Delta Air Lines says miles on its frequent flier program no longer expire.
Previously, members of its SkyMiles program had to redeem for flights or engage in other qualifying activities to keep their miles beyond 24 months. Other carriers’ frequent-flier programs have a similar requirement.Delta’s change became effective for all accounts on Jan. 1.
Facing greater competition, Delta has made other changes to the SkyMiles program in the last year, including the new Diamond Medallion tier. It also eliminated all award redemption fees.
Inside Flyer magazine publisher Randy Petersen told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that Delta customers have criticized about the difficulty of redeeming miles. The carrier previously allowed customers to restore expiring miles for a fee, but probably found “it really wasn’t that much income versus the badwill they were creating,” Petersen said.
“Once you expire somebody’s miles, they never want to see you again,” Petersen told the paper. “So I think [Delta’s] long-term strategy is, ‘How can we continue to grow goodwill among all of our members?'”