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A post on Reddit has quite a few Delta flyers rattled as it reports on a rumored change to Sky Club® access policies coming in the near future. According to the poster, only buying a Sky Club® membership will guarantee entry.
According to @leakingtruth:
Prolly not exciting news, but there is a huge change coming to Amex delta cards and Plat cards in terms of lounge access.
Delta will be restricting access to Delta Plat cards, and Delta Reserve cards will still have access but greatly restricted starting on 2024-2025. Platinum card holders will also be restricted from Delta Sky Clubs and will have only up to 6 complimentary access per year.”
What Are the Rumored Changes?
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve cardholders would be limited to ten Sky Club® visits per year (unless they spend over $75,000 on the card each year). This is in similar to the guest policy that was instituted on The Platinum Card® from American Express. Cardholders are not allowed to bring in guests for free unless they reach that spend threshold.
- Those with The Platinum Card® from American Express will be limited to six visits a year and they will not be able to buy guest passes.
- Annual fees will be increased and these announcements are rumored for October/November.
Do I Think This is Legit?
The contract between American Express and Delta Air Lines is valued around $7 billion this year alone (in 2019, the two signed a 10-year agreement). The contract includes complimentary access to Sky Clubs® and Centurion Lounges, Delta being a transfer partner for Membership Rewards, and Delta accepting American Express cards as a preferred payment method.
I think the contract will prohibit some of these changes from happening. American Express and Delta push both the co-branded cards and The Platinum Card heavily. If they were to neuter the lounge benefits to this level, they would lose a lot of cardmembers.
Anthony’s Take: We’ll see if these rumored changes become reality. If they were to happen, I would think about dropping my Platinum Card as the lounge access is one of the most valuable benefits for me. Stay tuned for more.
(H/T: Eye of the Flyer.)
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3 comments
If this restictive policy also includes resticting parter passenger even more ( as it is Flying Blue elites can’t enter on domestic trips) hopefully the same “courtesy “ is extended to Delta members outside of US so non-Delta lounges are swamped by entitled DL-elites.
As a Reserve cardholder, and Delta Diamond member with 2-3 roundtrips per month, I have this card specifically for the SkyClub benefits. If they were to restrict access, I would cancel my card immediately, or at the very least, after I hit the max 10 visits in a year. I have to think I wouldn’t be alone in making a decision like that.
Hmm… if this is true, does this sound like a good time to drop the Amex Platinum and reupgrade the CSP to the CSR when your home airport has both a Delta Skyclub and Chase Sapphire lounge?