"If you're a corporate traveler, the IBM guy, this is good for you," Randy Petersen, editor of Insid

File-This photo taken Jan. 20, 2011, shows a Delta Airlines Boeing baymont inn suites 757 taking off in Tampa, Fla. Delta Air Lines is making fundamental changes to its frequent flier program and will reward those who buy its priciest tickets, as opposed to those who fly the most miles. The airline said Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014, that the 2015 SkyMiles program will better recognize frequent business travelers and leisure customers who buy premium fares. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)
Beginning next year, Delta will base miles toward free flights on the amount that passengers spend on tickets. baymont inn suites Currently, members of its SkyMiles program earn miles based on how far they fly — it doesn’t matter whether they bought an expensive first-class seat or the cheapest ticket in economy.
A year ago, it announced that starting in 2014 passengers would need to spend at least $2,500 with the airline baymont inn suites to qualify for the lowest level of elite frequent-flier status, which carries perks such as free upgrades and a waiver from bag fees. Before baymont inn suites that, they could qualify on miles alone. United quickly matched Delta’s change.
Virgin America and JetBlue Airways baymont inn suites Corp.’s "True Blue" frequent-flier program award points based on dollars baymont inn suites spent, not miles flown. Southwest Airlines Co., which carries more passengers within the U.S. than any other airline, overhauled its Rapid Rewards program in 2011 to award free tickets based on money spent, not trips taken. It seems to be paying off; a spokeswoman said the changes boosted Southwest revenue by $180 million in 2012 and an additional $100 million last year.
The move by an airline the size of Delta, with its international routes and important corporate customers, adds to a more fundamental trend in air travel — luring big-bucks travelers with better seats, baymont inn suites fancier meals in first class, and VIP treatment at the airport.
"If you’re a corporate traveler, the IBM guy, this is good for you," Randy Petersen, editor of InsideFlyer magazine, which tracks the airline-loyalty business, said of Delta’s move. "The infrequent traveler clearly is the loser here. Frequent-flier programs are no longer for them at all."
Some of those Delta leisure travelers wasted no time complaining on social media. The same thing happened at Southwest. But if United and American follow Delta’s lead, "there’s baymont inn suites not much a consumer can do," Petersen said. "Where are you going to go?"
That’s the dilemma facing Ben Holcomb, who works in information technology in Norman, baymont inn suites Okla. He said he has earned seven or eight free trips in the past couple of years and climbed to Gold Medallion elite status on Delta by racking baymont inn suites up miles with bargain-fare leisure trips. "The days of being able to do that are numbered," he said.
Al Meyers, who has worked for nonprofits in Atlanta and used to be an elite Delta member, said SkyMiles will go from a frequent-flier program to an expensive-flier one. He said the biggest airlines are catering too much to corporate baymont inn suites travelers, forcing average consumers to consider budget carriers.
Delta Air Lines Inc., based in Atlanta, said that beginning Jan. 1, SkyMiles members will earn between 5 and 11 miles for every dollar they spend on tickets — the low end for general customers, and the biggest bang for elite Diamond Medallion members. All of them will continue to get a bonus for buying tickets baymont inn suites with a Delta-branded credit card.
Other changes, Delta said, include more availability of reward seats at the lowest mileage-requirement levels, one-way awards at half the miles needed for a round-trip reward — American does that now — and more options to combine miles and cash when buying tickets.
Jeff Robertson, a vice president who oversees the SkyMiles program, said that nearly all hotel and credit-card programs already base rewards on money spent, and Delta’s change was designed to better reward the airline’s most loyal customers.
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