motionguy

Hello All:

Sorry I'm here to rant about Delta not caring about it's long term medallion members.

Last year I ended up with 57 segments, of course three shy of gold elite. I actually did try a segment run back on 12/16/14. LAN-DTW-IAD and back on same day (depart LAN 3:09pm, return to LAN 10:25pm). However, the initial outbound flight was delayed, delayed, and finally delayed (due to mechanical issue) enough that I couldn't make my connection and would be stuck in IAD overnight.

The very nice Medallion desk agent searched high and low to find something for me to earn at least three segments, but couldn't. So she voided my ticket and returned the fare to my credit card.

By that late in the year I had no other business travel requirements and couldn't find anything reasonable to do the segment run. I figured that my membership in their skymiles (Northwest WorldPerks) since 1991, being gold or platinum for 15 years straight, having their credit card, and being a member of their skyclub might get them to consider gifting me three segments and allowing me to remain Gold for 2015.

I was mistaken!

I tried three different times pleading for their mercy. They claim that the do not take my long-standing loyalty for granted, but they do.

They've been making it more and more challenging to be loyal, at the beginning of 2014 they cancelled the FNT-DTW / DTW-FNT route that I was quite often on. I went out of my to travel from LAN, MBS, and sometimes DTW to keep flying Delta. That is what ultimately cost me, the flights out of DTW cost me two segments for most trips.

United (recently starting flying out of FNT) has offered to match my status with their challenge program. I've already flown or have scheduled 13 of 15 required segments in 90 days to make it. I just need to squeeze in one more trip between now and April.

Looks like Delta took my loyalty for granted one too many times!

SCEflyer

DL has historically been very firm about making exceptions from the published rules, regarding attaining levels of Medallion status. I appreciate your sense of abandonment, but this makes for a more level playing field.

torn66

you will be happier at United if that is your concern. I know two business travelers who did not earn their status on miles flown, but rather on a plea based on a dramatic level of spending on shorter trips.

xliioper

It's been discussed here many times that you shouldn't assume anything if you don't meet the status requirements (particularly now that the airlines have end of year status buy up offers for those who come up short). There are numerous similar stories on AA, UA, and WN as well, so this is not somehow unique to DL.

lamont2718

If you had requested ORC instead of a refund on your itinerary, you would have made the cut. It may be too late now, however.

BigDawg23

I also fell short for a second year to obtain Gold. I also tried to plead for a gold given that despite a short fall on Segements but my MQD's were over Diamond. By no means was I asking for Pm and DM but just GM for Sky Priority Status.

I did a status match on UA and before trying it got a force Over to them because of a Delta cancelled flight. It confirmed my reasons to stay with Delta.

Hope you have greater success with UA.

HongKonger

They're not taking it for granted, they just don't care.

DL doesn't give soft landings, doesn't round up, and doesn't make exceptions. This has been known for a long time. Unless of course you live in NYC or SEA in which case you can wink knowingly at DL and they give you PM.

I suggest switching to an airline where it doesn't cost you extra time and money to be loyal, or just buying the ticket that suits your needs each time without regard to loyalty. DL isn't loyal to you and they never will be.

EZEDoesIt

You start off saying...

..but it sure read like a rant to me!!

emrdoc

I will say that I think it unfair that unlike MQM qualifiers, segment flyers are not allowed the opportunity to buy up at year's end.

I like that you voted with your wallet.

indufan

See the thing is that they have to draw the line someplace....and I would just assume they draw the line where they say they draw the line and they do that.

lovecabo

As I'm based in ATL, I've never even tried to quality with segments. Which is probably a good thing since besides what a previous poster said about not being able to buy more segments, you also don't get to roll them over. And remember, with Delta it's "what have you done for me lately" and not "I'll reward you for being loyal to Delta in the past".

Often1

Given that there is nothing to lose, I would still make the ORC request and I would leave out the entire loyalty thing. Make a plain and simple request for ORC based on the cancellation of the flights. Not one other word. It ought to be denied, but stranger things have happened and if it happens here, so much the better for OP.

As to the broader issue, the simple answer is that FFP's are there to get you to spend more in the future and not seriously to reward you for the past. One way of predicting future spend is past spend. Thus, status based on last year.

While OP personally loses , there are cutoffs and OP didn't make the cutoff. It's also terribly unfair for the however many thousand people who also only earned 57 and just moved on if you bump people up who ask.

Lastly, it's a zero-sum game. If DL indeed wants to shed segments for $, why on earth lower the bar? In effect, if OP gets an UG, somebody else doesn't and that may be someone whom DL values more than OP.

Likely too late now, but if OP had not cancelled his MR for a refund, he had an easy ORC request which would almost certainly have been honored. One of the few times, you can earn without flying.

laptoptravel

Actually...he states " I'm here to rant"

motionguy

I was/am ranting, just apologizing in advance for it!

motionguy

I did not consider that Delta would grant me the segment credit for a flight that I paid for but did not fly. Had I known it was that easy, I certainly would have done that.

I know that there are cutoffs for a reason, but there is also rewarding for loyalty. I've flown (almost exclusively) NW/Delta for 24 years. Had they not had mechanical issues with the segment run I scheduled, this would be a non-issue.

They could learn a thing or two about loyalty programs from Marriott. A couple of years I just missed Platinum and they gave it to me any way. I didn't even have to ask, that is proactive loyalty grooming. I am Marriott man to a fault, I'll drive 30 minutes out of my way to stay at Marriott property. I have since earned enough to be Marriott Platinum Lifetime.