Delta Really Sucks

[skier666]

First, become a frequent flier with one airline, get one of their credit cards as your sole credit card. If you fly enough to hit their 2nd tier flight frequency level, you're golden. Not only do you not have to pay for an extra bag, but your weight limits are usually increased as well. Some companies let you 'buy into' the 2nd tier if you come within a certain amount of miles.

Domestically, use the skycap for skis or when you have one or two bags that are likely to be overweight...just make sure you show up with a large bill in your hand so they can see it. Just say that you 'have skis' in the bag. They rarely if ever check, they are more worried about the weight.

Internationally, it seems to differ between airlines. Out of the 10 trips that I've taken to NZ on AirNZ, they've been strict on the bags about 40% of the time....usually when you try to make your domestic connection. Also, if you do make that 2nd tier on a domestic carrier and you fly an code-share airline, the baggage limits usually carry over. This is extremely helpful when you are travelling on an international ski trip.

[Beder]

First, become a frequent flier with one airline, get one of their credit cards as your sole credit card. If you fly enough to hit their 2nd tier flight frequency level, you're golden. Not only do you not have to pay for an extra bag, but your weight limits are usually increased as well. Some companies let you 'buy into' the 2nd tier if you come within a certain amount of miles.

Bingo. For Delta, you want Silver Medallion status. Last April to Whistler, double ski bag, heavy oversize duffle bag--no questions no fees.
I leave for Santiago Friday a.m. on Delta. I'll report.

[tahoegnar420]

Ouch, I feel for you. She is one fat ugly bitch. I hope what she paid you was worth munching on that carpet.

dude, your webiste sucks

[Cyber Cop]

dude, your webiste sucks

holy shit you are a moron.

Would you like to buy zombo.com. In all seriousness it's my biggest money maker.

[Sensisnow]

First, become a frequent flier with one airline, get one of their credit cards as your sole credit card. If you fly enough to hit their 2nd tier flight frequency level, you're golden. Not only do you not have to pay for an extra bag, but your weight limits are usually increased as well. Some companies let you 'buy into' the 2nd tier if you come within a certain amount of miles.

Domestically, use the skycap for skis or when you have one or two bags that are likely to be overweight...just make sure you show up with a large bill in your hand so they can see it. Just say that you 'have skis' in the bag. They rarely if ever check, they are more worried about the weight.

Internationally, it seems to differ between airlines. Out of the 10 trips that I've taken to NZ on AirNZ, they've been strict on the bags about 40% of the time....usually when you try to make your domestic connection. Also, if you do make that 2nd tier on a domestic carrier and you fly an code-share airline, the baggage limits usually carry over. This is extremely helpful when you are travelling on an international ski trip.

Great post! Are there any cards that you can recommend over others? Airlines are changing rules so frequently now that it's tough to find a good one to stick with.

You also mention using the skycap service, which I've always used in the past without a problem. I usually slip them a $20 and all of my overweight ski bags make it through without a problem. The last time I flew with skis was over 12 months ago, so is $20 still enough, or do I need to toss out a $50 to get the same service now?

[GrizzlyFD]

AMEX skymiles. Easy to get the gold card. Annual fee, but you get a $99 companion ticket every year.
Platinum card for those with decent credit. Higher annual fee, but get a FREE companion ticket every year.

Both cards give you a ton of free initial miles. Ability to earn medallion qualifier (look it up if you don't know what it is). And extra perks. Get's you all skymiles codeshare partner airlines (continental and others)

But Delta sucks remember


Amex Jet blue is pretty decent. I've heard good things about Miles by Discover, but haven't looked into it all that much.

[djc]

AMEX skymiles. Easy to get the gold card. Annual fee, but you get a $99 companion ticket every year.
Platinum card for those with decent credit. Higher annual fee, but get a FREE companion ticket every year.

Both cards give you a ton of free initial miles. Ability to earn medallion qualifier (look it up if you don't know what it is). And extra perks. Get's you all skymiles codeshare partner airlines (continental and others)

But Delta sucks remember


Amex Jet blue is pretty decent. I've heard good things about Miles by Discover, but haven't looked into it all that much.

FOUR free companion flights with the amex platinum card. You need to book well in advance of your flight for them to be available, but if you use them you'll certainly save more then the annual fee.

I'm silver medallion on delta and they've never given me an issue with gear. Also they consistently upgrade me to first class, even when I don't pay for a flight and just use my miles to fly.

[GrizzlyFD]

Just out of curiosity, how do you get 4 companion tickets? I've been getting one a year by mail. Is it b/c of the silver medallion status?

[djc]

Just out of curiosity, how do you get 4 companion tickets? I've been getting one a year by mail. Is it b/c of the silver medallion status?

The 4 companions are a perk of the amex platinum card, not being silver medallion. I don't actually get anything in the mail - I just call the number on the back of the card to book.

The companions can be used on multiple airlines, not just delta, but like I said above you have to book really early or they tell you nothing is available.

[upallnight]

First, become a frequent flier with one airline, get one of their credit cards as your sole credit card. If you fly enough to hit their 2nd tier flight frequency level, you're golden. Not only do you not have to pay for an extra bag, but your weight limits are usually increased as well. Some companies let you 'buy into' the 2nd tier if you come within a certain amount of miles.

Great post! Are there any cards that you can recommend over others? Airlines are changing rules so frequently now that it's tough to find a good one to stick with.

not so fast...something else to consider here.

one key issue here is that every airline i know of (maybe there's one that doesn't) only looks at actual miles or segments flown for purposes of determining status.

for instance, you can get a united card and charge all the purchases you like and get 100k miles over the course of a year, but that won't do one bit of good as far as conferring any status to you.

it's useful to get the card to collect miles and earn a free trip, but don't expect any status or special treatment.

not sure if their base-level tier (premier, in the case of united) gets anything for you, but at premier exec and above they waive the baggage limits.

i agree about skycaps and the international information. the skycap tip can be helpful if you are checking bags and running late. if they accept your bag, you have a better chance of getting on the plane because it's much tougher these days to separate bag and passenger.

also, if you can help it, try not to go to the counter-person that appears mildly retarded. it seems that they take the rules literally and may also take pride in their job, whereas at least you have a 50-50 chance of the standard disgruntled counter-person bending the rules if you are nice.

avoid all this stuff by flying 50,000 miles a year or 50 segments on any airline.

or just pay the $175.

see which costs you less.

i do think the $175 charge sucks and could really hurt vacationers flying to ski towns -- and in turn hurt those businesses that depend on the tourists. perhaps rental business will boom this year and someone will benefit...or perhaps this will be one more reason for folks not to fly this winter.

[Hugh Conway]

avoid all this stuff by flying 50,000 miles a year or 50 segments on any airline.

or just pay the $175.

see which costs you less.

Reality is unless you already are an elite member the $ spent to acquire it for luggage perks doesn't make strict fiscal sense.

Elite Qualification Miles are close to Butt In Seat miles but not exactly the same - you can get EQM bonuses for various fare classes ($$$), certain promotions ($$$), and occaisonally for a small portion of the credit card expenses ($$$)

[skiguide]

I'm pretty loyal to Delta with the hub in SLC, pricing, direct flights & schedules are always pretty good when i need to travel for biz. But i've found more recently (though I haven't been traveling that much in recent months) upgrades are harder to come by.. i'm usually missing the upgrade list by 1 or 2 people with higher status, and i think there's just fewer seats available with reduced flights/overbooked flights these days.

we have 2 Amex platinums, probably have close to 400K miles sitting in the bank - this is after using a bunch of free tix last year.. typically retain silver status every year, sometimes bump up to gold depending on travel/expenditures (we put every big purchase that we can on one of the cards, and pay off immediately) and only get one companion ticket every year per card (so that's two trips) - gotta figure out how you're getting 4 djc!

I think all of the major US airlines suck in someway right now...

Delta's making changes to their medallion status come sept, and US Air just announced they may change their bonus structure on miles, and - www.FlyerTalk.com is making a big fuss about it - is one of the best sites out there for discussing options on miles & frequent traveler perks... CEO is a raving madman (in a good way, he knows his shite)

[djc]

I'm pretty loyal to Delta with the hub in SLC, pricing, direct flights & schedules are always pretty good when i need to travel for biz. But i've found more recently (though I haven't been traveling that much in recent months) upgrades are harder to come by.. i'm usually missing the upgrade list by 1 or 2 people with higher status, and i think there's just fewer seats available with reduced flights/overbooked flights these days.

we have 2 Amex platinums, probably have close to 400K miles sitting in the bank - this is after using a bunch of free tix last year.. typically retain silver status every year, sometimes bump up to gold depending on travel/expenditures (we put every big purchase that we can on one of the cards, and pay off immediately) and only get one companion ticket every year per card (so that's two trips) - gotta figure out how you're getting 4 djc!

I think all of the major US airlines suck in someway right now...
Delta's making changes to their medallion status come sept, and US Air just announced they may change their bonus structure on miles, and - www.FlyerTalk.com is making a big fuss about it - is one of the best sites out there for discussing options on miles & frequent traveler perks... CEO is a raving madman (in a good way, he knows his shite)

This will really make you crazy...I used to have a second card in my girlfriends name...and we had four companions each...for a total of eight (for the math troubled).

Honestly I don't know why I have more then you other then it was one of the listed perks when I signed up...take a look at this link, maybe you have more then you think?

https://www143.americanexpress.com/c...ompairfareprog

Talk to me about the Delta changes...I fly to SLC from NYC about 15 times a year, so I am also a Delta loyalist. Are they increasing the required miles for silver status?

[Beder]

Well I stand corrected. For Delta Silver Medallion you need 25K miles in a calendar year.
I booked my flight to Santiago inside of 50 days before departure. For a seat up front 250,000 miles!! Jesus. Last year a first class seat LAX-London was 100k miles on Virgin, a Delta partner.
I don't know where things are headed with FF miles, but if you have a shit-load of them I would think about using em soon.

[skiguide]

This will really make you crazy...I used to have a second card in my girlfriends name...and we had four companions each...for a total of eight (for the math troubled).

Honestly I don't know why I have more then you other then it was one of the listed perks when I signed up...take a look at this link, maybe you have more then you think?

https://www143.americanexpress.com/c...ompairfareprog

Talk to me about the Delta changes...I fly to SLC from NYC about 15 times a year, so I am also a Delta loyalist. Are they increasing the required miles for silver status?

hm.. you never know, sometimes they just do different promotions.. however, it definitely seems like anyone w/ a platinum card could use that link you just sent over - the int'l one said there's no limit on companion tix through the end of the year!


we have not merged our AMEX accounts since we got married, so I'd assume we could work that up to 4x number if we really wanted to.. but then again we have little travel plans in the very near future...

I don't believe the Delta changes are for medallion levels right now - just the amount of miles you spend per trip.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/pro...730&id=8962320

As for Delta's SkyMiles tier structure, the current system allows 25,000 SkyMiles or 50,000 Skymiles to be used to get a reward ticket in coach for a domestic roundtrip flight, excluding travel to Hawaii. The new system will allow 25,000, 40,000 or 60,000 SkyMiles to be used for roundtrip flights.

Using 60,000 SkyMiles would guarantee a passenger a reward ticket if a coach seat is available on a domestic flight, excluding travel to Hawaii. A first-class domestic roundtrip ticket, excluding Hawaii travel, will cost 100,000 SkyMiles for the last available seat.

the USair one is affecting bonus mileage in their elite tiers.

5B - i know some other people have advised using miles particularly in case of mergers - who knows what will happen to the delta ones..

but yea, if you are going to buy a long haul first class tix, it's gonna eat up miles really fast.. but I thought Virgin was onlly for Delta mile accrual only? I didn't think you could use Delta miles to buy on virgin... but i haven't needed to look into that yet.

[Buzzworthy]

Well I stand corrected. For Delta Silver Medallion you need 25K miles in a calendar year.

I never checked before, but by Sept I will be Silver with Delta then with upcoming trips.
I am pretty loyal to Delta as well here in SLC. Plus I can get better rates these days on Delta than even SW. Least on the last 3 trips.

Cool, thanks for the info. Learn something new everyday.

[djc]

hm.. you never know, sometimes they just do different promotions.. however, it definitely seems like anyone w/ a platinum card could use that link you just sent over - the int'l one said there's no limit on companion tix through the end of the year!


we have not merged our AMEX accounts since we got married, so I'd assume we could work that up to 4x number if we really wanted to.. but then again we have little travel plans in the very near future...

I don't believe the Delta changes are for medallion levels right now - just the amount of miles you spend per trip.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/pro...730&id=8962320

the USair one is affecting bonus mileage in their elite tiers.

5B - i know some other people have advised using miles particularly in case of mergers - who knows what will happen to the delta ones..

but yea, if you are going to buy a long haul first class tix, it's gonna eat up miles really fast.. but I thought Virgin was onlly for Delta mile accrual only? I didn't think you could use Delta miles to buy on virgin... but i haven't needed to look into that yet.

Thanks for the Delta miles info...given everything going up and up in cost, it does not appear that the changes are too bad.

As for AMEX Platinum, my understanding is that I get 4 domestic coach companions per year and unlimited international business class companions each year. The price of an international business class is totally prohibitive though. Give them a call...I bet you have more domestic companions then you think.

[Beder]

5B - i know some other people have advised using miles particularly in case of mergers - who knows what will happen to the delta ones..

but yea, if you are going to buy a long haul first class tix, it's gonna eat up miles really fast.. but I thought Virgin was onlly for Delta mile accrual only? I didn't think you could use Delta miles to buy on virgin... but i haven't needed to look into that yet.

Pretty sure Virgin/Delta are no longer partnered, but they definitely were. Thinking back on it I believe I used amex points last year on Virgin, not Delta miles. I have transfered amex points so many times I can't keep remember them all.

[skier666]

upallnight - yeah, I forgot to add that to actually 'earn' a status, your ass must be on the plane. On United, if you come within a certain amount of miles close to 50K, you can actually 'buy' your way to the next status level. By having the credit card from the airline, you earn miles per dollar, not towards status, but used for upgrades, free tickets. Because of this, my wife and I fly first class almost every flight....and the higher the status, the more likely you can upgrade

Also, the easiest way to earn status is to take a long international flight on a domestic carrier or a code-share airline. A single round trip ticket to NZ earns a shitload of miles.

Another thing, if you are Premier Executive on United, you gain access to access to many Red Carpet/Club rooms when flying internationally. I've seen some of them with nice showers, free meals (not just crackers and cheese), and room to relax to plug into your laptop, etc.

The biggest postive to me is the extra piece of luggage and increased weight allowance. You can relax when packing and not try to 'tetris' all your ski gear into few bags.

[GrizzlyFD]

Thanks for the Delta miles info...given everything going up and up in cost, it does not appear that the changes are too bad.

As for AMEX Platinum, my understanding is that I get 4 domestic coach companions per year and unlimited international business class companions each year. The price of an international business class is totally prohibitive though. Give them a call...I bet you have more domestic companions then you think.

Oh ok...now I get it. You have the AMEX Platinum card. I was talking about the AMEX Delta Skymiles Platinum Card. This is a big difference. The Delta skymiles cards (standard, gold, and platinum) earn miles directly on your Delta skymiles account, and any benefits (companion tickets, etc...) go through Delta. The annual fee is $135 for platinum, $85 for gold (or something like that).

On the AMEX Platinum card, all points go through AMEX and any benefits are AMEX benefits (companion tickets, etc..). That's how you get 4 comp tickets. The main drawback is the $450 annual charge. plus $175 for 3 additional cards. So unless you use the benefits often it's not going to pay.

[djc]

Oh ok...now I get it. You have the AMEX Platinum card. I was talking about the AMEX Delta Skymiles Platinum Card. This is a big difference. The Delta skymiles cards (standard, gold, and platinum) earn miles directly on your Delta skymiles account, and any benefits (companion tickets, etc...) go through Delta. The annual fee is $135 for platinum, $85 for gold (or something like that).

On the AMEX Platinum card, all points go through AMEX and any benefits are AMEX benefits (companion tickets, etc..). That's how you get 4 comp tickets. The main drawback is the $450 annual charge. plus $175 for 3 additional cards. So unless you use the benefits often it's not going to pay.

Yup. That is correct. If I don't use at least two companions I don't break even.

[Toadman]

Even with all these fees, fare increases, surcharges, and cut backs, the airlines still can't make a dime. The charges now to redeem an award ticket as well as the increase in mileage redemption levels is just icing on the cake.

[Jonathan S.]

With all the airline bashing, I’ll put in a positive word for . . . Southwest.
I vaguely recall that when I flew some short California segments with them way back in the early 90s, they were low-cost but also low in pretty every other imaginable aspect (and some aspects that I didn’t even think were imaginable, like boarding).
But I flew SW recently for this trip:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...d.php?t=128009
. . . because I bought up some SW credit here:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...d.php?t=124725
[many thx again to “phatskis”!]
I was prepared for the worst, but instead it was the best service I’ve had from any airline in years:
- out of the four segments, two arrived on time, one arrived early (and not just landed early, but the gate was also available early), and one took off something like an hour late yet arrived only about 20 minutes late
- bag allowance is still TWO bags free
- on the return, both my bags at PDX were a couple pounds over, and the counter agent clearly saw that, but didn’t bother saying anything
- still lots of freebie snacks on the plane, and they’re even low in fat too (which given that they’re derivatives of junk food like Oreos, is almost kind of disturbingly puzzling)
Only downside is that for a couple or family wanting to sit together, the lack of preassigned seating would necessitate checking in early so as to get a choice of adjacent seats.
Overall, either Southwest has improved over the years or instead just stayed the same while all the other major carriers have worsened.

[Tye 1on]

Just booked a short flight on Allegiant, Idaho Falls to Vegas RT. $53 in airfare, $37 in fees, including an $11.50 'convenience fee', for booking on-line, that smells a lot like Ticketmaster. Checked bags are $15/segment in advance, $25 if at the airport. Picking a seat is $12/segment.

Still, $104 roundtrip including door to door shuttle [$14] ain't bad...

[Bite Me]

Just for fun I called the AMEX Platinum line to see about going to SLC in February.

Sure you get 4 companions, however there are no direct flights available using this method (although Delta alone has 4 / day), and for the trip from hell, leaving LGA at o'dark thirty and spending 4 hours in Dallas on American, you can get a ticket for "only" $497.

The way back is even worse, taking about 15 hours to get from SLC to NYC.

Delta's non-stop is $359, so OK, it's about $200 more (for 2), but if you use the AMEX /American route you lose a day out and a day back, whereas Delta (JFK -7am, arrive 10:15, depart SLC 4:55, arrive NYC 11pm), you get over a half day on the way out, and the majority of the day on the way back. No brainer for $200.

Delta's mile awards are all over the lot, ranging from 25,000 miles (freaking unlikely) to 65,000 miles. I just booked for me and the kids, and had to use 50,000 miles each.