Delta Eliminates Award Redemption Fees for Frequent Flyers

PRNewswire-- Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) is eliminating award ticket redemption fees for SkyMiles frequent flyer members. Effective immediately, members will no longer pay fees of up to $150 for award tickets redeemed within 20 days of departure.

Before this change, the fee to book an award ticket for travel within three days was $150 per ticket; for travel within four to seven days the fee was $100; and for travel within eight to 20 days the fee was $75. Award tickets booked 21 days or more before departure continue to have no redemption fee.

"We want members to be able to redeem their miles - whether it's for a last-minute trip or a vacation of a lifetime - and eliminating this fee for our loyal travelers makes doing so significantly easier," said Jeff Robertson, Delta's vice president - SkyMiles. "We are actively listening to customers' concerns about the SkyMiles program and are responding."

Last year, frequent flyers redeemed more than 230 billion miles in the SkyMiles program for more than 11 million award redemptions. In 2009, 8.5 percent of revenue miles flown on Delta were for award travel, among the best of U.S. network airlines according to data filed in airlines' 10-K annual reports. Delta offers more ways to redeem frequent flyer miles than any other airline - including airline tickets, mileage upgrades, car rentals, hotel stays, Delta Sky Club memberships, merchandise and more than 30 types of gift cards.

Today's announcement is the latest in a series of changes Delta is making to improve the frequent flyer experience, including:

-- Introducing a Diamond Medallion tier in March and the industry's first
rollover Medallion Qualification Miles for 2010.
-- Launching a "first checked bag free" benefit - up to a $50 savings per
person on a round-trip ticket - for customers with a Consumer or
Business Gold, Platinum, or Reserve Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from
American Express which began June 1.
-- Increasing the allocation of preferred Economy seats to ensure the
most frequent travelers are guaranteed the best seats on all Delta and
Delta Connection flights by August 2010.
-- Allowing Delta's most loyal customers - Diamond, Platinum and Gold
Medallions - flying on domestic award redemptions to be eligible for
complimentary upgrades by September 2010.
-- Re-engineering the online award calendar at delta.com to make it
easier to find and redeem award seats. These changes began in May and
will be completed by November 2010.


Delta also has changed award ticket redeposit and reissue fees to make them consistent with fees for non-award tickets. These fees, which have increased from $100 to $150, will continue to be waived for SkyMiles Diamond and Platinum Medallion members.

More information on redeeming miles for an award ticket is available at delta.com/awardtravel. For a complete list of Delta's upcoming SkyMiles changes, visit delta.com/whatsahead.

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Delta Introduces New Account-Linking, Mileage-Transfer Capabilities for SkyMiles(R), WorldPerks(R) Members

/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) today announced that Delta SkyMiles and Northwest WorldPerks members now have the ability to link frequent flyer accounts and transfer miles between both accounts at no charge. Members who link their accounts before March 15, 2009 will earn 500 bonus miles.

This new feature allows members who have SkyMiles and WorldPerks accounts to visit delta.com or nwa.com, link their accounts and transfer any amount of miles into either account on an unlimited basis. Both accounts will remain open and functioning until late 2009 when Delta plans to merge the two programs to deliver one best-in-class loyalty program for members in 2010.

"The mileage-transfer feature enables our frequent flyer members to immediately enjoy both SkyMiles and WorldPerks redemption opportunities, including Award Tickets, upgrades, merchandise and experiences. We encourage them to link their accounts today," said Jeff Robertson, Delta's vice president of Loyalty Programs. "This marks yet another step toward aligning the two programs and offering more value to our combined members."

The programs also recently announced that members may earn elite status by flying a designated number of flight segments on either Delta- or Northwest- operated flights. Additionally, SkyMiles and WorldPerks elite members continue to be eligible for complimentary First Class upgrades on both airlines' flights.

More information on the SkyMiles program is available at delta.com/skymiles. WorldPerks program information is available at nwa.com/worldperks.

The award-winning Delta SkyMiles(R) program offers members multiple mileage-earning opportunities when flying Delta, Delta Shuttle(R), the Delta Connection(R) carriers, Delta AirElite(R) and other SkyTeam(R) airlines. Additional mileage-building opportunities are offered through more than 100 partners such as the Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express, participating hotels, car rental companies, the SkyMiles Store, restaurants, SkyMilesShopping.com, floral and gift retailers and more. Now in its 27th year, SkyMiles is one of the longest-running and most successful loyalty programs in the travel industry. It was named "Best Domestic Frequent Flyer program" for 2007 and 2008 by readers of Executive Traveler magazine and "Best Frequent Flyer Program" for 2006 and 2007 by Business Traveler magazine. The program also received top honors for "Best Bonus Promotion" from InsideFlyer magazine at the 2007 Freddie Awards.

Delta Air Lines is the world's largest airline. From its hubs in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita, Delta, its Northwest subsidiary and Delta Connection carriers offer service to 378 destinations in 66 countries and serve more than 170 million passengers each year. Delta's marketing alliances allow customers to earn and redeem either SkyMiles or WorldPerks on more than 16,000 daily flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta's more than 70,000 employees worldwide are reshaping the aviation industry as the only U.S. airline to offer a full global network. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and flight status at delta.com.

* Only SkyMiles and WorldPerks miles can be transferred between accounts. Medallion Qualification Miles (MQM), Medallion Qualification Segments, Elite Qualification Miles (EQM) and Elite Qualification Segments, which are used to qualify for elite status, will not be immediately affected by linking or transferring, but will be combined when linked accounts are merged later this year. Elite status is currently recognized on both Delta and Northwest.

Terms and Conditions

Complimentary upgrades are subject to availability and offered on most Delta and Northwest flights within or between the United States (excluding Hawaii), Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and northern South America. All SkyMiles program and WorldPerks program rules apply to SkyMiles and WorldPerks program membership, miles, offers, mile accrual, mile redemption and travel benefits, respectively. To review the rules, please visit delta.com/memberguide and nwa.com/worldperks.

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