Alaska Airlines targets Delta fliers after SkyMiles changes angered its most loyal customers
Sep 26, 2023, 16:34 IST
- Alaska Airlines is targeting loyal Delta Air Lines customers in its latest status match offer.
- SkyMiles Medallion members who switch will get elite status on Alaska, up to its top tier.
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After Delta Air Lines made drastically unpopular changes to its loyalty program this month, a rival carrier is swooping in with an enticing offer.
Seattle-based Alaska Airlines unveiled on Sunday a new status-match offer for 2023 and 2024. Considering it starts its announcement with a question — "Fell out of love with your airline loyalty program?" — it's clearly targeting Delta customers who might feel disaffected.Now, through October 31, SkyMiles Medallion members — whom Delta describes on its website as "our most loyal customers" — can status match into Alaska's elite Mileage Plan. This includes earning its lucrative MVP Gold 100K status, a tier not previously attainable by simply matching, The Points Guy reported.And, to top it off, the switch to Alaska would be a straight match. This means there wouldn't be any spending requirements — Delta Medallion members only need to have an open Alaska Airlines credit card by December 31, 2023. There is also no "status challenge" that typically requires customers to fly a certain amount of miles within 90 days to keep their status.Moreover, SkyMiles members who already have Delta status for 2024 and want to transfer to Alaska can actually secure one tier higher than the regular match.Again, the only requirement is to have an active Alaska credit card by the end of this year."We've always believed that loyalty is about more than just revenue and that earning elite status shouldn't require a second mortgage," Alaska Vice President of Loyalty, Alliances, and Sales Brett Catlin said, TPG reported, again clearly taking aim at Delta.The move comes just a few weeks after Delta overhauled its SkyMiles program, which changed the way customers earned loyalty — including making it based on actual spending rather than miles flown.The Atlanta-based carrier also removed unlimited Sky Club lounge access for American Express cardholders, restricting entrance to six or ten visits per year, depending on the card.Delta received a lot of backlash for its decision, with customers online saying they're now shopping for a new airline — with some even calling the move the "biggest middle finger yet" to loyal fliers.The carrier defended its decision as a way to give its most loyal customers a better experience, confirming to Insider that one of the main reasons it made the change was because of the increased crowding members faced at its Sky Club lounges and Medallion loyalty perks becoming too common.