$2 short for status - Delta doesn't budge
May 1, 2018, 2:09 pm
#16
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 102
That stinks. I missed diamond last year by 800 MQMs even with $25k in MQDs. I feel your pain. At least I get the rollover and will make it easily this year. I can understand why you are mad, but the other posters are right. Other than a free exit seat, there really isn’t any benefit to silver.
May 1, 2018, 3:50 pm
#17
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 92
Wow
You took a risk spending as little as possible to meet the spend that it backfired on you, get over it. Not Delta`s fault
if you think sharing your story here will have masses stop flying DL, sorry not going to happen.
hold on to that anger though, very healthy.
Enjoy your flights on United
if you think sharing your story here will have masses stop flying DL, sorry not going to happen.
hold on to that anger though, very healthy.
Enjoy your flights on United
How in the world is your rude "get over it" or sarcastic "hold on to that anger though, very healthy" and "Enjoy your flights on United" constructive?
The OP may have had unrealistic expectations, but I for the life of me can't figure out how you think your denigrating tone in this is anything but mean spirited. Can't we all practice a little more kindness?
May 1, 2018, 4:05 pm
#18
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
Why doesn't DL simple "waive" minor amounts? Because that takes discretion, time, and effort and therefore money. As it stands, software makes the decision based on the three criteria and a human need only click on the appropriate canned response, "e.g., touch because you did not meet the criteria."
It is always possible that OP will go on to a $1 Million spend on UA this year or next and DL will regret the loss of a customer. But, that is not statistically the case and therefore the hard limits are easiest and frankly fairest.
The same is true for the bag which is overweight by 5 pounds, the carry-on by 5", and so on.
It is always possible that OP will go on to a $1 Million spend on UA this year or next and DL will regret the loss of a customer. But, that is not statistically the case and therefore the hard limits are easiest and frankly fairest.
The same is true for the bag which is overweight by 5 pounds, the carry-on by 5", and so on.
May 1, 2018, 8:27 pm
#20
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: DL PM, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, AA, WP
Posts: 840
That sucks and I feel your pain. Perhaps you will never fly Delta again, but even if you switch, look into their airline credit cards, like the Amex Gold or Reserve Skymiles cards. As FlyingUnderTheRadar alludes, you are sure to get similar benefits with much less work.
May 1, 2018, 9:10 pm
#21
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Atlanta Metro
Programs: DL , AC, BA, Hhonors Diamond, IH Platinum, Bonvoy Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,354
WowQuote:
I seldom post here, but your treatment of the OP leads me to.
How in the world is your rude "get over it" or sarcastic "hold on to that anger though, very healthy" and "Enjoy your flights on United" constructive?
The OP may have had unrealistic expectations, but I for the life of me can't figure out how you think your denigrating tone in this is anything but mean spirited. Can't we all practice a little more kindness?
Thank you.
Judging by this post, BusTrav is in no position to sneer at others about "holding on to anger."
Originally Posted by BusTrav8yrs 
You took a risk spending as little as possible to meet the spend that it backfired on you, get over it. Not Delta`s fault
if you think sharing your story here will have masses stop flying DL, sorry not going to happen.
hold on to that anger though, very healthy.
Enjoy your flights on United
You took a risk spending as little as possible to meet the spend that it backfired on you, get over it. Not Delta`s fault
if you think sharing your story here will have masses stop flying DL, sorry not going to happen.
hold on to that anger though, very healthy.
Enjoy your flights on United
How in the world is your rude "get over it" or sarcastic "hold on to that anger though, very healthy" and "Enjoy your flights on United" constructive?
The OP may have had unrealistic expectations, but I for the life of me can't figure out how you think your denigrating tone in this is anything but mean spirited. Can't we all practice a little more kindness?
Judging by this post, BusTrav is in no position to sneer at others about "holding on to anger."
May 1, 2018, 9:23 pm
#23
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,404
OP needs to take personal responsibility.
It is not hard to complete basic addition and subtraction. It should have been simple to used the MQD tracker to see what the deficiency was, then look at the ticket receipt to make sure that amount is more than exceeded in base fare.
In addition, the offer to purchase status clearly states that it extends the qualification period. There is NO such disclaimer or note for this to happen with actual flights flown - those have never, ever, ever been backdated by any frequent flyer program. OP tried to apply the T&Cs from a status promotion to regular status qualification, and that's just not how things work.
If OP cannot figure out these basic tenets of qualification I worry to think about how well she/he may or may not make use of the associated benefits with Silver (aka will they act like an overentitled DM or like someone without any status and knowledge of a free bag, SDC, etc).
I'm usually on the customers side but I don't see how DL erred here. Here's how they may have erred: rounding aside, it's possible MQDs for 2017 travel was misallocated.
$2 isn't hard to find. AND there isn't really a time limit (except a point after which 2017 earned status expires). If OP goes back and compares all 2017 receipts against MQDs, $2 may be found. OP can then call DL and ask for reprocessing of that particular ticket or segment and that could fix the problem. I've had DL and even hotels forget to post 1 or 2 nights or whatever here or there that made the difference to status. The only way around it is to reconcile your account to find any differences.
It is not hard to complete basic addition and subtraction. It should have been simple to used the MQD tracker to see what the deficiency was, then look at the ticket receipt to make sure that amount is more than exceeded in base fare.
In addition, the offer to purchase status clearly states that it extends the qualification period. There is NO such disclaimer or note for this to happen with actual flights flown - those have never, ever, ever been backdated by any frequent flyer program. OP tried to apply the T&Cs from a status promotion to regular status qualification, and that's just not how things work.
If OP cannot figure out these basic tenets of qualification I worry to think about how well she/he may or may not make use of the associated benefits with Silver (aka will they act like an overentitled DM or like someone without any status and knowledge of a free bag, SDC, etc).
I'm usually on the customers side but I don't see how DL erred here. Here's how they may have erred: rounding aside, it's possible MQDs for 2017 travel was misallocated.
$2 isn't hard to find. AND there isn't really a time limit (except a point after which 2017 earned status expires). If OP goes back and compares all 2017 receipts against MQDs, $2 may be found. OP can then call DL and ask for reprocessing of that particular ticket or segment and that could fix the problem. I've had DL and even hotels forget to post 1 or 2 nights or whatever here or there that made the difference to status. The only way around it is to reconcile your account to find any differences.
May 2, 2018, 2:57 am
#24
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: CLT
Programs: DL DM, AA Gold, Bonvoy Titanium, Hyatt Glob, IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond, Amex Plat
Posts: 438
If the OP took a round trip for the reason of meeting silver status, and two delta agents specifically said that trip would get them to said status, I feel a little bad for them. Some people (myself included) are naive enough to trust the companies we do business with.
May 2, 2018, 3:02 am
#25
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 31,452
Please be careful about your "never ever ever.....by any FF program" comments. In particular, BA traditionally is willing to extend what they call the tier point accumulation year by at least two weeks upon request, apparently for anyone although it might not be a published benefit. Tier points determine status for the following year. It's more of a grace period than backdating, but the effect is the same: an individual is granted additional time to earn status at the end of the "year."
May 2, 2018, 3:48 am
#26
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,051
If the OP took a round trip for the reason of meeting silver status, and two delta agents specifically said that trip would get them to said status, I feel a little bad for them. Some people (myself included) are naive enough to trust the companies we do business with.
May 2, 2018, 4:05 am
#27
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: CLT
Programs: DL DM, AA Gold, Bonvoy Titanium, Hyatt Glob, IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond, Amex Plat
Posts: 438
While I certainly understand why this would be upsetting to someone new, one needs to be realistic and understand that Delta and other large airlines have several thousand agents to handle the millions of customers they have. There's no way around the fact that there's going to be a lot of turnover there and keeping track of all the details and minutiae of the program is going to be challenging for these agents. You will find many similar stories on FT of people getting burned by agents giving out bad info, and it's really nothing personal or unique to Delta. I'd take this as a learning lesson and not necessarily completely write-off DL. While it might not seem fair, one really needs to learn as much about the workings and details of the program for themselves and should never rely solely on the advice of agents. If you still have questions, FT is an excellent resource as it has passengers with many years of real world experience and actual skin in the game (unlike the agents).
There are are a number of things the OP could have done to ensure they got to the magic number—but I think they thought they were being extra cautious calling DL, when in turn they led them astray.
May 2, 2018, 6:37 am
#28
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 129
You took a risk spending as little as possible to meet the spend that it backfired on you, get over it. Not Delta`s fault
if you think sharing your story here will have masses stop flying DL, sorry not going to happen.
hold on to that anger though, very healthy.
Enjoy your flights on United
if you think sharing your story here will have masses stop flying DL, sorry not going to happen.
hold on to that anger though, very healthy.
Enjoy your flights on United
Delta failed here. Pure and simple. $2 is NOT worth losing a customer over. Delta will make that up and then some with the customer's continued flying.
This customer service failure reminds me a simple customer story, The Pickle Principle. ( Pickle Principle - how it all began ). Delta should have just given him the damn pickle, kept a customer and moved on.
May 2, 2018, 7:30 am
#29
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: MEM
Programs: Starbucks Green Card
Posts: 5,431
While I certainly understand why this would be upsetting to someone new, one needs to be realistic and understand that Delta and other large airlines have several thousand agents to handle the millions of customers they have. There's no way around the fact that there's going to be a lot of turnover there and keeping track of all the details and minutiae of the program is going to be challenging for these agents.
May 2, 2018, 8:25 am
#30
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SLC
Programs: DL PM, Hilton/Marriott Gold
Posts: 971
I'm not sure this would be possible, and it would be qualitative, but I might suggest that waiving in people who are "close" could be based on whether that person has been a "good Delta citizen" and other factors. By this, I mean has the passenger engaged in such activities as:
(1) Taken the time to write a complimentary note to Delta when it has been deserved, and perhaps has shared such positive experiences on social media
(2) Taken the time to write a note providing constructive feedback or mature, well-articulated criticism about something that went wrong (but not a rant; i.e., something Delta could potentially use to improve their service)
(3) No record of "no shows" for flights
(4) Lifetime status record (i.e., person has had long history of achieving status)
(5) Lives in a non-hub city (idea here is that the person truly has a choice of airlines, by which status would potentially be a win-win for Delta and the passenger)
(6) Bad luck in past year with irregular ops, canceled flights, being bumped, delayed/ missing baggage, that sort of thing
(1) Taken the time to write a complimentary note to Delta when it has been deserved, and perhaps has shared such positive experiences on social media
(2) Taken the time to write a note providing constructive feedback or mature, well-articulated criticism about something that went wrong (but not a rant; i.e., something Delta could potentially use to improve their service)
(3) No record of "no shows" for flights
(4) Lifetime status record (i.e., person has had long history of achieving status)
(5) Lives in a non-hub city (idea here is that the person truly has a choice of airlines, by which status would potentially be a win-win for Delta and the passenger)
(6) Bad luck in past year with irregular ops, canceled flights, being bumped, delayed/ missing baggage, that sort of thing