not007

My daughter just graduated collegem has an Amex Delta credit card, lives in atlanta and most of her travel out of ATL is on Delta (which is why she got the credit card). Her grandparents got her delta gift cards as a present (and as a hint to come up to to see them maybe??).

She wants to book travel to see her boyfriend in Indianapolis on Delta. She would normally use the Amex credit card to book to get the free bag benefit, but has the gift cards and we're wondering - if she uses the gift cards, does she lose the free bag benefit? What if she puts some percentage of the ticket purchase on the Amex? Is that enough to have the system give her the free bag? What percentage of the flight (would you think or do you know for sure) needs to be on the Amex card for that free bag benefit? Hoping not 100%. If it is 100%, then what can she do with the gift cards?

a) use the gift cards to buy tix when she has no bags?
b) use the gift cards to buy tix and pay for the bags?
c) sell them to friends?
d????? Can she pay her amex delta credit card bill with the gift cards?
e) use for drinks on flight? she has $1,000 of gift cards and doesn't drink. So they would be a lifetime supply of snacks...
any other ideas?

I think it's kinda funny / sad if 100% on the amex is the answer - gift cards are supposed to build loyalty. but not in this case.

Thanks!

Widgets

Using the Delta Amex isn't needed for the free bag. She only needs to have the SkyMiles frequent flier number that's printed on her credit card attached to her reservation to get the bag fee waiver. She can use the gift cards and get free bags, which is good for loyalty

not007

Thanks for the info. Since I posted this topic, I got to a supervisor at Delta that said the same as what you are saying here. So that's good news. Even though I'll mention this here and I pointed it out to the supervisor:

Although this page:

http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_...-bag-free.html

Does say:

you can check your first bag free on Delta flights >>>>booked with your Card<<<<.

I added the <<< and >>> to highlight the key part.

Nothing against you, i just hate inconsistencies with big companies.

It may work (free bag bought with gift cards, even if you are an Amex Delta Gold card holder). But when you get a butthead / ignorant employee, you can't point to a page and say 'see - it says I can use a gift card instead of the card to pay and still get the free bag...

Widgets

The bag fee waiver is automatic and doesn't require any employee action or knowledge. The waiver is only automatic if the customer is eligible. The page you linked does mention "booked with your Card," but it continues to list the benefits of booking with the card, like earning double miles. It's not crystal clear there. However, the next line reads:

How does First Checked Bag Free work?

• Include your SkyMiles number in your reservation by providing it when booking your flight, adding it when checking in, or looking up your itinerary and clicking “Add Frequent Flyer #.”

You should submit your observation with the feedback form on the webpage.