I have it as well:

[email protected]. There, I violated his trust - how cathartic.

They why the hell did they change from an expiration policy to a non expiration policy to begin with.

Exactly. Also, tell her to buy a new fridge from the skymiles marketplace.

I really hope people aren't considering bringing litigation against Delta. This is the problem with America. Anyone can sue for anything, clogging up the courts and wasting people's time all the while the attorneys get rich. IMHO, if someone really brings ligigation against DL for this, its almost as pathetic as the guy who is suing UA for not giving him full mileage credit based on actual miles flown.

You are really talking about two things that are night and day. The UA suit is almost universally slammed, and rightly so. Agree with you that this is some poor litigation.

The legal issue here with DL (and all the airlines) is all about who actually owns these airline miles. The airlines say they do, so they can do whatever they want with them including voiding the accounts when someone dies. If in fact they really do own all the miles in all the accounts, they may be correct.

However, that claim seems to be at odds with statements from them saying members earn miles or we can purchase miles. Seriously, we earn and purchase miles (their words) but we really didn't because they own them, not us?

This is the lawsuit that everyone needs to see. Not a DL issue at all, this is about the industry.

Flight of Ideas
 

So my first thought: The MQMs that DL sold for cash last December actually are not the property of those that paid for them? How the **** does that work?

I am a hoarder, but no more. DL has now given my wife and I every incentive to burn the miles, for ourselves and friends and family!

DL has created so many conflicts with this policy change, I am sure Delta, and their attorney's, have not contemplated all of them.

You all know there is only one thing and one thing only we can do that will impact Delta at this point as they are NOT going to listen to us.

You ask what could impact them? Look at the 10-K.

FT'er have a "few" Skymiles right? If we all who are upset about this redeem and fly as many miles as possible, all as fast as we can, it will impact Delta. It would take a TON of miles, but I am sure we have a few.

It would be fun to do a poll and see how many miles are represented in this thread. I now have under 200k but have 600k booked this year! Will be earning another 200k this year but will burn them ASAP!

Delta. SkyMiles don't expire (until you expire).

Delta. Expired about not expiring.

This makes a great deal of sense and is probably the main driver behind this. It also says to me that airlines are increasingly trying to have their cake and eat it too; they want the revenue from selling miles, but are devaluing the programs to limit what liability they have to carry on the books. This tells me that the gravy train of airlines getting large cashflows from their mileage programs will eventually dry up as the public wises up to the fact that their miles are going to be worth less in the future.

In essence, this is a problem rather similar to small countries that print too much currency. The currency drops in value and hyperinflation ensues...which is probably where all the major programs are headed in a decade or two when a round trip domestic coach award costs 500,000 miles.

There's probably a PhD thesis in economics in all this somewhere if one could get their hands on all the relevant data...

Yes, and no. Yes, there will be continued devaluations, but there will also be occasional inflation of values too. In reality, the airline frequent flyer programs can't ever "dry up" because in most cases the FF programs are more profitable to the airlines than the actual airline operations themselves.

Delta Air Lines: where management counts on expiring you and your miles.

I'm not so sure; this is basic monetary theory. Airlines are acting like central banks of middling countries pumping out currency -- when you have increasing amounts of currency chasing the same amount of economic output, inflation is the usual result. The mere idea that airlines have strayed into the business of manufacturing miles to pump up the bottom line rather than focus on their core mission of providing transportation is another disturbing indication of the financialization of business in general; the same is true in the hotel industry as well. In fact, the trend in the industry is toward consolidation and less capacity, which accentuates the trend toward these miles becoming increasingly worthless forms of exchange, because you have increasing numbers of miles in circulation chasing fewer available seats between any given origin and destination.

We're down to 3 legacy-type carriers and one dominant LCC. To the extent that airlines will reward "loyalty" in the future, it's likely to revolve around the concept of providing minor perks and some relief from onerous fees, which we're already seeing in the form of branded credit cards and increasingly worthless perks for low-tier frequent flyers. At DL. FO used to actually mean something. Now, it's a small step up from whomever ponies up an annual fee for a credit card. The same is true at other airlines; DL is by no means unique in this regard. Check out the hotel boards and you'll find much the same litany of complaints.

We're down to a world where you get what you pay for and even then, not really. While I'm troubled by the relative lack of competition in the industry, perhaps that's as it should be. The American consumer, in its collective wisdom, has spoken and the resounding answer is for ultra cheap fares and crappy service and an industry that is happy to oblige in providing the latter while fighting the former.

I'm old enough to remember when the meals in Y were generally better than the F meals of today and I'm sure that skews my perspective on all this. Yet, I can't help but think that the industry as a whole can't do better. Then again, with but 3 legacy carriers left, who really has an incentive to do so?

DwayneSkyMiles is an analyst for the SkyPeso group at Delta @:-)@:-)

This has now made it to NBCNews.com where they are referring to the piece I wrote for LoyaltyLobby, this FlyerTalk thread, and the online petition.

http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/delta-...u-do-1C9085955

I think that eventually they have to back down. This is such an emotional issue.