t00thpix

By my own admission I am not up to all the details of Medallion benefits that are ever changing. I am A Platinum member and only fly for pleasure with my wife (no status) so have never got upgraded. I usually pay for business class but also have reserved EC+. The way I read it I now can"t reserve seats for the two of us and will be put near the end of the line because of her status. Am I missing something that would be a benefit of remaining Platinum?

doglover

For your situation your primary benefits offer value. You might not value these much based on your note above.

More miles earned
Waived award reissue/redeposit fees

BenA

It still comes with lounge access for you and a guest when traveling internationally in coach (but only at DL/SkyTeam lounges). Other than that, you're completely right - the Delta program is now uniquely bad for couples traveling together, and it makes it very difficult to get adjacent seats.

I'm shifting much of my business this year to Alaska. MVP Gold and higher get free Main Cabin Extra on American flights, even for companions, so there's a nice domestic partner for areas AS doesn't fly to. And Alaska has a nice selection of international partners for both earning and redemption, opening up lots of fun new options for variety when traveling on a paid business ticket...

rylan

Correct, Delta's changes to EC/Comfort+ means you get hosed if traveling with a companion. You'll be at the bottom of the list, and in the unlikely event it actually clears, odds are you would be separated. Unless you pay for Comfort+ at booking now of course... for both of you.

miraclebear2003

The "Delta program" is actually going to be better for my wife and I because we maintain the same status. Every change affects people differently.

The OP didn't provide a lot of information, but since they "always" travel together I'm not sure why they have different status (obviously the Reserve card could be the answer).

Loyalty is somewhat overused these days. We only fly Delta, but it's not because of "loyalty". Besides for the benefits we receive (and most posters who fly various airlines seem to do it for price) they have taken care of us whenever we have run into a "problem".

If you're not getting benefits, and spending more to maintain status, fly somebody else.

EZEDoesIt

Make two bookings and only pay for one? Of course there are risks associated with this.

steex

A subtle detail - Delta doesn't actually refer to the medallion program as being a "reward" or "loyalty" program at all. It provides "benefits," which of course are of different benefit to everyone, and truth be told is an incentive program.

If you search the SkyMiles program page on Delta's website, you'll find zero instances of the word "loyalty" and only one instance of the word "reward," which is in this context: "So when you pay a higher price, you’ll be rewarded with more miles—up to 75,000 per ticket."

Not trying to be pedantic, but for good or bad, that's the new reality. For someone in the OP's case, it seems like the right time to investigate other options of the other benefits of DL's service aren't reason enough to stick with them.

mayhem

Quite sad but very true. Also very hard to let go even as you see your benefits fade. Making it even more painful is that benefits go down across the board; so giving up your platinum for a year to switch over may end you with gold somewhere else, getting you even less...

Overall I am still not complaining, my travel profile gets me more free tickets per year than I did 2-3 years ago, but skyclub membership reduction, the E+ changes, longer upgrade lists ... all quite painful.

mattp1987

I took it to mean that OP flies enough for work to maintain PM and that the only occasions on which he flies for pleasure he is flying with his wife. I certainly understand that problem and think it is travelers like OP (if I'm reading his situation correctly) who are hurt the most by the new C+ policy.

Fortunately, DL has graciously given us the opportunity to pay the business class price in miles to sit in C+. Thank you DL for this glorious program!

flyingmontana

When I had Platinum status for a couple of years, I would choose the benefit (one of several optional choices) that lets you gift Silver status to someone. That way my boyfriend, who doesn't fly nearly as much, could get free upgrades sometimes too and other perks. Why don't you just gift your wife Silver status? You'd at least have a chance at both getting upgraded....

BOSTransplant

Gifting silver status would do nothing for the OP's predicament, because FOs and nonstatus companions of elites have the exact same window for clearing into C+ -- T-24 hours.

It's been discussed to death, and I also feel that DL went overboard by not allowing elites to book one companion in C+ at T-72 for GMs and at booking for DMs and PMs. I agree that being able to bring up to eight companions in C+ at time of booking was too much and needed to be reigned in, but I think DL overcompensated and went too far. And this is coming from someone who is companion-less and thus theoretically benefits from the new policy.

Often1

"Loyalty" was never the correct term and at least DL doesn't use it anymore. FFP's are not designed to reward you for your past spend, but to get you to spend in the future. In theory, the guy who flies in Y a good deal might try C+ and then he might try J.

But, if anybody thinks that free UG's and the like are there to thank you for flying last year, that is simply incorrect and just leads to anger and frustration.

It may well be that rather than twisting yourself in a pretzel to fly connections through a DL hub on an inconvenient schedule, you fly the best and most convenient flights and forget the FFP. When it comes to vacation, look for good deals. They are out there to be had and then you aren't worried about where and when you can fly.

teCh0010

I've was plat on NWA then DL for 10 years. Now I've dropped to gold, and I'll probably drop to silver in a couple of years. Last year I flew 65 segments on DL, but 34 on WN and a smattering on AA. The decline in benefits is leading to me picking the right flight on any carrier, not just DL.

If we didn't have kids I would get WN companion pass on credit card points and then my wife could go with me for free, even if my office bought the ticket. That's a good perk.

The DL perks that kept me flying DL are basically gone.

Upgrades - gone, I went from 80% upgrades to 10%
Economy Comfort - That's getting torpedoed
Same Day Change - gutted

So what do I get - free luggage and same day standby? I can just fly whatever airline works for the trip, pay for extra legroom seats and standby when I need it. Delta isn't providing a benefit that puts them above other carriers in securing my future business.

Esltroy

I left last year... glad I made the switch away from delta. I do miss the friendly FA and GAs, but the myth that the product is worse or even on-time arrivals is messed up. I had lots of late flights on delta connection flights. They just don't count them when delta gives up its on-time flight stats. I have had a lot fewer travel delays this year than last year. One thing that is not as good on AA is that the DYKWIA thread in the delta FT forum...it is so much more entertaining than anything on the AA FT forum.

lovecabo

Pretty much same for me as far as loss of the three biggees, and I dropped down to GM this year which I can get until DL decides to remove that "annual" benefit for us 2MM's. This year I'm flying mostly AA (lifetime Gold) with hopes that segments will get me to Plat or Exec Plat. Fares are cheaper than DL across the board and I've been lucky getting upgrades on short flights and even a few longer flights without having to use 500 mile upgrades. Rumors are abounding that AA will also change their program and their tiers but hopefully not for a year or so. Really liked DL's direct flights to everywhere but oh well.