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@thepointsguy This is being investigated. Thank you. *JS @thepointsguy This is being investigated. Thank you. *JS
Something’s been happening this weekend at Delta and it’s not entirely clear exactly what’s going on, but the airline apparently decided to become ultra generous on Saturday and in the early morning hours on Sunday. Either that or it’s suffering from a major I.T. bug.
We’ve received reports from multiple TPG readers who this morning opened their inboxes to find a congratulatory email from Delta awarding them Diamond elite status. These particular readers were already Platinum status, and at least in one case they had been purposely avoiding qualifying for Diamond, preferring instead to take advantage of Delta’s “rollover” Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs).
Upon checking their SkyMiles accounts, these readers found their MQM balances depleted and their status upgraded. This corresponds with the experiences of multiple other Delta flyers, as a newly created thread on FlyerTalk demonstrates. In some cases, SkyMiles members are finding 15,000 to 30,000 extra MQMs in their accounts, but others report the amounts are literally changing by the hour.
Given the constantly moving numbers, the complete randomness of which members received extra perks and the fact that this occurred on a weekend when I.T. upgrades are often scheduled, It seems incredibly likely this is a system glitch, not an intentional gift from Delta. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time the airline has suffered from a computer issue. Since so many people are affected, it also seems highly probable that the airline is already aware of the situation, or will be extremely soon (yes, they read FlyerTalk too).
So if you got unexpected Delta Medallion miles or status, what should you do? Well, don’t get your hopes up that you’ll be allowed to keep it. Assuming it’s a glitch, if you received extra miles, it’ll be fairly easy for Delta to claw them back when they get things back in order. If you got Diamond status and you’re tempted to choose from your new Choice Benefits, others have reported being successful in doing so. However, it really isn’t difficult for Delta to reverse those down the line as well.
On the other hand, it’s possible the airline will allow those who make their choices to keep those benefits as a gesture of good faith, so some folks might decide there’s nothing to be lost by trying. It’s also not out of the question that this is actually an error by American Express, since a number of SkyMiles members — though not all of them — are Amex Delta cardholders who might have received bonus MQMs in the past from the MilesBoost feature of the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express or the Delta Reserve Credit Card from American Express.
And of course, there’s always a small chance this is intentional on Delta’s part. So proceed as you feel most comfortable and we’ll keep you updated as we get more information.
Source: thepointsguy.com