Coronavirus: Delta Air Lines announces changes to SkyMiles, Medallion programs

ATLANTA — The coronavirus pandemic has brought the airline industry nearly to a halt. In March, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines announced that its revenue fell by $2 billion due to the spread of COVID-19 and a drop in demand for air travel.

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On Sunday, Delta Air Lines has begun notifying its flyers about changes to its well-known SkyMiles program due to the sudden drop in air travel.

“On behalf of all of us at Delta, I want to thank our customers for your continued loyalty during these unprecedented times. While our focus is on keeping customers and employees safe and healthy today and always, you are a part of the Delta family and we know how important these benefits are to you,” said Sandeep Dube, Delta’s senior vice president – customer engagement and loyalty, and CEO of Delta Vacations. “That’s why as coronavirus continues to dramatically impact travel across the globe, you don’t have to worry about your benefits – they’ll be extended so you can enjoy them when you are ready to travel again.”

Here are the changes:

Medallion members:

• All Medallion statuses for 2020 will be automatically extended for the 2021 Medallion Year.
• All Medallion Qualification Miles from 2020 are being rolled over to 2021 to qualify for 2022 Medallion status.

Delta Sky Club Individual and Executive memberships with an expiration of March 1 or later will receive six additional months of Delta Sky Club access beyond their expiration date.

Delta SkyMiles American Express Card members:

• If you have one of the following in your SkyMiles profile “My Wallet” that is valid now or has expired since March 1, 2020, Delta is extending the expiration dates to give you additional time to enjoy your benefits.

SkyMiles members:

• If you have one of the following in your SkyMiles profile “My Wallet” that is valid now or has expired since March 1 Delta is extending the expiration dates to give you additional time to enjoy your benefits:

The updates will happen automatically over the coming weeks, with no action needed from customers, Delta said.

“We are continuously monitoring how coronavirus impacts travel and will make additional adjustments to support our customers’ needs as the pandemic evolves,” said Dube.