Major Delta SkyBonus Program Changes

Delta did what Delta does.

Wowza.

I'm feeling grateful for the AA Business Extra program, which includes redemptions with BA/JL/IB.

Will keep a close eye, in case I need to redeem points for certificates in case AA follows DL's lead...but probs not, as those oneworld airlines closely coordinate the program rewards.

As a SkyBonus user, I really don't mind. I've (luckily) been able to redeem first class certificates several times on domestic routes that I never could before (like out of Vail EGE) - although at times one segment would be Comfort at the First Class certs have better Comfort availability than Comfort certs... but I'm saving thousands. Plus the Sky Club membership is great. So the upside has been better availability. For international, I'd rather fly other airlines (like Virgin), so I'm not disappointed by the elimination of international routes. The $/point ratio wasn't always great (as well as routing availability) for international.

I just lost over $8,000 worth of value on my 1.5m points. Two D1 certs are worth $6-7k each. They are now worth $5k in e-credit. How anyone can think this is positive in any way is baffling to me.

Delta doesn't seem to be much of a long-haul international airline anymore, either. When looking at how to use my Diamond Medallion Global Update Certificates (also devalued) I was surprised to see how few long-haul routes are operating. Their current international network seems to compete more with JetBlue, Southwests and Spirit than American and United, and pre-pandemic they had already forfeited so much of Northwest's Asia position.

My SkyBonus history is having an old account that they keep expiring points each year for me not meeting the spend criteria across travelers. Membership creates this annoying personal or business travel selection screen each time you log in to delta.com that I've been meaning for a couple years to see if I can get rid of that screen by getting out of SkyBonus.

Delta - the perfect way to transport cattle...with UA and AA in suit

These changes have been devastating. For many years we have used the 180,000 points North America to Asia redemption award. Nothing anywhere near that value remains.

Making this change without notice is an embarrassment to Delta. Our company's trust has been betrayed.

"We’re always looking for ways to enhance experiences..."

At long last, truth.

Delta is joining the long line of airlines wanting to reduce rewards.

That's their right.

So is mine never to fly Delta EVER again.

That's my right.

Die happy, Delta. You brought this on yourself. May your cheap ass collapse upon itself. None of us will cry for you. File for bankruptcy now and save anyone the trouble of giving a hoot when you'll file.

You're already eating your own tail.

Buh bye.

They can do this because of the lack of competition in their main hubs (ATL/MSP/DRW, etc). I live in one of them, and while I definitely benefit from the non-stop options, the major downside is the lack of competition.

It’s this lack of competition in the fortress hubs that gives them confidence to change benefits like this, without worrying too much. Will any of the people impacted negatively switch from Delta to UA or AA? Maybe if you live in LA or NYC, but realistically, I’m guessing no.

this is a huge downgrade for this program. we spent 575k skybonus points on a delta one round trip ATL to LHR in february. total 1,150,000 points for two tickets. With The program changes this same itinerary would have cost 6,000,000 points this week (I just checked and flights are now $10K round trip each). ...over 4x more points now required for same itinerary!

I am only a few points short of an international reward and the fact that I was not notified is a big deal. Me and some members of the team are starting to travel again in earnest and I think I will switch my loyalty to United and their small business program. Very disappointed in Delta for the lack of transparency and taking away and award right when I was on the cusp of it.

I had saved up enough points for a delta One International certificate, and when I went to order it, it was no longer there. Very disappointing.