WASHINGTON — Delta Air Lines is making some changes to its reward program that could cost point-using travelers more next summer.
Like many other airlines, Delta allows its passengers to use frequent-flier rewards to upgrade coach tickets to business or first-class travel. However, beginning June 1, 2016, the number of award miles needed to make those ticket alterations will increase, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Delta said the number of miles needed to book a flight may rise based on destination, demand and “other considerations,” Delta told its SkyMiles participants in an email, Bloomberg reports.
Delta spokesman Anthony Black declined to give specific details about the changes to come.
Black told the Times that many flights won’t rise in cost because of next year’s changes.
He adds that a newly launched Delta flight sale allows travelers to use a combination of reward miles and cash to fly to many destinations within the 48 contiguous states.
Still, many travelers stocking up reward points and frequent-flier miles are sure to be disappointed when booking their trips next summer, Tim Winship, publisher of the rewards program monitoring website Frequentflier.com, told the Times.
“What’s disturbing about this is the complete lack of transparency,” Winship said to the Los Angeles Times. “Nobody knows what these other variables might be.”
Delta isn’t the first airline to implement a change to frequent-flier points’ weight. Southwest Airlines adopted similar changes, which went into effect last April.
