ATLANTA, Ga. (WTXL) -- Delta Airlines announced this week they are changing major portions of their SkyMiles frequent flyer program.
Starting January 1, 2015, Delta's frequent flyer program will tie mileage accrual to the cost of a ticket and no longer on the actual distance flown. The program is intended to reward those who spend more.
Bloomberg Business reports "the losers in Delta's new SkyMiles program will be leisure travelers who book their tickets far in advance to save money and those who snag weekend specials-flights that are discounted, based on last-minute seat inventory."
Each dollar spent on airfare will earn a frequent flyer program member 11 miles with a 75,000 mileage cap per ticket.
When they compared a $400 round-trip flight from San Francisco to New York's JFK, by miles, would earn a flyer 5,172 miles. Under the new set up, the same flyer would now earn 2,000 miles.
Bloomberg Business also reports the changes for Delta's SkyMiles come 13 months after Delta added a minimum annual spending component of $2,500 to the 25,000 annual miles flown to qualify for the minimum status in its program, called Silver Medallion; the highest level, Diamond Medallion, required $12,500, plus 125,000 miles. United (UAL) matched those changes in June for its MileagePlus program.
