The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Marketing decision · 2023
Delta made SkyMiles spend-only — then admitted it went too far
Delta raised the price of status and lounge access in September 2023. Weeks of flyer backlash forced a partial rollback.
Delta Air Lines · 2023-10-18
What happened
In September 2023, Delta Air Lines overhauled SkyMiles around spending. Elite status would depend on Medallion Qualifying Dollars, and many American Express cardholders would lose airport lounge access that had made the cards valuable.
The business problem was real: Delta's lounges were crowded after pandemic-era spending doubled Diamond Medallion membership. But the fix treated loyalty as a revenue filter. Frequent flyers saw years of miles and card fees converted into weaker access overnight.
On 28 September, CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC there was 'no question we probably went too far' and promised modifications. On 18 October, Delta kept the spending model but lowered the MQD thresholds and softened lounge limits after the backlash.
The bill was not a booked loss; it was a visible retreat on the airline's premium promise. JetBlue even used the anger to pitch status matching to Delta customers while Delta rewrote its own loyalty rules.
Why it happened
- Delta solved lounge crowding by degrading benefits rather than separating access rules from loyalty status
- The change recast loyalty as annual spending, so long-tenured flyers felt repriced instead of recognised
- American Express card benefits were cut inside an airline programme change, widening the backlash to credit-card customers
- The rollout left the CEO promising revisions before customers had lived under the new rules
The lesson
Loyalty programmes are promises, not just yield tools — if a fix removes the promise, customers treat it as a breach.
Sources
- Delta CEO says carrier went 'too far' in SkyMiles changes — CNBC, September 2023
- Delta Rolls Back Changes to SkyMiles Program — Skift, October 2023
spotted an error? The club wants to know.
More like this
Vans collabs with a brand named Fugazi, fans think it's the band that never sold merch
Nike scheduled a sneaker drop for 7/11 in 7-Eleven's own colours — and got sued for it
Ralph Lauren's $375 printed bandhani skirt drew the backlash its jhumka row warned about
Somewhere, someone solved the problem this company failed at. 2nd Opinion →
Comments · 0
Sign in to join the comments.