Delta is set to overhaul its SkyMiles program – again

Delta CEO Ed Bastian earlier this week said the airline is rethinking the changes it recently announced to its loyalty program.

And while he didn’t specify what new changes would be made moving forward, he did say for frequent fliers to stay tuned like Van Halen’s guitar – “you'll hear about [them] sometime over the next few weeks."

✈️ Background: In mid-September, Delta announced significant changes to its frequent-flier program. These included basing elite status purely on spending instead of also counting flights, as well as limiting airport lounge access for holders of Delta credit cards.

• For context: Under the new changes, to reach Delta’s Silver Medallion, the lowest Medallion status, the airline’s website suggested annual bookings adding up to ~$40,000 per year, not including taxes and fees.

The backlash to the new program was swift and severe, culminating in Bastian’s comments at an Atlanta Rotary Club panel on Monday: "No question, we probably went too far... Our team wanted to kind of rip the band-aid off."

But the airline, like others, is caught between a rock and a hard place. The industry’s multi-billion-dollar question: how to continue to reward loyal customers without giving benefits to so many customers that the perks become diluted?

• For Delta, the number of travelers with top-tier Diamond status has nearly doubled since the pandemic began. And, as a result, many customers have complained about crowded lounges and harder-to-snag upgrades.