Membership doesn’t have its privileges: Passenger dumps Delta after card confusion

Membership has its privileges. Unless you’re Donna Jordan.

Every year since 2001, she’s paid Delta a $134 annual fee for a co-branded American Express Platinum card. The card allowed her to collect Delta miles for each dollar spent and entitled her to a free “companion certificate” on Delta.

Jordan had no problem collecting the miles. But the companion ticket? Not so easy.

When she tried to redeem the certificate for two flights from Portland, Maine, to Orlando, the only flight available had an inconvenient connection and would have cost $865. Or she could pay $329 per ticket for a better connection without cashing in her certificate. That didn’t make any sense to her.

She expressed her frustration in an email to Delta:

I will have to say, my free companion ticket from my Delta Amex was always a bargain in the past. Last year we went from Portland, Maine, to Los Angeles and the tickets were only about $450 each. Now they are literally scamming their customers!

Scam? Well, Delta is still offering something, so that might be too strong a word. But I was curious to see how the airline would respond to her letter. Maybe it would recognize that the certificate wasn’t the deal Jordan was lead to believe it would be when she signed up for the card. Perhaps it would bend a rule or two to make her happy.

And here’s how it responded …

I understand your disappointment in not being able to use the certificate for the schedule you want to be upsetting, and in comparison you found that the fares differ.

By way of explanation and not as an excuse, Delta offers a variety of discounted fares and each one has specific rules and restrictions. We realize that because some of these fares are so deeply discounted, there may be other fares available that are lower than the fares associated with the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card Companion Certificates.

However, we hope you will understand that we are unable to allow two promotions or discounts to be used toward the same ticket, which is why you are unable to use the companion certificate in connection with an Internet promotional fare, or other special discount offer. We regret the certificate does not offer significant savings for your planned trip in June.

I love the line about the answer being “by way of explanation and not as an excuse.” That’s some excellent form-letter writing.

Jordan says she’ll cancel her card.

  • http://suddenlyfrugal.wordpress.com Leah Ingram
  • Carver

    I wouldn’t advise Jordan to necessarily cancel the card. The problem isn’t so much with Delta as its an industry wide problem. The very concept of a companion ticket for leisure travel is itself a sham, regardless of the travel provider. Leisure travelers are directed towards highly discounted but highly restricted tickets. Its fairly rare for a leisure traveler to purchase a domestic ticket above $500 (before taxes and fees). Yet companion tickets are for less restricted tickets which often cost alot more than the regular leisure traveler is accustommed to paying.

    The airline industry would do well to explain these difference better.

  • J. C.

    I don’t think companion tickets are a scam as much as they are filled with restrictions and limited seats at the cheaper prices. Most certificates require you to call an agent for a price and reservation and go to a ticket office or airport desk to be ticketed. So they will not give you a web or promotional price which will be cheaper.

    Carver is correct in that this is industry wide — And a web fare is just that, web only. Delta is not alone in this.

    If the only reason you got the platinum AMX card was for the companion ticket, then this one may not be worth it for you, although you said there were no problems in the past.

    Airline cards can be a good source of miles, so if this is your first problem with the Delta card you might want to reconsider.

    Bottom line. Do what benifits you the most.

  • Jasper

    Paying $134 a year for a card is a sign that your being scammed. There are plenty of credit cards that give you way better benefits than airmiles. And they are free.

  • Stewart Sheinfeld

    just a suggestion to the original poster Don’t cancel your card in todays credit market it could be hard to repalce and could affect your credit rating. Ask AMEX to change you to a different card they offer that has a lower or no fee such as STawood AMEX they will give you a sign up bonus and you can convert the Starpoints to Skymiles at a great exchange rate

  • Sevenseat

    I have to agree with Stewart. Don’t cancel the card, just change the affinity to one that has a much lower annual fee. Personally, I like the HHonors card, as I find the hotel points much easier to use than airline miles.

  • Drew

    Some notes about “changing the affinity” of the card…
    I have a Citi AAdvantage World Mastercard that I have had for years… as I no longer fly on American unless it is absolutely necessary, I asked Citi about changing it to another card type. They told me that their agreement with AA would not allow them to do that–that I would have to apply for another card, but that they could give me a “pre-approval” code to use…

    And one other–I have an AmEx Blue Cash card that I actually thought about converting to one of the Skymiles Elite cards (I’m glad now that I didn’t, since Delta has pulled out of my home airport)… AmEx told me that I could do it, but I wouldn’t get any of the bonuses, because it wasn’t a “new card” account–just a transfer, but YMMV.

  • YouHaveTheWhiniestPeopleOnThisSite

    But it is entertaining.

  • http://elliott.org Jim Lamb

    My Delta Platinum card has served me well.
    At lease once a year for the past several
    years I have travelled around the globe–Business
    Class– on my points. While I have had to work
    the schedule, I have made it pay. The card is worth
    the $!

  • Michael

    I have this same card and used the certificate on a $250 fare from Sea-TPA. And I had a lap-baby. I got three down there and back for $250, even when you add the cost of the yearly fee on the CC I still think this is a deal. Sometimes it does work out in the consumer’s favor.

  • larry bradley

    Delta has also stopped giving double miles for groceries, gas, drug stores etc. I agree with “Sevenseat”, the Amex Hilton card has far better benefits with no annual fee. 6 points per dollar spent on groceries, gas, drug stores, etc and 3 points everywhere else. I just used those points for 3 nights at the Hilton owned Doubletree Suites at Times Square on new years eve. Cost for my suite had I paid was $3,694.17 with tax. My cost was ZERO. Unlike so called free airline tickets which add taxes and fees, the free hotel rooms are really free. Also the Starwood Card also issued by Amex earns 1.25 miles per dollar spent as they give you a 5000 mile bonus when you transfer 20,000 miles into any of 25 different airline programs, instead of just one. The cost is only $45 per year after a free first year. Since the miles are held by Starwood until they are transferred, they do not expire.

  • Lee Feinswog

    I, too, felt that frustration of trying to use the companion certificate. Finally I asked American Express if it had a free (no-fees) Delta card. It did, I got it, and I only use it to book Delta flights, nothing else. And I’m never beating my head against the wall trying to use that certificate.

  • Ron in Santa Monica

    I cancelled my AmEx (tied to HIlton) in July 07 after it sent me a replacement card (myinewas stolen in Spain) and, upon its receipt, I called to make sure it was validiated: I was assured it was and when I used it to try to pay my hotel bill, it was refused. AmEx wouldn’t talk with me from Spain. I was fortunate to have friends to loan me the money to continue my trip. By the way, AmEx also refused to cover any losses associated with that theft–camera, cell phone–or vandalism done to my rental–despite the insurance I bought through them. Yes — it was that kind of a trip! But they sure were fond of apologizing.

  • Brian

    I also had a surprise when using my companion certificate last month. I paid a high fare (although not ridiculously high when divided by 2 for the free ticket for my son) in a class eligible for a free upgrade with my Silver Medallion status on Delta. The airport agent told me that the flight had plenty of open seats in first class, amazingly, but that my ticket wasn’t eligible for an upgrade because of the companion certifiicate. I can understand not upgrading the “free” companion ticket, but the full fare (expensive) ticket that otherwise would be eligible should be allowed to upgrade.

  • Tracey Leone

    Same here – I have a SkyMiles Companion Certificate which expires 7/31/12- I have tried to use it over 10 times and the options I am offered are ridiculous in price. I got the Delta Skymiles Reserve card in part because of this certificate but it is really just a ruse. I have tried to use it when there are seats open on a Delta flight but have been told “there are no seats for this certificate” obviously due to the fare class restriction which in posted on the Delta site but not the Amex site. I doubt that anyone ever uses it since one could buy two coach seats for less money and be upgraded to first if a Platinum status flyer. I am very unhappy about this and plan to report it to the Aviation Consumer Protection and Enforcement agency and the Federal Trade Commission since this is part of a credit card offer