Delta Airlines SkyMiles

Every airline publishes an award redemption chart to explain how you can use your frequent flier miles. For example, here's American's chart and here's United's chart. The chart tells us that a one-way ticket to Hawaii starts at 17,500 miles and a one-way ticket to China starts at 35,000. (Admittedly, the system is imperfect because the award prices are ultimately determined by seat availability, but even with this caveat, the chart is still a very helpful document.) Without the chart, there's no way to know whether you need to earn an additional 1,000 miles for that free ticket to Paris or an additional 10,000 miles. The bottom line is that without the chart, there's no way to know how much a mile/point is worth.

Delta has done the unthinkable. Without warning, last week the airline quietly eliminated the award redemption chart. It doesn't exist anymore. The missing chart means that Delta can charge whatever award price they want at any moment, change it at any moment, and you'll never know how much a ticket is worth because there's absolutely no transparency. It's none of your business.

And by the way, your dream vacation to Cleveland might cost you 20,000 or 200,000 miles, maybe someday we'll tell you. Maybe we won't tell you. Would you like some peanuts?

Quote: reno

Delta has done the unthinkable. Without warning, last week the airline quietly eliminated the award redemption chart. It doesn't exist anymore. The missing chart means that Delta can charge whatever award price they want at any moment, change it at any moment, and you'll never know how much a ticket is worth because there's absolutely no transparency. It's none of your business.

And by the way, your dream vacation to Cleveland might cost you 20,000 or 200,000 miles, maybe someday we'll tell you. Maybe we won't tell you. Would you like some peanuts?

I think airlines have wanted out of the FFM game for about 15 years now but just could not find a way. It went bad when you could get an award for not even flying! I was in a mortgage unit where you got 25,000 IIRC for signing up. When they had triple miles people flew cheap to load miles. WSJ had an article where some nut flew to the Far East then got right back on the plane to get a vacation for his family.

Now that we are back to 4-5 trunk carriers they can finally start cutting them back. Don't like it? Better hope Alaska or JBLU are going your way!

Quote: AZDuffman

Now that we are back to 4-5 trunk carriers they can finally start cutting them back. Don't like it? Better hope Alaska or JBLU are going your way!

I think that a lot of businessmen think of FFM as a way to get better seating on their flights. They have given up on getting free flights for vacation. But even with the problems, FFM has been one of the most successful marketing gimmicks of all time, and they are not about to drop the whole game. Even though there are seldom choices for nonstops, there is enough choices out there that they don't want to compete solely on price.

Quote: AZDuffman

It went bad when you could get an award for not even flying! I was in a mortgage unit where you got 25,000 IIRC for signing up.

I agree it's nuts that you can earn 2,500 miles for drinking wine, and earn 1,500 miles for buying flowers, etc. In essense they reward you for activity totally unrelated to actually flying. So there's a glut of too many miles and not enough seats. But the airlines write the rules! And the rules are written to encourage an inflationary death spiral of worthless miles.

Here's an idea: re-write the rules so that miles can only be earned through flights. No more bonuses for buying toilet paper from Walgreens. The airline would benefit because it would be harder to earn a free ticket, travelers would benefit because there'd actually be seats available for awards, and it would reward brand loyalty which supposedly is the real point of these gimmicky programs.

I expect that eventually everyone will go to the model that Southwest uses now. Basically each point/mile is worth a fixed amount of cents and that when you redeem you will be using market prices to determine how many points the flight will cost. I believe in the Southwest system every point is worth approximately one cent (ie. 25,000 points is good towards a $250 flight credit).

Quote: Pacomartin

I think that a lot of businessmen think of FFM as a way to get better seating on their flights. They have given up on getting free flights for vacation. But even with the problems, FFM has been one of the most successful marketing gimmicks of all time, and they are not about to drop the whole game. Even though there are seldom choices for nonstops, there is enough choices out there that they don't want to compete solely on price.

I totally agree.
A lot of companies I deal with are cutting back on Business Class.
Some companies I book for do not allow business class no matter where in the planet You are going.
Some only allow business class to Asia.
South America or Europe coach.
Its all about status for my clients.
Most major airlines give an extra inch or 2 to the front of coach section.
Takes status to get those seats.
Now they are in the front coach section, they try for the upgrade to business class
FFM is a great marketing gimmick. I have clients decline thousands of dollars in savings to earn miles on their preferred carrier.

Pan Am used to have an awesome frequent flier program. I forget the details, but for four solid years in the late 80s to 91, my parents didn't fly any other airline if they could help it.

Which might be a reason Pan Am is no more.

All those frequent flyer programs are carrots dangled in front of the passengers but using them is more and more difficult. The airlines created a foolish system. And then it got worse. Some of those flights are making only a few hundred dollars and you want the airline to give the seats away for free just because they promised to?

The best thing is to tell the airlines honor your miles/points/photons whatever without limit. When you've plunged in red ink, declare bankruptcy and this time fly airplanes and listen to pilots not advertising executives.

Right from the start the whole process was illusory and it was always PROMISE MORE but PERFORM LESS.

Quote: terapined

FFM is a great marketing gimmick. I have clients decline thousands of dollars in savings to earn miles on their preferred carrier.

They decline to save their corporation thousands of dollars for personal comfort. US government airfares are completely different. Air fares are all negotiated with a different airline for each destination. For example out of LAX these are three of the contracts. Dubai is really Emirates airlines teaming with JetBlue. There would be a similar contract with Delta, United, and American. values below are round trip fares.

$1,200 DUBAI JetBlue
$309 FT. LAUDERDALE JetBlue

$549 ANCHORAGE Alaska
$699 FAIRBANKS Alaska
$249 GUADALAJARA Alaska
$249 MEDFORD Alaska
$249 MEXICO CITY Alaska
$129 PORTLAND Alaska
$249 PUERTO VALLARTA Alaska
$259 SANTA ROSA Alaska
$179 SEATTLE-TACOMA Alaska
$249 VANCOUVER, B.C. Alaska

$247 ATLANTA Southwest
$223 BUFFALO Southwest
$298 CHARLESTON Southwest
$281 MIDWAY AIRPORT Southwest
$255 DAYTON Southwest
$157 DENVER Southwest
$262 GREENVILLE Southwest
$327 HOBBY AIRPORT Southwest
$289 JACKSONVILLE Southwest
$267 KANSAS CITY Southwest
$289 LOUISVILLE Southwest
$263 MILWAUKEE Southwest
$346 NASHVILLE Southwest
$239 LAGUARDIA AIRPORT Southwest
$285 NORFOLK Southwest
$197 PHILADELPHIA INT'L AIRPORT Southwest
$90 OAKLAND INT'L AIRPORT Southwest
$86 SAN JOSE Southwest
$151 SPOKANE Southwest
$330 ST. LOUIS Southwest
$235 TAMPA Southwest
$135 TUCSON Southwest
$330 BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON INT'L AIRPORT Southwest

Quote: Pacomartin

But even with the problems, FFM has been one of the most successful marketing gimmicks of all time, and they are not about to drop the whole game.

Are you suggesting that frequent flier programs are ultimately a scam? I have mixed feelings on this. For most of the general public, these clubs are more trouble than their worth. Even for prolific fliers, the redemption levels get stingier & stingier over time-- definitely some inflation going on! Nevertheless, when the Chase Visa had an introductory offer of 50,000 bonus United miles, I jumped on it (normally new card members only get 30,000 bonus miles). I put those miles to good use and I still haven't paid a penny in credit card interest. When I called Chase on the 12 month anniversary to cancel the card, Chase waived the $90 annual fee. I actually came out ahead!

But I have a delightful anecdote (Paigowdan will accuse me of stealing). My wife and I were flying on Southwest last week. Her ticket was paid for with cash. My ticket was paid for with Rapid Rewards points. While driving to the airport, we got phone calls informing us the flight was canceled. For the rest of the afternoon, it was chaos: they booked us on another flight, then canceled the reservation, then booked us on a different flight, then made us fly standby. The weather was perfect, I'm not sure why the airline put us through this nightmare. No one seemed to be in charge, it was utter confusion.

During all that chaos, the airline kept my wife's cash. But when the flight was initially cancelled, the computer refunded my Rapid Rewards points back into my account. When they finally issued me the boarding pass and I walked on to the plane, no one told the computer to withdraw the Rapid Rewards points from my account. So basically, I flew for free.