I thought this Sunday would be a good time to have a catch up about all the things that you may have missed that are either changing or have already changed recently with Delta and their partners.
The first one, as I hinted at a while back after my visit with Delta people before the Freddie awards, was that big changes are coming to the Delta Sky clubs. You can expect to see COMPLIMENTARY craft beers at many of the Skyclubs throughout the USA as well as improved wine choices (hello Malbec) and many other subtle changes that will really be nice especially if you like a quality drink in the club. Many may say, like most things Delta as of late, that this is an improvement by returning to the quality days of years gone by. I would not disagree with that but an improvement is an improvement so kudos Delta for doing something needed and something right.
The next one that you may or may not have noticed, if you are one of the ones who still hold a Suntrust debit card, is that you will soon see a dramatic limitation on how many SkyMiles you can earn each month and how many dollars charged it takes to earn them that is 2000 or 4000 points per month depending on the type of card you have and you only earn one Delta point for TWO dollars you spend. This is a disappointing “enhancement” as it truly was one of the great values and ways to cheaply manufacture SkyMiles. It looks like now, for most of us, the best choice is normal Delta cards like the current Platinum Delta credit card offers for June that include 50/60,000 bonus points!
Then we have another irritation that hopefully is as much a bug like the last one. That is the weird bug that Delta seems to be hiding the first class seats from the seat map when you are booking a coach class seat. Delta has, with the hiding of the award charts, restricting Award Wallet use, removing Expert Flyer access and more, really shown disdain for those who want to find important travel information. This last one is so important because it could influence which flight you picked, that is, which one has the most empty seats for your best shot at an upgrade. Now you must go through the additional step of trying to book a first class seat to even see the first class seat map. Most frustrating like so much Delta nowadays. I don’t get why they want dumb flyers! What do you think the reason is? 😉
Another subtle one you may have missed, as I did not feature it in the post name, is the restriction for Delta elites to Alaska preferred seats. American Airlines elites get access but we don’t. The abusive relationship between Alaska and Delta is really getting bad. On my run to EAT I can tell you after talking to many Alaska folks, they, all but one, indicated they really don’t like Delta at Alaska.
Lastly we have the word that the Centurion club is now open for business in MIA or Miami. I love the Centurion clubs and if you have never been to one you will see what a real Skyclub should be when it grows up. If you compare the DFW Centurion it looks like the one most similar to the MIA one. I will be visiting it in a few weeks and have a full review. Remember you can get in FREE to the Centurion clubs when flying ANY airline, as well as Skyclubs (when flying Delta that is), with either the Personal AMEX Platinum cards as well as the business AMEX Platinum cards. This is one of the main reasons both Lisa & I have this card.
Have a great weekend everyone and if you have any Delta related questions feel free to ask away here on this post or in the “Ask Rene” tab on the top of the blog.- René
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PS – Don’t forget about the 60,000 point limited time Delta AMEX offer!
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Craft beers at “many of the Skyclubs”? Any idea what determines if a Skyclub is chosen for this “enhancement”?
Yes, they will hide the first class seats. Delta wants us to think First doesn’t exist anymore if you fly coach. If there’s no First then you won’t miss the upgrade that doesn’t exist!
I emailed Delta last week about the F seats not showing thinking it was a technical issue. They responded it was not and that it was an update in the system to “serve me better.” However, I am still able to see seats available in both cabins when I use the app. Apparently they forgot to update the app to “serve us better.” With respect to Suntrust and their enhancement, they shut me down in April for paying about 5K in taxes by using the card as debit. They then sent me a letter in May stating these changes- although my account was closed by that time. They also decided to charge me for the yearly card fee for the new year right before closing my account. I am still working on getting my money back. My mistake was not going the day after I received their letter and taking out my money. Everything is suspicious now a days; even paying taxes!
I assume the photo is the new boarding zone for 360 Medallions…. you know… they just walk across the water to board….. 😀
Any luck on getting a link to the Delta Platinum Business card? I already have the personal card.
Thanks
@Leslie – Doubtful.
Do you think it is still worth keeping the delta suntrust card?
At what stage of booking is the F seats hidden? Just did a search and the first page when search for a one way between city pairs, allows you to see the full seat map. Is it a later page in the booking process?
F seats are hidden after you book in coach and open the seat map using your reservation. To see the F seats after you book you’d have to go to “book a flight” and select the same flights you’re already booked on. During the booking process before you buy you can see both F and Y seats.
I have a question, Rene: how do I know if I am getting the correct miles credited to my Skymiles account after I take my flight, especially given the different levels of earning?
@Sarah – Simple take the MQD number times your status level per Delta chart.
I didn’t know if you guys have noticed yet, but I saw some 15,000 mile RT flights out of Atlanta to DFW (ex: July 9-14)… Figured I’d let you know.
Rene, I saw in the Atlanta paper recently that Delta is going to start testing carry-on valet service. They will pre-board your carry-on over your seat. They hope this will speed up the boarding process. Pretty cool if it works.
@J – I can tell you I will not part from my bag. Period.
@J, @Rene – Doesn’t letting someone else have you bag temporarily go against the spirit of the announcement to “keep your bags with you at all times”?
@bfroute – Well, I think giving them to airport people does not count but I get how you feel and I share that but not for security reasons more because it is my stuff and I keep an eye on my stuff. Call me paranoid but how I feel.
I would just like a nice white wine in the clubs and the plane(esp if chilled) even a NZ sav blanc ($10 a bottle) drinkable please PLEASE delta AND Andrea(their somm)
Hen Rene I booked a check JFK ANC MR if you want to take. Leap… On leg ANC-> LAx put in crappy Alaska ASeat:( tweeted @delta assist and voila I nabbed I guess a C+ seat which had been blocked out so I guess one can request better seat 🙂
Just enjoyed a glass of the Malbec (house red) at the C concourse Sky Club in ATL. Have to say I was pleasantly surprised.