Delta Points broke the news earlier today that there were some unusually low award prices popping up on Delta.com. Delta Points has several examples posted. Since I’m traveling to Paris in the fall, I thought I’d check pricing just for grins and I did find some “discount” pricing in coach. (Note: these prices are one-way)
Seven days in October with 21K one-way pricing…not bad. While I am personally not interested in crossing any ocean in the coach cabin of an airplane, there are are plenty of people who do not care about premium cabin seating. Just for grins, I checked business class availability and did not find any “discount” award pricing.
There is a bit of Level 1 availability late in October and early November though. I did not check each day, but on the days I checked for 62.5K availability, the flights were on partner metal. According to Delta Points, it appears the lower priced awards are only available to Medallions and Delta Amex cardmembers, and my own testing supports this.
My Take
If there is a good side to revenue-based redemption it is that award prices should fall as fares fall, and they typically do during the trans-Atlantic off season. Of course, if purchased fares fall, they fall for everyone and not just Medallions and Amex cardmembers. If I were Delta, I’d want to get the word out on this one possibly good thing about the changes they have made, but then I remembered “the price is the price.” I considered reaching out to Delta for comment, but I can predict that the answer would likely be “this is a pricing issue and we do not comment on pricing” so I let it go. It’s a new and different world. (Edited to Add: I stand corrected – per Delta Points, Delta has confirmed that there is a trans-Atlantic fare sale, and there was a 1-day pre sale for Medallions and co branded credit card members.)
In the end, this is not the best thing since sliced bread but better than a stick in the eye. If you are able to take advantage of this deal, you should. There are likely worse ways to spend a SkyMile.
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