Thanks for Nothing Delta Airlines

It was my intentions to purchase my usual r/t airfare with Delta Airlines for my upcoming trip to London, however, I was priced out of the economy section (note to self, don't travel to Europe first week of June). So because I was not going to earn Skymiles from Delta this year, I figured I would redeem my 15,516 miles and get some neat items from their Skymiles Marketplace. I've gotten lovely silver jewelry from them in the past and some magazine subscriptions. My philosophy with the skymiles was use them or lose them.

This afternoon I went to view the marketplace but an odd thing occurred. I could not view the catalog while logged on, that's strange. So I logged off and I was able to review the marketplace and I saw a few things I wanted to get. I clicked on one item that was valued at 13,200 miles, and then it said that I have to be an eligible member to purchase it. Ok, so I logged back on, and at that moment, I could not see the marketplace at all. So something odd was going on. I reviewed the Delta website trying to understand what was going on, then that's when I saw it. To redeem miles, one must be an "eligible member", and that basically means, having enough miles to reach the top 3 medallion tiers to qualify, as well as having specific partner credit cards to participate. What the hell is this now? Since Delta bought out Northwest Airlines, which I miss dearly, shit changes every year! Also, if you read the fine print, in order to meet the requirements to reach a milestone medallion tier, you have to acquire X amount of miles between Jan 1 and Dec 31. Sneaky ain't they? The only type of people who rack up those kind of miles are business travellers (ie. people who don't buy their own tickets) or very wealthy people who travel for pleasure and rack up the miles.

If you're a lame schmuck like me who saves her pennies to fly to Europe once a year on a preferred airliner, you're shit out of luck because that's only 8K miles round trip! And the other people who are lamer than me and only fly to Florida or California for a vacation, depending on where they live in the states, that's at most a 3k round trip flight - and IF that particular flight qualifies to get miles. This is so insane and elitist! It's just cruel to take away a small pleasure that someone like me would receive from Delta for being loyal to them. I have seen the light and learned that they aren't loyal to bums like me who do not fly at LEAST 50,000 miles between Jan 1 and Dec 31!

At Delta.com, here is their breakdown:

• 25,000 MQMs or 30 MQSs achieves Silver Medallion status.
• 50,000 MQMs or 60 MQSs achieves Gold Medallion status.
• 75,000 MQMs or 100 MQSs achieves Platinum Medallion status.
• 125,000 MQMs or 140 MQSs achieves Diamond Medallion status.

The qualification time frame for Medallion status is from January 1 to December 31 of each year.

And here is the email I sent to Delta, and they quickly replied back:

Me: I was visiting the SkyMiles Marketplace to see what kind of
nice item I can redeem with my 15, 516 miles. I have been happy with
several past purchases and wanted to review the latest marketplace. To
my shock and surprise, I now notice that one has to be "eligible member"
to buy from the marketplace. As a long time Northwest customer and now
Delta, I use only one credit card and pay cash for the rest of my needs.
I do not want to apply for another credit card. And now I notice that in
order for me to use my well earned miles - earned from two r/t flight to
London, UK - I now can't redeem my miles to use in the marketplace
without being some kind of "eligible member'? Please explain to me why
this policy change and when did it go into effect? I find this extremely
elitist and I gather it was designed to force people to enroll into the
Delta Skymiles credit card scheme in order to buy from the marketplace.
Please reply back.

 Delta: Dear Ms. Cromer,

Thank you for your e-mail. On behalf of Delta Air Lines, I appreciate
the opportunity to be of assistance with your query regarding SkyMiles
Marketplace.

Effective February 17, 2012, SkyMiles Marketplace has become an
exclusive benefit for Diamond, Platinum, and Gold Medallion members and
all U.S. based Delta American Express SkyMiles Credit Cardmembers. We
realize that SkyMiles Marketplace is a popular way for many of members
to use their miles; however, we have decided to limit redemptions to our
Diamond, Platinum, and Gold Medallion members and co-brand card holders
only going forward. As an alternative, you can visit delta.com/usemiles
to explore other ways you may use your miles.

Ms. Cromer, thank you for your continuing support and loyalty. As a
valued SkyMiles member, I appreciate your interest in our SkyMiles
program and look forward to your continued patronage.

Sincerely,

SK
Online Customer Support Desk
http://www.delta.com

It's unfortunate that I missed the memo about this change, and as it all stands, I will surely lose the current 15K miles I have because I have no need to use Delta's services for quite a while, if never again, so these will surely expire and in Delta's eyes, I'll be a worthless former passenger... pretty much what I am already to them. In the past, with Northwest Airlines, I was able to redeem 25k miles, twice, for a free ticket: one to Baltimore and one to Los Angeles. So I know what it's like to be valued by your preferred airliner.

Maybe in the next job I get that allows me to travel for business, I will be able to take advantage of the perks that Delta offers to their beloved business travellers. Meanwhile, I will continue to drive where I need to go, take the train, or use a competitor airliner.

Good bye Delta!