Amex promo upgrade to Gold Medallion
 

Hopefully somebody can help me. I received a promo in the mail about a week ago that offered the ability to earn Gold Medallion status (I'm currently silver) by using Platinum Amex card to book 4 domestic RTs or 2 int'l RTs between 9/12/08 & 12/31/08. You can see the offer here.

https://www.delta.com/marketing/expe...gold/index.jsp

However, I lost the mailer and therefore don't have the RSVP code I need to "register" for the offer. Does anybody have that and can send to me?

After several attempts to address this with Delta cust service over the phone and email, I'm about ready to take a hostage!

Thanks.

I'd think you'd have more luck by calling American Express and whining until they give up the RSVP code. ;)

Ugh, where was this promo last year??

I'm just curious to know if a lot of other FTers got this offer or if this was a very limited offer. One more fine example of DL rewarding those of us who earn most of our miles by actually flying the airline. :rolleyes: I'm tempted just not to fly DL at all the first half of next year and wait for one of these status offers during the second half of the year. Sure would be a lot cheaper.

I definitely understand your frustration with so many fliers getting status without flying. However I don't see the logic in your reasoning...

Questions...

1. Are you spending a lot more right now to fly Delta rather than other carriers? If so, why? The upgrades? The SkyMiles?
2. If you "just not fly DL at all the first half of next year" would you be flying another airline often? Do you have status with that airline? Would the price savings be substantial?
3. Would you earn status on another single (or two perhaps) airline if you avoided DL during the first part of next year? If so, why not continue to fly that other airline and enjoy the perks of status with them and the savings? Are you saving money by "boycotting" Delta?
4. What is your current level with DL? Perhaps the OP was sent this offer because they are attained Silver recently and might need a "bump" incentive to reach Gold? Can you be sure that DL/Amex will target you next year knowing that you will not fly them the first half of the year? I don't know if the OP received that status this year or if it was a holdover from qualifying in 2007. OP?

I guess I am confused as to why status is important to you if you want to chuck the perks during the first 6 months of next year. To teach DL a lesson? Is your goal to attain status on multiple airlines? If so then I DO understand your logic. Attain elsewhere during Jan-Jun 2009 and then go for DL status the rest of the year.... by gambling that they will make you an offer like the one here.

replace 'gold' with 'silver' or 'platinum' to see the other offers they're making available.

I checked platinum and got this:

" Purchase an international full-fare Business Class ticket on Delta using your Centurion® Card or Business Centurion Card, complete your journey, and register by December 31, 2008. "

Now I just have to cough up about $7,500 ($5k initiation fee + $2,500 annual fee) for the Centurion Card and another $3,500 or so for a business class ticket and then bada-bing, I can be platinum !! :p

At $0.13/mile, don't you think this needs to be in the Milage Run Deals forum? :D

I have a Plat, a Blue, and a Costco card but didn't get either the silver or gold DL offer (yet). I also don't have a DL account but that doesn't seem to matter, the web page says to register as a SM member if one doesn't have an account.

Silver and gold have the same requirements: 4 domestic or 2 international RT.

I think there are cheaper ways to hit plat than getting the Centurion and buying/traveling on a full-fare BusinessElite ticket though :eek:

Full fare Biz ticket is going to be around $7k or more, not $3.5k last time I looked ;)

i did get the Plat offer in the mail, and might be able to use it if I can get my business trip to dubai booked full fare

I was able to answer my own question. Thankfully, since I didn't reply to the mailer...they sent a follow-up reminder via email.

Oh well, it has been used.

Hello, EVAN!. In response to your inquiry, I don't fly a great amount these days but I usually strive to get SM status with DL, mostly for the domestic flight perks like seating, boarding and shorter ticket lines. I am SM now and shortly will be GM until early 2010 by virtue of several recent flights that I normally would not have taken but needed to take because of family emergencies. I have a very large number of DL miles that I may never use up given my reduced amount of flying, mostly for vacation trips.

So, my thinking is that if I can get SM status or better by just waiting until the second half of the year next year and finding a bonus offer, why not accrue miles on other airlines during the first half of the year? (Assuming I would not have a "soft landing" next year with DL and only be demoted to SM for 2010 and beyond. I have to believe that soft landings will soon be a thing of the past given recent DL "enhancements".) I have lots of miles on other airlines from business flying over the years but no status with any but DL, mainly because DL offers the most options from my city. But status is not so important on those other airlines since I use those miles to fly on business class award tickets for vacations overseas (where seats, service or destination availability is better than on DL) and therefore have no need for status since I'll have the business class perks built-in. Still, it never hurts to add to those caches of miles whenever possible to keep the totals up for later use.

You point out that these DL bonus offers may not be there for me in a given year but it has been the case in recent years that they have always popped up in one form or another and could have been relevant to me if I so chose. To an extent I am speculating on historical data but that seems reasonable to me.

Thanks for commenting on my thought process. Never hurts to reconsider possibilities and choices based on the perspectives of others. I've changed a lot of my thinking based on the input of FTers. In the end, I'll probably fly DL the first half of the year next year just as I always do since there is no guarantee of late season offers but, as you suggested, sometimes it just helps to vent a bit.

I got a bunch of incentives in the first 1/2 of this year - one for double MQM for no good reason and another for double MQM for my "Birthday."

I hit Silver status early July and haven't gotten any other incentives since.... despite having both a gold and platinum AMEX I didn't get the above offers. I'm currently at 38,000+ MQM for the year and will hit 50,000 with my remaining travel this year but wonder why I seem to have stopped getting the bonus deals. Is there any rhyme or reason to who gets the emails?