Delta ties frequent-flier plan to airfare

[CarbonMan]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel...flier/5815425/

In what marks a fundamental shift to its frequent-flier program, Delta will become the first major network carrier in the U.S. to have passengers earn award miles based on the fare they pay, rather than how far they fly.

Starting today, members of Delta's SkyMiles program who book a trip taking place after Dec. 31 will accumulate miles under the new model.

No longer will a flier who pays the cheapest fare in coach be able to earn the same number of miles as a fellow passenger who purchased a perch in business class. Instead, the flier who spends more for a first-class seat or perhaps a last-minute business trek will also earn more.

Will this happen to KF?

[Savage25]

Ah, time to get some popcorn and watch the drama on the FT Skymiles forum.

[CarbonMan]

Ah, time to get some popcorn and watch the drama on the FT Skymiles forum.

LOL. 335 posts in less than 18 hours. Enough stats on mileage calculations in the posts to allow one to graduate with an actuarial or mathematics degree.

Frankly this makes sense for a for-profit airline. Just as how SQ applied PPS qualification to airfare spent, though SQ stopped short of apply it also to KF Gold and Silver. Not popular of course, but it makes sense financially to value FF miles to dollar spent.

Please don't nail me to the wall ...

[scooby5]

Isn't this the same as offering different levels of KF miles for different airfares already? At different prices we already either earn No Miles, 10%, 50% and 100%....or something like that, with 125% in Business.

Personally the 125% in Business is a bit mean compared to the 4-6x increase in airfare over Y.

[MAN Flyer]

Personally the 125% in Business is a bit mean compared to the 4-6x increase in airfare over Y.

Indeed, nearly as much of a p*ss take as the hilarious 10% extra they used to offer for flying in the Class beyond First.....

[SQ22]

Following Delta's decision to tie miles to spending, an article has appeared in New York Times on frequent flyer programmes and their relevance in today's world. It does make one think why so many of us are still clinging on to them. That's not to say that I'm pulling out anytime soon though. I still want my award flights.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/01/yo...-programs.html

[StarG]

What was not yet mentioned here is that the MQD rule applies only for US-based members.

[HUGE AL]

This bonehead idea has been in the works for quite some time. It's not like we haven't seen DL as being one of the worst programs on the planet. Redeeming miles on them makes KE's hurdles look much more pleasant.

[stargold]

What was not yet mentioned here is that the MQD rule applies only for US-based members.

But the MQD, which is related to elite status, is quite different from the latest development which is that redeemable points are now entirely based on spend rather than distance travelled.

So, a $700 NYC-SIN r/t will no longer earn more miles than a $1000 JFK-SFO. Under the new rules, the latter will earn 50% more miles than the former, whereas under the existing system the former might have earned 4x more than the latter.

[StarG]

But the MQD, which is related to elite status, is quite different from the latest development which is that redeemable points are now entirely based on spend rather than distance travelled.

So, a $700 NYC-SIN r/t will no longer earn more miles than a $1000 JFK-SFO. Under the new rules, the latter will earn 50% more miles than the former, whereas under the existing system the former might have earned 4x more than the latter.

Ah okay. Thanks for clarifying.

[cscs1956]

But the MQD, which is related to elite status, is quite different from the latest development which is that redeemable points are now entirely based on spend rather than distance travelled.

So, a $700 NYC-SIN r/t will no longer earn more miles than a $1000 JFK-SFO. Under the new rules, the latter will earn 50% more miles than the former, whereas under the existing system the former might have earned 4x more than the latter.

In fact, this is a right move, Clearly in the case you mention, airlines make more money from the JFK-SFO r/t vs NYC-SIN and hence more miles in return.

Todays, many corporate also stop one from earning miles to personal account if the ticket in paid by corporate for business trip.

[stargold]

Todays, many corporate also stop one from earning miles to personal account if the ticket in paid by corporate for business trip.

"Many corporate"? The only examples I've ever heard about were some educational institutions or government organisations. I don't think there will be much of a market for FFPs, especially such as PPS which is bound to heavily rely on corporate travel, if "many corporates" do not allow earning miles to personal account.

What are you suggesting happens, then? Do these travellers supposedly affected with this restriction simply leave their FFP field blank?

[cscs1956]

"Many corporate"? The only examples I've ever heard about were some educational institutions or government organisations. I don't think there will be much of a market for FFPs, especially such as PPS which is bound to heavily rely on corporate travel, if "many corporates" do not allow earning miles to personal account.

What are you suggesting happens, then? Do these travellers supposedly affected with this restriction simply leave their FFP field blank?

FFP field with corporate number and finally direct discount to company. Airlines/travel agent do have this arrangement.

[stargold]

In order to support your statement "many corporate also stop one from earning miles to personal account if the ticket in paid by corporate", such corporate programs needs to actively replace/stop accrual to the personal FFP.

Are there many examples of this?

[FN-GM]

Are there many examples of this?

Of course not!