Delta Increases Credit Card Fees

I agree, Jeff. Bye Delta!

Somebody has to pay for these perks.

I am seeing more and more merchants adding a 2% surcharge when a credit card is used.

Time to switch to another airline.

My notice was $250 to $350. Will rethink it for sure.

I just got that email also. Sigh. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I hate this.

@Mardee I don't usually send strongly-worded emails, but I took them up on their offer at the bottom of the email to "share [my] impressions" with their team. Maybe if they get enough pushback . . . well, who knows.

$200 Delta flight credit after spending $10,000 annually for a $150 annual fee. You could just get a flat 2% cash back card and get that $200 with no annual fee.

Edit: This year I'm using a card that's giving me 5% cash back on grocery stores and gas stations for 12 months, no annual fee, plus a $200 bonus. I'll just hoard the points and "pay myself back" in a lump sum once I buy plane tickets early next year. It's my way of getting a discount flight.

Me too......Bye Delta

Yikes, the Reserve card is now up to $650/yr.

I will still fly Delta, just works out better 90% of the time, but I was already card shopping. Will likely downgrade to keep free bags, keep miles from expiring, and a few other perks, but with retirement and changes to their Medallion program, I doubt I will have status for long.

I could look at AA or United more, but from where I am at, that means transiting through Ohare or in conjunction with several nightmare airports. Delta is just so nice to use MSP, DTW, or ATL.

I also just sent an email reply and will reconsider keeping the card. Which is unfortunate, since we fly Delta mostly. Free checked bags is great - the few times I check a bag. But it's the only card I have that charges a fee. And fewer merchants take Amex these days (because of the higher fees).

I just closed mine. I kept it for the free bags but I don't have anything scheduled this year where that will be an advantage. If history is any indication I will get an offer in 2 years to reopen it for a new sign up bonus.

In general these types of cards are not as good as a straight rebate card.

Mine is up for renewal in Sept... that's probably the end of it. The Capital 1 and my hotel cards are a better combination.

To top it off, "This adjustment allows us to give you even more benefits and continue delivering the elevated experiences you expect"!

Don't. Just don't insult my intelligence.

@Mardee I don't usually send strongly-worded emails, but I took them up on their offer at the bottom of the email to "share [my] impressions" with their team. Maybe if they get enough pushback . . . well, who knows.

Jeff, good point. I will send back a response and see what happens.

I left a recent review after my flight from RSW to MSP, which is something I hardly ever do. But I wanted to let them know how much I appreciated the generous sized seats on that particular aircraft in Main Cabin. I even mentioned that I frequent a travel forum and that many people on the forum discuss the seat sizes of the various aircraft, and that it is a consideration when booking tickets.

I'm curious about the $100 Delta Stays credit - the primary requirement is that the booking is paid upfront. If the credit is $100 off the top, and not a small percentage of the purchase, it could pay for the annual increase.

The hotels I'm looking at in Poland are available, so I may give it a try.

And to be clear, it's Amex that's increasing the fee, and not the airline [although they are complicit].

I’m with Mary. I have no annual fee cards that provide at a minimum 1.75% cash back and up to 4.5%. Since most of my bills are on auto-pay I easily earn enough for a free flight each year.

Oh, and I pay cash at the mom and pop stores so they don’t get charged by the cc companies.

I’ve been flying on Delta, my usual choice, for the past three days. I was disappointed to see this email, also. We don’t check luggage, so that isn’t a perk for us. And our normal credit card we use gives us a good cash back comparatively, so I will probably drop the Delta card.

Got the email. I'm cancelling. I will send email regarding insulting my intelligence with their "improved" benefits.

I’ve always thought it was unusual that Delta’s c card was with AMEX. Any idea why that? That’s the one card most likely to be not accepted by merchants even though it doesn’t happen a lot I guess. When I worked retail we were told to always take MC or Visa if given a choice.

We use the Alaska Airlines Visa card, daughter and family in Fairbanks, and we usually can use miles for our flights. Glad they didn’t go with Amex.

Delta’s credit card is with AMEX because when Delta was close to bankruptcy several years ago, AMEX wrote a very very very large check. Delta now a lot of. revenue from AMEX - possibly more than from flying flights.😂

"In terms of revenue, Delta is projected to amass nearly $7 billion from American Express this year, encompassing the sale of miles, ancillary services, and brand fees, with a long-term target of $10 billion.
This figure is nearly on par with the revenue generated by the airline from transporting passengers in 2022."

https://aviationa2z.com/index.php/2023/11/14/delta-credit-card-revenue-now-matches-profits-from-passenger-travel/

Thanks Carol, that IS interesting. I missed that story but see why you being in Atlanta would know it. They are pretty big employers in your area, right? American is the big airline here in the DFW area. It always comes down to money doesn’t it. I just flew Alaska A to Fairbanks and back and the flight attendants always pitch signing up for their credit card. I’ve never heard it on an American flight.

Delta’s credit card is with AMEX because when Delta was close to bankruptcy several years ago, AMEX wrote a very very very large check. Delta now a lot of. revenue from AMEX - possibly more than from flying flights.

Actually, that's not correct. AMEX and Delta's relationship goes back a very long time and is based on a lot of things. I've had my AMEX Delta card since 1997 and Delta didn't declare bankruptcy till the mid-2000's.

Here's an article, Lyndash, that explains it a bit.
https://apnews.com/article/american-express-amex-delta-credit-card-skymiles-1fe9e3a78b7cb52b09cfa234db2c77f9

I’ve never heard it on an American flight.

Consider yourself incredibly lucky to have missed out on all the fun :-)

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-airlines-aadvantage/2111971-credit-card-announcement-madness.html

Maybe crying before being hurt? I just reduced my net annual Amex Skymiles fee to $50 by taking advantage of the new Delta Stays offer - I prepaid a stay at Hotel Admiral in Gdansk through Delta Stays and was just notified that I received my $100 statement credit:

As part of your Card benefits, you’ve earned a $100.00 Delta Stays statement credit after using your Delta SkyMiles® Gold Card to purchase an eligible prepaid hotel or vacation rental booking through Delta Stays on delta.com.

Please no lectures on pre-paying vs. cancellable reservations, using Expedia [which is the Delta Stays booking engine] rather than booking with the hotel directly, etc. I'll happily take the $100 credit.

Yes I know Amex is giving us "credit" for booking via their engine.

Hmm.... that means I lose my credit with the hotel chain and the points for that stay. Since my "free" hotel rooms are generally worth more than $100 the credit was worthless to me.

Plus most of the small hotels I stay at in Europe don't want to take Amex (can't imagine why, the fees are only a LOT higher LOL!)