Flying is, for many, a necessary evil. But being in a frequent flyer program can make it a little more pleasant. Especially on Delta, where if you happened to spend $25,000 a year on your American Express card, you got Diamond Medallion status — the best frequent flyer status there is. Except now Delta’s ruined that party.
For background, Delta’s frequent flyer program works by, well, flying frequently and spending money on Delta flights. The more you fly, the more upgrades like priority boarding, first class seating, and other goodies you get. American Express users, though, could cut the line a bit if they spent heavily on their Delta-branded American Express card. Delta decided to close that loophole, however, by jacking the former $25,000 limit to $250,000, and frequent flyers are not happy, albeit some appear to… ahem… lack some perspective on the matter:
Huh? @Delta told its #Diamond members that in '18, your #AmEx spend has to go from $25k…to $250k to earn status! How you doin' @JetBlue??? pic.twitter.com/NueMRMLKTd
— Addison (@addisonhoover) September 26, 2017
@Delta Sticks it to its loyal business flyers by pushing Diamond status to the moon…Boooooo..We have other choices! pic.twitter.com/GUkMVNFyXn
— Last Chance America (@ZPatasin) September 27, 2017
.@Delta raising Amex Diamond waiver from $25K to $250K next year. You read that right. Total betrayal of loyal customers.
— Reid Spencer (@Reid_Spencer) September 26, 2017
Although one customer, at least, has a solid point:
https://twitter.com/eckhaus/status/912824879405080576
And not everybody objects:
I completely disagree. I think it’s one of the best changes to skymiles. Keep the fake fliers away from diamond.
— Patrick McBride (@portcolumbus) September 26, 2017
To be fair, Delta’s argument is that Diamond status should really be reserved for people who fly on the airline a lot, not just people who tie their expense accounts to a certain card just to get around the requirements. And really, if you rack up $25,000 on an American Express card (even, admittedly, a credit card and not the classic charge card you have to pay off monthly) in a year in the first place, you’re not going to find a lot of sympathy from travelers who will have to fly coach no matter what. Still, it’s also hard to fault anybody who wants to make flying a little easier, even if they have to resort to tweeting at the airline to do it.
(via Business Insider)
