The Top Four Delta Awards You Need to Fly Before It’s Too Late

Note that this post was almost posted yesterday before news broke that Delta is moving to a revenue-based frequent flyer program--at least on the earning side. This post discusses flying before Delta's June 1 devaluation to its award chart, but can also be read as a general plea to burn Delta miles before January 1, 2015 when more changes are coming.

Delta's upcoming June 1 devaluation is a little different than United's was.

Delta SkyMiles Earning Will Be Revenue-Based in 2015 (The Sky is Not Falling!)

Earning Delta miles will be revenue-based starting January 1, 2015. Instead of earning miles based on the distance of your ticket, you will earn based on the price you paid.

 

Though earning miles is changing drastically for Delta flyers, redeeming them might not change so drastically.

What do we know so far and what do we still not know?

I stumbled on this change while researching the Delta award chart for another post. The new change is being teased there. I've supplemented that information with information from this Wall Street Journal article.

The Two Best Ways to Get a Couple to Asia with Miles

Yesterday I posted "Not April Fools: Delta Has the Best Award Space to Asia I’ve Ever Seen."

I showed screen shots of how incredibly available--every day for months--Saver award space was on Delta flights from the west coast to Asia.

Not April Fools: Delta Has the Best Award Space to Asia I’ve Ever Seen

Update 1/16/14 at 1:59 PM Hawaiian time: All the calendars shown are for one-passenger searches. There is almost no space for two passengers on the same cabin on the same flight.

Delta infamously offers the least Saver award space of any US-based airline.

Work Arounds to Delta’s Recent SkyClub Devaluation

Per the email below that I received late last week and this FlyerTalk thread, Delta has just announced some dreaded SkyClub "enhancements."

As of May 1st, The Platinum Card® from American Express cardholders will no longer be granted complimentary guest access. Previously the cardholder and up to two guests would be allowed admission to Delta SkyClubs provided they were flying Delta the same day.

How to Put a Delta Award on Hold

Buried in Delta's major award chart devaluation last year was a second piece of bad news: Delta awards could no longer be put on hold under any circumstances.

But there had to be a way, I thought.

Predictions for Major Changes to Loyalty Programs in 2014

2013 was a year of several major devaluation announcements including:

United (kicks in February 1, 2014)
Southwest (kicks in March 31, 2014)
Delta (already kicked in on current award bookings for travel that starts February 1, 2014 or later)
Hyatt (kicks in January 7, 2014)
Ultimate Rewards (with three major transfer partners devaluing--United, Southwest, and Hyatt--the program took a major hit through no fault of its own)

But the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Burn Delta Miles Now: Easy and Great Awards for Early 2014

Delta miles, an already low value type of miles, are being devalued further in 2014. The current award chart is only for flights flown by January 31, 2014. There is a separate chart for flights flown February 1 - May 31, 2014, and a third chart for flights flown from June 1, 2014 on.

For full details, see Delta’s Double Devaluation (Devalues its Devaluation) with No Notice.

The big changes are for business class awards.

Comparison Table of United, US Airways, Delta, and American Airlines Award Charts

United and Delta have devalued their charts in the last few months, but American and US Airways, which close their merger tomorrow, have not devalued theirs recently.

I have made my own tables comparing the economy, business, and first class award prices on each of the big four US-based airlines' worst announced award chart.

For United, that is the chart for awards BOOKED February 1, 2014 and later. For Delta, that is the chart for awards FLOWN June 1, 2014 or later.

Check to See If You’re Targeted for 50,000 Bonus Miles from the Gold Delta SkyMiles Card

Long time reader Les forwarded me his targeted offer for a Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express: 50,000 bonus miles after spending $1k in three months.

The normal offer is only 30k bonus miles after $1k in spending in the first three months, so this is a substantially better offer.

There are two ways to know you are targeted for the higher 50k offer.