do whatever they want. They know it. They'll lose a few. They'll gain replacements that AA & UA lost, and sooner or later, many will return simply when needs change, or they realize the DL product & service are better.

Sez_Who

The OP waited until mid-December for the SR. Everyone should know -- much less the OP with 20+ yrs experience -- that Mx/Wx IROPS happen, maybe even more so flying out of Michigan.

And it's not like there weren't other flt options, just that the OP couldn't find anything he believed was "reasonable." Instead, he counted on 'loyalty' and DL let him down. Easy to understand how the OP feels but the outcome is no surprise. The airlines -- not DL, all the airlines -- own us, not the other way around. Lesson learned for others.

Ledfish

^^ That is the biggest thing people need to understand. Some of us may have status, some may not, but in reality, we are all kettle until the airlines fortunes change.

OP, I understand where you are coming from, but the I'm not at all surprised by DL response. The landscape has changed and the days of yore are just that.

Often1

OP had an easy solution, by wanted both his money back and credit for the flights. He could have had ORC for the asking, but chose the refund. Would have been a win-win. People ask all the time why they have to actually fly the tickets they purchase in order to earn credit and are told they can't. Here is an example of not having to fly the MR, but getting credit.

OP still ought to request ORC for the cancelled segments. It would be against what amounts to DL's seeming policy, but stranger things have happened. Just make the ORC request. Forget about the entire morose loyalty thing. "I purchased tickets on DL, the flights were cancelled, I want ORC."

Business relationships, and that is all this is, are cyclical. During the recession, DL needed the OP's of the world and showered them with all manner of perks. Now, there is less competition, the economy is on screech, capacity has been cut, people arew paying for F and so on. So, it's a tougher environment.

Anecdotal stories about who got a freebie off DL omit the fact that DL can see what you spend as well as what you flew. If you miss a level by 750 miles, but you fly paid BE or you are flagged as a decision-maker for a large corporate contract, granting you status is a no brainer. Segment flyer with small spend, not so much.

It's a good set of precautions for the future. Don't depend on the end of December to fix things.

Crazyhotelguy

I am sure there is some kind of support group or therapy for this...