I'm a Cincinnati based consultant who earned Diamond status in 2012. I've enjoyed that status throughout 2013. In 2014, I had a local client which didn't require me to travel. Now, I'm again traveling but have absolutely NO status whatsoever. Does Delta ever give status back? I have no reason to fly Delta since they don't hub that much in Cincy anymore, but I would fly them if I could get at least some status back. Or, am I SOL?

SOL

Trying getting status though another source. Delta branded Reserve or Platinum card. It will take some time to achieve

Unless you have status with another airline that you can use for a Status match, you're SOL.

A mileage run or two will help also.

The OP is in a great position to choose to fly which ever airlines (or flights) offer the best combination of price/schedule/comfort. In some ways having no status is a blessing.

Also--OP you could probably do a status challenge with AA/US even though you don't have status to 'match to'. I just made the switch over to AA from DL and have been enjoying things so far.

It's a very different delta than the one you flew before...

You are free to chose whichever airline programs best meets your needs. Do you only buy really expensive tickets at last minute and don't care if you are capped at 75,000 regardless of how expensive the ticket, do you not care to get upgrades because you are a WFBF sort of passenger, do you want to use more miles than non-medallons to redeem "miles" for tickets? Delta may be for you.

Also...
Do you want really great service by the flight attendents? Do you want some really great service by gate agents and phone representatives? Do you want to have a lot of flight options in and out of major hubs? Then Delta may be for you as well.

This thread may help you to make a decision if booking awards tickets is important to you.


http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...ts-2015-a.html

I believe that the cap is 75,000 miles and not 7,500.

Thanks. I'll edit my original post.

DM isn't what it used to be. With FC monetization, my upgrade percentage has gone from 95% last year to 20% this year. IMO, the only sure thing you get with DM is the higher multiplier for miles.
I have zero interest in trying to keep the status, if I really want to fly FC, I buy it. I can do that with any level.

If you want status for upgrades, the posts above are right. Status is no longer the highest priority, it's a lot easier to buy upgrades than get upgrades.

Some of us are at ~90% this year.

I don't understand how upgrade percentage is accurately judged in Jan/Feb. It tends to be a busy time for business travelers for getting the year started and you have essentially a bulk of elites from two years until some of their status expires on 3/1.

I'm an FO (will be DM by the end of Q2) and have beat 20%. I recognize it is route dependent, but I've still be traveling in/out of hubs being BOS based.

It really is about route and time of travel more than ever right now. As a PM flying out of DTW, I'm 0 for 12 segments this year. Closest I have been was #2 for 0 seats at the gate. Of course I'm flying to popular business destinations on early flights Monday mornings and home on Friday afternoon.

I agree with what others have said, because the OP doesn't have status, why not just chose what works best for your schedule/wallet and not worry about loyalty until times change again and it becomes worth something.