Delta toughens rules for 'elite' club By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY The USA's No. 3 airline is braving the ire of some very frequent fliers by= =20 raising the bar for the perk-rich top tiers of its SkyMiles' program. Under= =20 revisions that took effect Jan. 1, Delta Air Lines customers are going to=20 have a harder time qualifying for the Delta silver, gold or platinum=20 Medallion levels in 2004 if they buy lots of deep-discount tickets this=20 year. But they can qualify faster if they buy more full-fare tickets. Under= =20 Delta's new rules, only 50% of the miles flown on deeply discounted coach=20 seats count toward achieving or retaining elite status next year, instead=20 of all of the miles. The penalty is coupled with inducements to buy more=20 expensive tickets: a 50% mileage bonus for full-fare coach and double=20 credit for business- or first-class passengers. Delta also discontinued the practice of counting flight segments =97 a=20 benefit for people who make many short flights =97 toward top-tier status. The changes do not affect credit earned toward SkyMiles award travel.=20 Delta's new formula is believed to mark the first time in the 21-year=20 history of frequent-flier miles that a major U.S. airline has so decisively= =20 linked a customer's status and perks with revenue generated. Reaction has=20 been strong: "The changes to the Delta program are devastating," says=20 Walter Schild, CEO of a software company in Los Angeles and a Delta=20 million-miler. "This is the biggest devaluation of benefits I've personally= =20 ever seen." Chris McGinnis, editor of The Ticket newsletter in Atlanta,=20 where Delta is based, says he has seen an overwhelmingly negative reaction= =20 to the changes. "Of all the stuff Delta has done, this one has received the= =20 largest response," he says. Fliers "are extremely angry about it."=20 Frequent-flier mile guru Randy Petersen, publisher of InsideFlyer, says=20 "99.9%" of Delta's top passengers are against it. Fliers still need 25,000= =20 miles a year to qualify for the lowest silver Medallion level, 50,000 for=20 gold and 100,000 for platinum. Non-flying bonus miles earned from partners= =20 such as hotels, rental cars and credit cards count toward free trips but=20 generally not toward elite status. Ttravelers say the perks that come with elite status make qualifying worth= =20 the hassle. They get goodies such as pre-boarding privileges, seating class= =20 upgrades and sometimes even complimentary airport club memberships. Airline= =20 spokesman John Kennedy says the changes are aimed at making sure passengers= =20 who spend more on tickets are properly rewarded. "We've done this very,=20 very carefully," he says. It's expected that as many people will gain entry= =20 to Medallion levels as will be excluded from them, Kennedy says. Fewer than= =20 1 million of Delta's 32 million frequent fliers are Medallion members.=20 Bigger Delta competitors, such as Northwest and Continental, have recently= =20 added extra inducements to attract elites. Some Delta fliers may already be= =20 defecting. AirTran Airways, a rival discount carrier with its hub in=20 Atlanta, believes it is luring some disgruntled Delta frequent fliers,=20 spokesman Tad Hutcheson says. Calling Delta's move "outright arrogance,"=20 David Lorenz, an advertising director from Acworth, Ga., says, "I am giving= =20 serious thought to changing airlines even though I fly in and out of= Atlanta." Some customers say they think they'll benefit from the changes. Atlanta=20 advertising executive Karen Boor says the changes may make more first-class= =20 seats available for purchase. Many now are given to fliers who use seat=20 upgrades. David Warkoski, who lives near Atlanta, says he's "elated" with=20 the changes: "I have met so many platinum fliers on Delta who achieve=20 status by flying a minimum of real trips, connecting through Atlanta on=20 dirt cheap fares. The new system rewards those who pay the most." *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: www.pichemas.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************