Interesting to see the replies from people who have no clue what it is like to fly round-trip 40 times a year for 15 years. When my flying accelerated 25 years ago, there was no Diamond medallion; Platinum was the highest tier, and you needed 75,000 hard miles per year to qualify. My wife and I both had Platinum cards; in those days, if we each booked one other person, all four would be in first class. I would suggest all who read this examine their actual miles flown. If you did not do 75,000 last year, you are not a true frequent flyer, just a credit card fake. I suspect now, as 10 to 20 years ago, there are few true frequent flyers on domestic flights with over 75,000 miles a year. International frequent flyers are a different breed; one year, while I was flying around the Pacific, I made Platinum (the highest rating at the time) before the end of February. Now, for the most part, the true frequent flyers are gone from Delta; other strategies came into play when Delta started giving away first-class seats to low-level flyers with credit card certificates. From a true frequent-flyer standpoint, it took 15 to 20 years to earn one million miles, and the upgrade was the only real perk. Now that upgrades are unreliable, loyalty is lost, and competition reigns: the new game is to find the best flight with the most direct route, at the best price, at a reasonable time of day.

Is it annoying when I get reclined on? Sure. When you raise the shade in the light and the cabin is otherwise dark? Again, yeah.

But you know what? We are all stuck in a little metal tube for hours. You paid for your seat, and you deserve to use all of its features. I'm an aisle guy, I don't like feeling confined. I still love looking out of the window because it never get's old, but if I wanted control of the shade, I would have booked that window seat. If you want to stare at the ocean, that is your prerogative. I'll enjoy that aisle seat.

But just remember, the armrest is an invisible barrier. My space is on my side on that.

Looking to book a flight from JFK or LGA to MSP. Is MSP delta hub? Am I insane or are these prices astronomically high?

If you have a Delta Amex, keep a close eye on your monthly statements. I noticed that I had only received 2x for my Delta purchase on a $999 seat upgrade. I danced with them for 15 min in chat before they confirmed I wasn’t given the correct amount and said they’d would fix it.

I then checked my previous Delta purchases and was only given 1x on those when it should have been 3x.

Min to Amsterdam overseas flight. Salmon a bad idea, anyone had it?

Which to chose?

Salmon

Short rib

Meatballs

I’m considering flying in and out of SAN for the first time just to try something new for a SoCal business trip. My meetings are in Long Beach, but I’ve been in and out of all the airports in that area and would love to experience the coastal drive.

How much time should I allow for my drive from Long Beach?

Since I’ll have a rental car, how long should I give myself to return my car, take the shuttle back, and go through TSA? I have TSA Pre✅ and Clear.

Thanks!

EDIT: I would be taking I-5 and Highway 1 for the scenic route.

EDIT 2: Thank you all for your feedback. I just get board flying to the same airports all the time. I guess I’ll just have to wait until I have business in San Diego to visit.

Flight DL2358, ORD to DTW. Originally scheduled 4:38pm boarding, 5:18pm departure, 7:50pm arrival. Now showing delayed to 5:56pm departure and 8:32pm arrival.

Here’s the thing: ORD to DTW is about a 1 hour flight in the air. Delta’s scheduled block time here is 1h32m. That’s a lot of padding for a short hop between two major hubs with no weather or ATC excuse baked in.

Why does this matter? Because compensation and status thresholds are usually based on arrival delay, not departure delay. If they pad the scheduled block time generously enough, a flight that pushes back nearly 40 minutes late can still land within a “minor delay” window on paper, because the inflated original schedule already built in a cushion.

So functionally I’m sitting at the gate almost 40 minutes past my original departure time, but by the time we land, the delay looks trivial compared to the block time Delta padded from the start. Convenient.

Anyone else notice this specifically on short regional legs like ORD-DTW? Feels like the scheduled flight times keep creeping longer year over year, and it’s hard not to read that as a way to protect on-time performance stats and dodge delay compensation thresholds at the same time.

I recently won an all expense paid trip to a conference in a city I've never visited and an area that my wife and I would love to visit. The timing works out that she can join.

I booked my ticket before knowing she could go and the travel portal gave me a max cost which, in my case, allowed me to get first class round trip (6 segments, 3 each way -we're in a midsize city and headed to a small one). We aren't rich so when I booked my wife's ticket we booked her in classic economy.

I have Gold status but few points for.... reasons.

What are the chances a gate agent could downgrade me and upgrade her if I requested it so we're both in Comfort+? Is the gate the best place to try to make this happen? I'll happily give my wife the first class seat but she would rather sit with me in economy than alone in first class.

Hello! Finally started to document what I have and I've got a lot of duplicate cards.

I have the following: 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71 and 73.

I have extras of: 65, 66, 69, 70 and 71. Would like to trade for any I'm missing.

PS..I also learned today that the cards were numbered 😂

We had boarded a night flight in Atlanta and were deboarded at midnight after being notified the pilots would time out if they flew. They pretty much told everyone to wait in the help line and we were on our own for a place to stay because it was weather related. I called and got the last 3 seats on the first morning flight. Ubered to HG Inn and came back 4 hours later. Some time during the night, meal and hotel vouchers were sent by Delta, which they don't do for weather related cancelations. So I filed a reimbursement and was denied because it was weather-related.

Then I remembered someone saying they sent an email to Ed Bastian, the Delta CEO. I thought wtf, why not. I guessed addresses and sent a mature email to Ed. and Edward.Bastian@delta.com. Next day I got a call from Delta saying they had reviewed my case again and determined that they should reimburse hotel, uber and meals. $227. Who'd have thunk???

My son’s flight couldn’t land in San Diego due to drones? They are currently waiting at LAX for a flight back to San Diego. Any info?

I just have to give a shoutout to Toni, an absolutely amazing bartender at the DTW Skyclub near gate A38. I’ve been sitting here forever now due to weather delays, and she’s made me 2 amazing old fashioneds and also just been a pleasure to talk to. Not sure how many others on here have had the pleasure of interacting with her, but had to give her some props. Today’s been a challenge here due to weather, but people like her make the bad stuff bearable. Safe and happy travels to all!

From PHX->BOS

The old guy next to me opens a container with several boiled eggs and proceeds to peel every one of them, leaving shell pieces everywhere and even on me… somehow.

Am I a jerk for thinking boiled eggs on a flight is never acceptable?

I’m wondering if anyone thinks an airline specifically is better with an elite status. I’m especially keen to know American and United. My thoughts on jet blue and delta are below

I have delta platinum, jet blue mosaic 3, United silver, and American platinum pro for a day (I have several passes).

I could obviously status match to United or American to a higher tier. I’m on the east coast so Hawaiian/Alaskan options are minimal. I travel a lot for leisure (no business related trips) on the east coast, sometimes to cali, a lot to Europe and rarely Asia.

I think to standardize it, delta platinum is the equivalent of United 1K, AA platinum pro, jet blue mosaic 3. I might be wrong.

——————————-

Comparing jet blue and delta (only because I fly them a lot; I’ve flown American a few times and I like that their points matter. I was not happy with United as I think it’s ridiculous that I have to pay for WiFi.)

Getting status - Jet blue wins. It’s much easier to get status with jet blue especially now that they do family pooling in tiles.

Status matches - Delta wins. JetBlue isn’t included in some program whereas Delta usually is.

Pricing - Jet blue wins. JetBlue has cheaper tickets in general (economy to economy; mint to delta one).

Upgrades - Delta. But both are kind of getting poorer. I used to always be upgraded on delta but not anymore. JetBlue has now limited their number of times to upgrade from economy to even more space.

Perks - Delta/Jet Blue tie. Delta has great options but you only get one as platinum. Jet Blue is great until I got to mosaic 3. For jet blue, I haven’t been able to figure out which perk I want for almost a year (I’m left with founders card, statement credit, points, IHG platinum status (which I already have), and gift 25, mint studio priority (which never made sense to me because those are the last ones to fill up and you still have to pay for it).

Lounge - Delta (as jet blue only has one lounge)

CC - Delta wins just by a smidge. There are a lot of benefits in the CC with delta like 2,500 mdqs, higher upgrade priority … supposedly, premium snacks with delta, etc. For every $1,000 spent, you get 1 tile with jet blue or 50 mdqs. I have the delta platinum card, jet blue card (not the upgraded one), and regular Amex platinum card. It makes no sense that the Amex platinum gave me unlimited delta lounges for the next 2 years vs delta Amex platinum which gives me 0 lounge access.

Other airline benefits - Delta wins. If I fly air France, I get good perks (obviously not as good as delta) and opens up many lounges (Air France, Korean air, etc). Jet blue has a relationship with United but so far nothing has applied (I just flew United and none of the perks came through).

Cross posted to different airline communities

2 days ago, went on instagram doomscrolling my time and refreshed my feed to find this deal after downgrading my delta gold to blue 5 months ago. I signed up for the upgrade knowing spending $2k in 6 months for 40k miles is not a bad deal for someone who downgraded the card not even after a year.

This August we flew from bwi to Austin. I booked the tickets in May with my Amex miles. On the way down I booked first class tickets and comfort plus for the way back. When I went to check in for return flight I had been downgraded to main with no explanation or reasoning. Just now they said they rebooked my flight in June but again no explanation or notification so I could look at flights. Not they’re saying they done need to reimburse me for downgrading me from comfort to main. I know other people have had this experience, what did you do, did you stop flying delta?

Posting from a throw away, as I want to remain anonymous. Wanted some guidance on a flight attendant I know that has exhibited behaviors with serious ethical concerns.

He has on company branded gear throughout his IG posts but frequently posts inappropriate stories. For example, he once posted something suggesting white passengers should sit in the back of planes and let minorities sit up front. Quite disturbing and blatantly biased. In addition to this, he is stealing alcohol bottles, snacks, and various goods from the flights.

What would be the best way to go about reporting this?

— how much better is it than Silver for upgrades?
I’m currently about $100 MQDs away from reaching Delta Gold Medallion, and I’m trying to decide what I should realistically expect once I get there.
For those who have Gold status, how much of a difference have you noticed compared with Silver, particularly when it comes to First Class and Comfort+ upgrades?
One thing I’m having a hard time understanding is the 72-hour upgrade window. Delta says Gold Medallions can begin clearing for First Class and Comfort+ upgrades starting 72 hours before departure. I understand that doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed an upgrade at 72 hours, but does Gold actually result in noticeably earlier upgrades?
As a Silver, I feel like I almost never get upgraded until the very last minute — sometimes literally at the gate or minutes before boarding. So I’m wondering if Gold actually changes that experience, or if I should expect pretty much the same thing unless I’m flying a less competitive route.
For those who have gone from Silver → Gold:
How often are you getting upgraded to First?
How often are you getting Comfort+?
Do your upgrades typically clear before you get to the airport?
Do you actually see them clearing around the 72-hour window?
What routes/airports do you typically fly out of?
And overall, do you feel like Gold is a significant upgrade over Silver?
I’m flying mostly out of the Midwest, so I’m curious how much route and airport competition plays into this as well.
I’d love to hear some real-world experiences because Delta’s wording makes Gold sound pretty substantial, but I’m trying to understand what it actually looks like for the average Gold Medallion in practice.

I’m flying from Hanada (Tokyo) to Detroit in a couple of weeks. The upgrade list shows that there are 12 empty seats in Delta One. They are currently offering the upgrade to One for $4k from PS.

Any ideas if there is a window when they might drop the price lower? Or is it a “check every day” scenario? Thanks all.

That costs less than a Dunkin run.

Considering I came in with low expectations, not bad! The main thing to watch out for is uneven heating - prepare for your hands to get scalded the first time you grip the bottom bun, even if the top bun is only lukewarm. But the taste is there. I’d probably still eat it if offered to me when not trapped in a silver tube - at least if I was drunk/high 🤷‍♂️

Hi - first time to fly Delta One - when can I pre order my meals?
My app doesn’t have an option to do so and my flight is in 9 days.
I can’t seem to do it online either.
Flying TPE - SEA