There’s quite a bit going on with Delta today. May 1 brings us no guests into the Sky Club unless you are an Executive member ($695 per year). That’s bad. (HT: DeltaPoints) But in a bit of good news, if you carry any of the SkyMiles American Express card products, you will no longer be charged foreign transaction fees as of today. Further, the cards are now available with an EMV chip.
I called the number on the back of my card just now to request a new card with the chip. There was a recording saying something to the effect of “due to unexpected call volume, it may take longer than expected to speak with a representative.” I elected to wait anyway, and within 2 minutes I was speaking with a rep who gladly processed my request, and now my new Platinum Delta SkyMiles Amex with EMV chip is on its way. The rep made clear that these are “Chip & Signature” cards, not “Chip & PIN.”
In the end, the whole thing took about 3 minutes. If you carry the Delta Amex cards, and would like an EMV chip equipped card, give Amex a call.
-MJ, May 1, 2014
Denied at first today by both rep and supervisor. Called back and received same rep (awkward) and requested new supervisor with whom to discuss. New super made it all work for both of my Reserve cards. Gave me 10K skymiles for the trouble.
Now I wish I’d had trouble. 🙂
Re: Delta Clubs – If you are DM, you get Executive through the end of the 2014 Skymiles Program. For 2015, DM can choose an upgraded SkyClub Membership to Executive as a “Choice Benefit”.
I tried calling around 9am eastern this morning and was informed that the system wasn’t able to issue chip cards yet. I just called back, received the same “high call volume” message but was connected in under 1 minute. The rep was very quick to make the request for a new card. It seems they are prepared now and are pushing people through the process quickly. Less than 2 minutes from dialing to hanging up.
Some phone agents are not yet aware of the new chip cards. I just called and it took some convincing and they had to check with a supervisor but eventually it went through.