Atlanta Forward bloggers responded to last week’s columns by consumer advocates Christopher Elliott and Tim Winship about airline frequent flier programs. Here are select comments from the blog:
Kevin: I am a Medallion flier and have been for the past 10 years. Point is, my family has been very loyal to Delta, long before we moved to Atlanta. This month, I am dropping Delta and its American Express card. Their program keeps offering less and less. When was the last time they made a change that benefited loyal customers in a meaningful way? I will miss the international routes, but I'm moving to Southwest. I am looking forward to spending 25,000 miles per flight vs. 40,000 and above. Not to mention I will easily hit the requirement for a Companion Pass; my wife will fly with me for free — no miles, no cash, for free. And it's unlimited. Could you imagine if Delta offered the same?
Mike: The frequent flier racking up miles and segments because they connect will be impacted. I fly from Atlanta with no connecting flights. So, adding the dollar piece does not matter. I look for the cost of the trip first. Having the availability of free exit row seating at time of booking and no bag fees is definitely a perk I use every trip. I will still fly Delta and still shop for the best ticket.
Globe Trttr: The change in Delta's Skymiles program will benefit the short-haul, more expensive flights frequently taken by business travelers on short notice. A good example is a Newark-Atlanta one-way trip I did recently, which cost $355 and got me 745 Skymiles. Under the new 2015 Skymiles rules, you'd get 888 Skymiles. A Silver Medallion using the Delta American Express card would get 1,243 miles. What remains to be seen is how/if Delta will devalue the miles over the next few years after the end-of-year mileage runs to the West Coast, Europe and Asia all but cease completely. After all, the net result is a change in customer behavior and shifting the privilege of mileage accrual from the junkies to the high-revenue customers.
Steven: Part of the problem is the airlines started to hand out miles like candy. While miles earned for non-flight-related things don't count towards elite status, they help get the needed miles for an award ticket faster. They promise you X amount of SkyMiles for signing up for the American Express card and even the SkyMiles branded debit card SunTrust offers (I've had it since they came out with it several years ago, and the annual fee on it has increased several times and is getting nearly as expensive to have as the SkyMiles American Express). In time, SkyMiles members will get used to the new system, even though right now it's not exactly a good thing. I'm not happy about losing a couple of thousand SkyMiles a trip due to the changes.
