Change to Delta ticketing and mileage--basic economy

is there any description for what the link says?

If you buy the cheapest economy ticket your miles won’t count towards your status or frequent flyer awards.

That may be new for Delta but that policy has been around with other airlines ff programs for a few years. I think that has been true for United for a couple of years.

I fly Delta almost exclusively, and have never been tempted to buy basic economy for two simple reasons. I like to pick my seats for one, and since I still have medallion status from business travel, and a premium Delta AMEX, choosing basic forfeits any benefits like extra baggage allowances and upgrades. This just adds one more factor to justifying choosing Main Cabin.

I honestly would never buy basic economy for international travel. Middle seat back of the plane for that long... NO!

I don't book until I have looked at a seat map to make sure I can get a seat I am happy with... if I can't I book another flight!

This change didn't cause me any great distress. I accumulate more miles by means other than actual travel. Plus, the change a while back to basing mileage accrual on dollars paid over actual miles really decreased my travel mileage accrual dramatically. My husband commented we didn't get many miles from our trip to Poland. True, because I got a great deal on the tickets.

I too, can't imagine many scenarios that I would choose basic economy for international travel. I have picked basic economy when flying domestically alone. I can't remember a time that I haven't been able to avoid a middle seat. I usually get my preferred window, a few times I resorted to aisle. Also, sometimes, that is sometimes, the basic economy travelers ends up with ideal seats like exit row, because those are assigned at the last minute. My hint there is, be nice. Still, if the seat is important to me, I don't buy basic economy.

I will clarify, a AMEX card holder does still get a free checked bag with basic economy unless that just changed as well. I rarely check luggage, anyway, unless going to visit family, and I'm transporting things or treats to them.

I see a few things with this change. Obviously, most important to Delta is their frequent, business traveler. However, there are people like me who are retired and now do not need to be tied to a nonstop itinerary. I have a whole lot more flexibility now. I am more willing to look at flying other airlines, and I do like Icelandair. The slower I accrue the Delta miles the more likely I am to fly other airlines.

The business traveler has a fairly inelastic demand for their travel, they don't have a lot of choice. But the folks that are buying basic economy probably have a much more elastic demand, meaning if pricing and other air travel factors are an issue, they'll just choose to not fly, when possible, or they'll skip the trip or when possible use alternative travel means.

There could be issues with a lot of "undesirable" empty seats, if the travelers that do pick basic economy for budget reasons choose to not fly. I remember a phone conversation with a ticket agent once telling me that they had an awful lot of empty middle seats that no one would buy.

I travel more than anyone I know, for someone that is not traveling for business reasons, and we'll do even more going forward. Certainly, Delta cares more about a business traveler than me, but I do give a lot of business to Delta.

More and more we are thinking of dropping our Delta AMEXs and going to something like Capital One. This is just one more factor, though minor to me, that could push me more in that direction.