Burial/cremation delayed 12-24 months. The execution will go on as scheduled. The stink will last for quite a few months.

This is also emotional. You can't tell someone they are a Platiunum Medallion and then tell them, sorry, no you are not, you don't get those benefits anymore.

100%. DL has already started what their targeted revenue is. The blowback may just delay their plans, but that's their end game. It still doesn't change the fact that I will cancel my DL Reserve. I still don't think Diamond is worth $35k either now or five years from now.

Yeah, Bastian's only regret seems to be how quickly it was rolled out. Watch them only roll back something for a year or so

Funny how it is a self created problem...LOL. He seems to think it was "increase in demand" for their premium products. Right!
No, it was the rollover MQM's & credit card deals that added so many to the ranks - some of them who aren't even "frequent flyers."
To stop overcrowding, cut down on the credit card passes! That seems like a no brainer. But it doesn't fit their revenue model.
That in addition to a modest increase in spend limits. Maybe $25k for DM? And how about the thinning that already is happening with the 2023 increase to $20k? That has to thin the ranks in some fashion, and has not been mentioned!

But seriously, you have to look at what value a DM will get at $35k spend:
Domestic upgrades: Sure, frequency maybe will increase with fewer DMs. But that is not a huge value in my opinion. Many people that spend 35k will just buy FC. It is tough to get 35k spend without purchasing FC. Those that do are serious road warriors buying tons of economy fares - not exactly the customer Delta seems to be targeting for their DM level. The big credit card spenders are also ones that probably just buy their upgrades.

GUC's: For me, (and I would image many others) the biggest value of Choice Beni's used to be the GUC's. You could get an $800 international ticket, and use a GUC for business class UG. That was a decent savings and value. And I will tell you, sitting up front on a 12 hour flight for $800 makes you feel pretty good!
But with GUC's decreased to one class upgrades, they lose their value. Why would I spend 35k, only to have the privilege of using my GUC to purchase a Premium Select ticket at $2500. I can usually find a business class ticket on another airline for near that amount. Very little value there.

Mileage tickets: Another value blast from the past! Using your vast bank of earned miles to get free tickets. After a hard year of travel and big $ spend, I used to be able to get the whole family of 5 some tickets to Europe or Asia. Now that is virtually impossible due to availability and sky rocketing mileage costs. Pre-Covid, a bargain hunter could find a business class ticket for 80k miles sometimes. Now those same tickets are ridiculously priced at 300k miles or above. A huge devaluation.

I spend around $25k on travel annually, and could probably make the $35k level if I really tried, using a combo of methods. I own my own business, travel maybe 8-10 domestic trips (usually buying FC) each year, and 10 international. It is the international travel I am mainly concerned with - thus the importance of GUC's.
I really fail to see what value I will receive for awarding $35k to Delta that I wouldn't get if I just spent that same amount by strategically purchasing domestic FC and international J from the free market. Maybe I am just not their target customer any longer. Too bad. I did feel some loyalty after 25 years and 2.6 million miles...

He essentially said they did mean to. Walking back some of these changes now just means they'll roll out slower and more incrementally, but ultimately to the same end. The team's not going anywhere and Delta's not going to ultimately do anything different at the end of the day besides boiling the frog more slowly.

Remember the David Dao incident and how the industry then bumped up the compensation and then started to change after the whole thing died down? The same thing will happen now. I think DL got too big and powerful so it can behave like this. This is why the previous mergers should never have happened. We're all paying for it due to the lack of competition.

Interesting to see what the changes will be. Wonder if Ed chose to roll some changes back rather than updating the ole resume?

Anyway, they�ve destroyed a lot of loyalty over the last few weeks.

I�m continuing to fly DL for now to try and reach DM as I�m super close.

But for my spouse, who�s PM and no chance of going higher, voted with his wallet today:

Traveling over Christmas.
Delta: $1600 in Y, $3600 in F.
AA: $800 in Y, $1800 in F.

Literally double!

He chose AA in F. Never flown AA in F and he decided to give them a chance. First purchase for him as a free agent.

Delta's forecasting department was totally off, as if this was a MLB team they would have been swept 4-0 in the World Series with subsequent firing of data analytics staff.

I highly doubt that this will occur, as Delta needs other sources of high profit margin revenue which is travel commission remuneration from hotels, car rentals and Delta Vacations. Remember that Dwight James overseas the SkyMiles program, SkyClubs, AmEx & Lyft partnership, and Delta Vacations. Corporate travel has still not recovered from the pandemic, as Delta is going after the small business and leisure travel market. Dwight and Glen have roots from the same Delta division, revenue management.

Totally agree. This is their game because it really works. This time because the changes are so radical and sudden maybe the pushback worked. But over time, the public has gotten over devaluations to where the strategy of taking things away bit by bit year over year has a few weeks of grumbling and then people just forget about it.

When all these megamergers happened they swore up and down that prices wouldn't go up and that our experiences would only improve. And that basically went in one ear and out the other because people live in the present rather than the future.

Same way corporate controversies or even scandals now are in the 24 hr news cycle. They ride out the initial outrage by just lying low or ignoring it and eventually people forget about it and move on.

I can�t even leave my computer for 2 hours anymore without fear of missing DL news.

You want to bring an airline to its knees? Stop accumulating miles via credit card.

• Hold the cards if you want. Pay the annual fee and get free bags, get your companion cert, even put your airline spend on it. But otherwise, put it in the sock drawer.
• Most people would be objectively better off putting non-bonused spend on zero-annual-fee 2% cash back cards instead of earning 1 mile/$1. (Those of you who can continue to eke out > $0.02/mile in value from premium cabin saver awards and the like, I'm not saying stop doing what you're doing, but you're a small exception to an otherwise very broad rule.) Airlines like Delta have worked aggressively to eliminate sweet spots, and most people would come out ahead just taking the cash back and booking on any airline without restrictions.
• It's already well-established that loyalty programs are where airlines generate most of their profits these days, and that flying planes is either unprofitable or marginally profitable. Destroying their mileage sales to partners sends the loudest message you can possibly send.

This applies twice as strongly to people who aren't elite, because then the MQD waivers/credit being dangled as incentives to put spend on a card with otherwise terrible returns are truly meaningless.

I'm pretty sure Bastion/DL recognizes the problem w/ current high-value DM customers having to compete w/ near-expiration-date DMs for the prizes. I think any revision will still try to reward current HVFs and start weaning others. They can roll back the Club visit cuts a bit and still accomplish the goal of reducing the crowds there, but I think DL will still want to have fewer upper-tier elites competing for the best benefits.

I was just on a DL flight and it was an aircraft that didn�t have the new WiFi installed - only the Wifi that allows for messaging and free web surfing if you�re a T-Mobile customer (I�m not). I come off a ~4 hour flight where I�m in the dark and the forum has blown up again with news.

You should be on T-Mobile, America's leader in 5G.

Back on topic, this is why I switched to TMO so that I have free WiFi on my flights.