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Delta and Southwest Change Their Frequent Flier Programs
Both Delta Airlines and Southwest Airlines recently announced changes to their frequent flier programs, aimed at getting a bigger share of business travelers and trying to compete with United Airline’s program.
Delta Air Lines announced yesterday that SkyMiles, their frequent flier mileage currency, no longer expire. Up until now, SkyMiles expired after 24 months of account inactivity. But starting on Jan. 1 of this year, SkyMiles no longer expire, regardless of account activity.
Delta’s announcement comes on the heels of major changes to the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards program. Rapid Rewards were always given regardless of the flight length, one credit per flight. When the traveler earned 16 credits, Southwest Airlines issued a free flight certificate. With the new system, travelers earn points based on the cost of the ticket, with bonuses given for elite members and full fare tickets. Plus, the amount of points needed to earn a free ticket depends on the cost of the ticket. And in even better news, the points don’t expire if you have any activity in the previous 24 months. With their old system, points expired after 24 months regardless.
The changes to both Delta and Southwest are probably good news for travelers, but it still isn’t the easiest trick in the world to redeem your miles. Hopefully that will improve, too.