jdrtravel

Does anyone know how much money Delta gets from Amex spend? What is $25K spend worth to DL?

I know that full rate Amex merchant fee is 3%, which would be $750, though plenty of merchants pay less. If Delta gets half of that (and I have no idea what they actually get), plus some part of the $95/$195 annual fee, we are talking no more than $500 to Delta for $25K spend.

If people are actually getting away with spending much less than $15K, I can see why DL would want to eliminate the spend waiver from DM which comes with very valuable perks, especially GCU's and SC access.

aero0729

DELTA needs to quit with the waivers and use that money to fix the value of Skymiles

TheMadBrewer

I've been expecting this -- either drop DM from the waiver program or greatly increase the required spend.

For me, the main perks as DM are the GUCs and the (usually) instant upgrades to C+

I almost never get Medallion upgrades as my domestic flying is to ATL and the bulk of the rest is TATL usually thru DTW/ATL/JFK (though sometimes thru SEA or MSP if flying thru AMS)

It looks like C+ is going away on long haul, with the new PE cabin. Will be a few years before it is on TATL routes but that is coming.

Looks like I'll have to decide whether it is worthwhile to keep the spend on a downgraded DL Amex (no longer will need the MQM boosts) to keep PM or just drop it altogether drop to GM (which would also let me try out other airlines)

SeaHawg

So playing on the "what applies to me should apply to thee" theme:

I would be fine with DL prioritizing MQD as a high tiebreaker-similar to AA. It makes sense, the more money you spend, the higher priority you get within your status group. Perhaps they could put that as number two or three in the order behind status.

As it stands now, Plat is fine domestically for all but hub captives when it comes to upgrades. I personally value the short phone hold times over whether or not I get the upgrade every time, as most of my domestic flights are short anyway.

This change, however, makes the decision to eschew DL on intl travel that much easier. If DL doesn't like the ME3 chipping away at their business, this move won't help them retain customers.

ty97

Will wait for official confirmation but figured this shoe might drop at some point. So be it if it does, as with all other changes across programs, I'll reevaluate my needs and wants against what the programs offer and adjust accordingly.

GRALISTAIR

A smart move IMHO- and not unexpected.

xliioper

It's generally rumored that merchants pay around 1 CPM for miles. So $25K in spend is probably closer to $250 for DL. Of course, there are also RDM boosts in play for Plat/Reserve cardholders and AMEX may also pay something for the MQM boosts. The flaw in the thinking here is that this is all "free" money for DL. The reality is that all those miles do create a liability on the books, so the math is not that simple.

kop84

It seems to me that just like with the SkyClub changes a few years ago, it comes as a shock to many people that they are not Delta's best customer just because they occupy a seat more often than most people.

I don't know what to tell people that the more and more data DL (and every airline) accumulates and gets better at utilizing every year, it's far easier to segment varying levels of profitability.

Not a perfect analogy but if I go to a restaurant with my family order $50 worth of food, tip 20% and leave within 45 minutes of being seated, that is far more valuable than someone ordering the same amount of food and tip but staying for 2 hours on a busy Saturday night. (time being analogous to MQM's)...if both myself and customer X are regular customers and but we both show up one Saturday night and there is only 1 table left, whom do you think the restaurant wants to give that table to?

josephstern

I'm really taking this "news" with a serious grain of salt.

The source here is the problem. On the MQMs from Amex issue, he was 100% wrong.

And, clearly, the source will be affected directly by this change (as will I) so he's basically blowing it out of proportion. Comparisons to the Costco Amex? That's just ludicrous.

I agree this will be a change we'll need to pay attention to, should it happen. But until some other source confirms, I'll put it to the back of my mind.

For more background on this blog, see the FT thread dedicated to it:

[Renés]Delta Points: The "funny" little things you should know [DP discussion merged]

pvn

Well since you think you're scoring some clever points by being as hyperliterally nitty as possible, it's weird that you ignored the fact that my post talked about changes that benefit people plural, and chose to use an example that explicitly benefited a singular person.

Xeno

When DL keep increasing the MQDs required for DM, I switched to putting enough purchases on my AMEX to meet the waiver. This year is not a concern because of the horrific J fare to SYD late this year.

In the short run, if this policy is implemented my AMEX could be used much less but not sure what to do about staying DM.

TTT

Since the start of the DM program, I earned the status with MQMs and then MQMs+MQDs. This past year my travel was reduced significantly with a change in jobs. For my 2018 status I was going to live off of rollover and Amex MQD waivers to maintain DM. I have enough rollover (and added flying) to have ~2.5 total years of DM.

Presuming this rumor comes to fruition, I assume that should I choose to go for the Amex MQD waiver and PM status, I would rollover anything in excess of the PM level? If so, this change just bought me an extra year of status.

Zorak

Pretty much

I mean this is worse for me, but I completely understand why the $15K MQD DMs will be thrilled about it and why DL would consider this.

I imagine it will have a blowback effect on AMEX usage but I also imagine they will factor or have factored that into any decision.

Exactly. PM with 50K rollover isn't the end of the world either

TheMadBrewer

Well, I think the changes talked about are for the 2019 year, earned in 2018. So you should be good for next year, at least.

TTT

Yeah, that makes sense. Would need to evaluate whether keeping the card makes sense for 2019 and beyond. Would hate to lose all those MQMs though...