BearX220

Well, hold on a moment. Delta precipitated this drama by filing for divorce. When you say you're "absolutely furious that I don't have a choice," what sort of choice would you like to have had? To continue earning WP (SM) miles on your US Bank card? Not going to happen. To cancel your US Bank card? You can do that anytime.

What do you want that you haven't got which is in the realm of the possible? There's not going to be a DL-tied MC/Visa card, so we have to get past that. When DL broke up with US Bank, the bank did pretty much what I would have done: strategized an inventive retention pitch that requires no action on the part of cardholders. You can't possibly expect that US Bank would cancel those millions of cards preemptively, then beg us to apply for FlexPerks; that would have been far more anti-customer and disruptive than this.

You may not like FlexPerks, I don't like FlexPerks, mrcimino likes FlexPerks (and reading his helpful analysis I think he's among the few for whom FlexPerks makes sense; my profile is more like MikeMpls'). But things could be slightly worse: US Bank could have converted its WP customers to a vanilla bank card with no rewards scheme at all, or to one of its other small-potatoes affinity cards (Gymboree), etc.

I don't think US Bank has exactly covered itself in glory by closing the WP earning window early. But "Go Delta?" Not hardly.

pmaddock

This statement is pretty close to my point of view. To me this has become an almost classic divorce situation where the parents are more interested in scoring points than they are the kids (us) involved. A pox on both their houses for the way they are behaving.

I must admit before I go on venting that my major item here is the EQM promo.

Trying to read between the lines on all of this I think DL probably did indeed start the fight by dictating that Amex would be the one and only card. I can only assume that they actually believe in the contract obligation of this August date. Otherwise they would have probably moved faster on thier end. I suspect the truth in that date from the US Bank position is that US Bank could buy miles through that date but that didn't necessarily mean that USB was obligated to it. It does seem that DL was taken by surprise and is largely in reaction mode right now. So while DL figured USB would just play along it appears that USB decided it was going to play on its own terms and there the 'fun' begins for us.

What really bothers me in all this is that neither party is really considering the interests of the customer - they're treating us like brainless cattle to be fought for rather than intelligent people with our own interests. This lack of concern is most apparent in 2 areas:
1. Communication issues - USB did put up an FAQ on their site but it contradicted what their reps were telling us as we started getting the shower of postcards and material. In the meantime NW/DL has been virtually silent save an 'this isn't true' I got for Soukup on an email when this started out and the various Amex is great propoganda they are starting to send out. Depending on who I talked to at USB I got dates from 4/27 thru to June.
2. EQM Promo - USB didn't think through the EQM promo issue very well at all when they made thier move. That promo has a strong term implication their pre-emptive strike on DL cut that term to about 1/3 of the expectation and that's just not right. $25K may be daunting but its more reachable than one might think with a little planning over the course of a year. Its amazing how many things you used to pay by check can be done on a card now (property taxes, insurance, electric, cell phone, etc) - although it is absolutely imperative to pay off every month. 4 months (now that we have the 4/27 date) is a totally different game. In the end though there are a lot of people like me who went out of their way to put a lot of spend on the card towards an offer in good faith and are now at risk of not getting any of the promised EQM. Neither party has offered any sort of remedy/contingency and that's inexuseable to me.

Anyway I guess they're going to do what most divorcing couples do - make some lawyers a bunch of money. In the meantime we're just a asset to be fought over. Its pathetic. This is a very bad time of year to try to status match so I guess I'm stuck with DL for now. USB is dead to me as soon as this story is over. I'd send them the shredded card in some nasty manner but I'm probably going to keep it along with some other NW Souveniers.

I will thank USB for one thing though - seeing pretty much my entire spend in one place like that did give me some budgeting ideas....

3Cforme

That's for the courts to determine. There are defined mechanisms for penalizing firms/individuals who bring frivilous suits.

I think the use of ...Perks was destined to bring trouble but I don't predict who will prevail.

gottaluvNW

Last year Amex yanked my cards for no apparent reason after being with them 10+years. Its a load of BS that they did so for creditworthiness (or lack of) reasons. And the way they went about it was just inappropriate, secretive, and annoying.

With US Bank no longer the Worldperks affiliated card, my business will go elsewhere but most certainly not to Amex! Ever.

Mixmaster300

This stupid move by Delta management will convince more loyal Northwest customers NOT to sign up for their American Express card. They misjudged by selling out customers who want a credit card that is accepted by merchants instead of American Express which has limited acceptance and is now canceling customers accounts and cutting credit limits to the bone. One year from now Delta will look back at all the customers they have lost to other airlines and frequent flier programs with regret. I will miss Northwest and the Worldperks program.

mrcimino1

After doing more reading this morning, I stand corrected. I was not aware that the USBank contract allowed WP miles to be purchased from NW through August 22. That sheds a different light on this issue. The facts now appear to be:

1. Delta and AMEX have both begun to market the DL AMEX card well prior to the August 22 cut-off date.

2. USBank, in turn, has also begun to market it's replacement card well prior to that date.

3. For some reason, USBank has now decided to end the WP mileage program on May 11, and force everyone to accrue only their new Flexpoints after that date.

4. Since we are not privy to the contractual agreement that NW and USBank have, we can only assume that each party's highly paid legal staff has advised them that they are acting within the scope of that agreement.

While the first two facts above appear to be consumer-friendly and offer choices that can be evaluated by us, and accepted or declined based on their own merits, it is fact #3 above that I find troubling. Perhaps there should have a choice for the consumer here also. I would have no problem if USB said "you make the choice, convert to our new card anytime you like between now and August 22, but on that date we will then convert you automatically or close your account if you wish." This would have given consumers the time to make their own decisions, to increase or decrease spend on the USB card as they saw fit, and to provide a smooth transition from the WP Visa program to whatever their choice of new CC program happened to be. It also would have allowed those who were making their spending decisions based on the USBank EQM promo quite a bit more time to qualify and earn that reward. It is the early termination of WP Visa that I find a bit troubling from a consumer (and perhaps legal) standpoint.

DiverDave

^ Well said.

David

ohmark

I am angry over USB's premature jerking of the EQM promo and, if that decision remains, will gladly put their card in my shredder.

MaryHillyer

I churn $200,000/yr buying mfg supplies w/ WP visa; ckd w/ my suppliers & NOT ONE will accept amex! Traveling w/ friend in NZ for 2 months this yr & many, many mom/pop motels, restaurants, shops refused her amex (happy to take my visa every time); last fall in Tanzania -- same story: 5* takes amex, anything smaller, visa/mc only. Since my business takes me to AK 2-3x/yr, I'm switching to Alaska program (w/ BA visa); will take the 'free' Delta amex to keep my existing miles alive (160,000) until I use them up. My brother gets a lot of perks w/ Alaska program even w/o elite status. Of course, not an option if you never fly Alaska, though they do have numerous partners, including QA.

channa

With all due respect, what was DL supposed to do? Keep two (2) cards?

Remember that AMEX holds a significant stake in DL, has helped them with financing (both during and after bankruptcy), and that relationship is crucial to the survival of the company. Pi$$ing off USBank is not a big deal in comparison.

Mixmaster300

Sure, why not? There is big money in frequent flier miles. Give it a year after full merger to see how their customers feel, after all, without fliers, Delta does not survive. Delta is not just not making U.S. Bank unhappy, they are also making Northwest customers unhappy. For those who are happy with American Express, that is fine. Like MaryHillyer, I have traveled international with American Express and found out how limited you are, so the card does me no good. I dumped American Express and have never had a problem with Visa acceptance. Besides acceptance, Visa has never canceled me or cut my credit limit without reason like what is happening to American Express customers.

http://www.my3cents.com/search.cgi?c...erican+Express

cayenne92

Why not? Look at AA. They have one bank (hehe) but it offers Visa/MC and AMEX cards and in business flavors also. I am not saying AA is a better program but why not cover all your bases. Exclusivity only polarizes your customer base. Look at this thread and the cola industry.

tvnwz

Are you kidding me? Where did you go to logic school--DeVry? You can not complain about being inundated by "incessant" notices and then claim nobody will pay attention. Isn't that the point of making them "incessant?" And if you can't get a clue by the "incessant" mailings then you are just hopeless.

It would be "unethical" to mess with my account in any way until I change it.

seldon

Seconded. I'm so mad I can't really say anything more.

motytrah

US Bank claims NW/DL refused to continue posting EQMs. Neither company have a great deal of standing with me at present.