Delta SkyMiles changes mark end of an era for airline status hackers | #hacking | #cybersecurity | #infosec | #comptia | #pentest | #hacker


This week, Delta Air Lines announced sweeping changes to frequent-flier perks that will start in 2024. While the airline says its revamped system has “simplified” the SkyMiles program for repeat customers, it’s actually dealing a significant blow to the middle class of travelers, inciting outrage on social media and promises from some to quit flying Delta altogether.

In a Tuesday announcement, the Atlanta-based airline detailed how it would make it much more difficult to earn coveted Medallion status. Simultaneously, it plans to take away unlimited access for American Express cardholders to its Sky Club lounges, some of the swankiest in the United States.

News of the Delta changes follows similar moves American Airlines rolled out in March, when the carrier made it more difficult for customers to break into its lower-tier Gold AAdvantage Status. Early this year, Delta had already enacted changes to limit access to its lounges, citing a growth in visitors that had “outpaced Club capacity.”

It’s all part of a massive shift from years of luxury travel perks for the masses, repeated status extensions resulting from the pandemic, and credit card acquisition tactics that sold unfettered entry into airport lounges. As airlines continue to benefit from a high volume of travelers, it looks like the beginning of the end for a golden era of status hacking.

“I can say that I’ll no longer be intentionally loyal to a single airline,” said Jonathan Jacobs, 34, a senior marketing consultant based in Los Angeles who has held Delta’s Diamond Medallion status for seven years.

“My new strategy as a Diamond? Not to be a Diamond anymore. My years of elite status are likely over.”

‘A giant middle finger’ to travelers

The array of changes includes how fliers earn Delta frequent-flier status. An annual spending requirement — what the airline calls “Medallion Qualifying Dollars” (MQDs) — will now become the sole elite metric. Starting Jan. 1, Delta is also massively increasing requirements — in some cases doubling the amount of money customers had to spend to achieve the same elite level this year.

Under the new conditions, to hit the entry-level Delta Silver Medallion tier, a traveler would need $6,000 in MQDs, up from $3,000 today. And to reach top-tier Diamond Medallion status? Well, that would require an eye-watering $35,000 in MQDs, a 75 percent increase from the current $20,000 threshold.

For some travelers, these new prerequisites are the final nail in the status-chasing coffin.

“These changes are a giant middle finger to the flying middle class,” says Conrad Close, a Chicago-based content marketing manager. Close says he has been loyal to Delta since status was “attainable,” even though the airline isn’t as convenient for him. “I could fly direct on United for much cheaper but I’ve always flown Delta; that’ll change now.”

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Delta executives are eager to point out that with these changes, flying isn’t the only way to earn status.

“Members will earn the way they want to, not only along their travel journey but also in their everyday lives,” Dwight James, Delta’s senior vice president of customer engagement and loyalty, said in a news release explaining Delta’s changes.

Indeed, spending on car rentals, hotel stays and vacation packages will count toward status. However, there’s a caveat; travel must be booked through Delta websites, a considerable behavioral shift for most travelers. It also means you won’t be able to take advantage of perks received when booking directly with other travel companies if you’re using Delta’s platform.

Then, there’s the whole thing with Delta’s co-branded credit cards, big business for both the airline and issuer American Express; nearly one-third of Delta’s 25 million SkyMiles customers have a Delta-affiliated credit card, the airline revealed in June. An even more staggering statistic? Nearly 1 percent of U.S. GDP is currently being charged to these Delta Amex cards, according to a Delta comparison of S&P Global’s May forecast.

For travelers in the know, having a Delta credit card was an inside track toward elite status through spending. While that’s not going away, it’s adjusting in a big way. Higher-end Delta credit cards — those with a $250 annual fee or greater — will allow customers to earn MQDs for all types of transactions, up to 1 MQD for every $10 spent.

It’s all a push to engage with Delta even more — and opens the door to earning Delta status without even setting foot on a plane (something that American Airlines already does).

Goodbye to unlimited lounge access

Delta’s elite status isn’t the only thing getting a giant overhaul. Starting in February 2025, the airline will begin to restrict Amex cardholders from its swanky Sky Clubs — limiting entries to up to 10 per year.

There’s no softening this one: A move away from unlimited entry is a massive downgrade from unlimited Sky Club access, a long-standing premium credit card perk that both Amex and Delta heavily advertised to cardholders.

For years, Amex touted its Global Lounge Collection, which includes Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs, as the “largest in the world.” Platinum cardholders have access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries, American Express says. In the process of acquiring more customers, the supply of lounge space couldn’t keep up with demand.

Amex and Delta are essentially victims of their own success. Now, we may be finally seeing the end result, reverting back to a time when these pre-departure spaces were more exclusive.

Under the new rules, travelers with the popular $695-per-year Amex Platinum, for instance, will only receive six entries to Sky Clubs per year when traveling on the airline.

The one exception to all of this? Spending a cool $75,000 on the card in a calendar year grants you continuous access for the rest of that year and the following year.

However, it also comes at a time when lounges are bursting at the seams, becoming overcrowded with travelers inside and with lines to enter outside. The all-you-can-visit nature of Sky Clubs certainly doesn’t help, and both Amex and Delta believe this is the new strategy they need to take, as punitive as it may seem.

In a statement sent to The Washington Post, American Express said that based on member data, the capped number of lounge visits will accommodate the “vast majority” of its platinum and reserve card members once the restrictions take effect in February 2025. But it won’t be enough for many, including some road-warrior-like travelers.

Andrew Brodsky, a 27-year-old consultant based in New York City, plans to cancel his Amex Platinum card once the limits kick in. “The main purpose of having the card is to access Sky Clubs since I travel through a Delta hub weekly,” he said.

Instead, Brodsky says he may purchase a Sky Club membership, a $695 expense that will provide unlimited entry into lounges. Buying a membership requires yet another hurdle to jump over, though. Only customers with Delta Medallion status are eligible.

Chris Dong is a freelance travel writer and credit card points expert based in Los Angeles. You can follow him on Instagram: @thechrisflyer.

correction

An earlier version of this article misspelled Jonathan Jacobs’s first name and misstated his age. This version has been corrected.

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