Anyone who ever calls Delta, when you are done with the call, you get the request about cars and hotels. Also, as you can see from MY DELTA page, we also see the adds on our home page at Delta.

Now I am all for earning extra Skymiles and a discount on top of that would be great too as I am always looking to both earn more Skymiles and save a few bucks.

But when I looked to rent a car from Hertz in Sweden on this last trip, you can see that for a day rental the price was just a little high. But was it a good deal or not? So I went direct to Hertz to see.

Humm… Not seeing the BIG 15% discount Delta.com was promising here, but I would get a few extra Skymiles this way if I booked it so there is that, right?!

But you know what, Air France also has a deal going. They are saying I can save up to 24% off and when I use their link and code, as you can see from the above, the price DOES in fact drop a bunch. How nice and even a bigger car for the price (I also check other places like MouseSavers as well).

I would love to get feedback from readers if you have ever used the Delta codes and have found a good deal in both price and points due to the offer on the website. As for me, in the end I used my USAA discount and earned Hertz points and got a much better rate than any of the above. It does go to show that Delta.com links can be checked to see if they are worthwhile, but as most have found they are rarely the best deal to be had! – René

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They say Texas has the BEST BBQ in the world (we will just have to see about that). I am looking forward to lunch with some fellow Delta Points & Will Run for Miles readers on Tuesday and you can check the post to where we are going HERE.

I will naturally be paying with my Chase Freedom card as the 5x points they are paying as a bonus now is much better than the standard 2x points my Chase Sapphire card I normally use at restaurants is. For many “chain” restaurants I can still use my INK BOLD and INK PLUS to visit the gift card section and get 5x points that way also!

But on to today’s SWAG. As always, the rules are HERE. Since everything “IS” bigger in Texas, this week’s prize has to be really really big right. So, as you see in the photo above, in addition to a shot at Silver Medallion grand prize in July, this week you can get a set of iGo noise canceling headphones and a Marriott passport cover and tag, a Delta tag, a Delta Points tag, a GoGo SCREAMING monkey and a one day GoGo in-flight pass. Fun!

To enter, all you have to do is comment on if you agree that Texas has the best BBQ or some other state is better. Or, even, if you think say the lobster in Maine is better than Texas BBQ anyway! As long as you in some way talk about food – you qualify! – René

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I have been seeing this more and more as of late, that when I use my phone APP it shows me much higher on the upgrade list than Delta.com. That is, when I can get it going since it takes so long to start up as I blogged about and uploaded a video to YouTube of just how much time it takes HERE.

When I do check at the gate, the upgrade list with my phone app does match the gate display compared to when I log on to Delta.com with my laptop and compare the same list. Have you all been seeing the same thing on the I-Phone app vs. Delta.com or any other strange goings on at Delta.com? Let us know please.

Or maybe it is just something you don’t like about the updated Delta.com. For example, another thing that I wish they would change is the uber-tiny scroll bar on Delta.com (does it make you crazy too?)!

On a plus side, I can tell you with my first mileage run on the way as a Diamond Medallion, all 10 of my flights with 1st class have cleared (2 are CRJ200′s grrrrr) compared to my mileage run last year as a Silver Medallion (FO)  when just 1 of the 8 cleared pre-flight! So I guess now all I need is an FO to carry my bags (hello! MJ?) and is it wrong to tease and have my old FO tag on my backpack? – René

PS – Don’t forget about SWAG Saturday
starting at 3:PM!

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#1 Richard G who says:

“Retweeted. Crossing my fingers. Thanks for the giveaway.“

Congratulations, Richard! I will e-mail you soon! Wow was it hard to get readers to both comment AND to tweet as well. If you are not using @DeltaAssist yet, you are missing out and need to get on Twitter if ONLY for that. Please! – René

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A while back I had a post about the 3500 bonus points you could get if you were targeted by US Bank for this spend promotion. Mommy Points had a post about spending $50 at Neiman Marcus if you were targeted for that and it ends on the 19th. She suggested starting at some shopping portal to get bonus points. That may work or it may not track unless you START at the US BANK link so up to you if you want to try for extra bonus points or just get the 3500 US BANK Flex Perks points worth $70 toward air travel.

Anyway, there are not a bunch of things you can buy for around $50 at Neiman Marcus but one thing we can all use as a frequent flyer is a TUMI luggage scale (see photo above & here is the link but do please start at the US BANK link first). The other item that could be good is the passport cover also for $50. I do not see any harm in using the free S&H code: MAYFS

Anyway, speaking about FlexPerks I also have a test on the way this week with my mileage run. US BANK FlexPerks, both the personal and the business, when you redeem points for a ticket like I did for my positioning flight to PHX, will allow you $25 credit after spend for “incidentals”. I am going to buy a Delta e-Gift card online the day I fly and see if that will work for credit. It should and I should get a $50 cert for just $25 net!

BTW the TUMI luggage scale is very nice, comes in a nice gift box. I have no need for it and just wanted to test this for the 3500 points and to help get my spend for the month for the other targeted bonus. So how about a “targeted” giveaway today to match the targeted deal. If you want my brand new TUMI scale, you must comment below on the blog that you are following me on twitter, and then ALSO retweet my tweet about this post  (ya gotta do both if you want to win)! Have fun and I will use Random.org late tonight for the winner – René

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Readers have been e-mailing me about having to RUN in ATL due to very very long lines at security. If there has ever been a time to go ahead and get your GOES and TSA Pre done it is now as I blogged about  HERE  . Also, the strike in Brussels, Belgium (BRU) could affect you today as well.

➤ Points Miles & Martini’s has a good post on the latest “enhancement” to our Economy Comfort seating fees!

➤ In case you missed my post last night, nothing but “skunky beer” now for free in the Delta Skyclubs!

➤ If you are going to Scandinavia Delta is resuming seasonal flights to both Sweden and Denmark.

➤ You may want to read the comment on the Delta e-Gift cards if you have an AMEX PLAT card of either the personal or business flavor!

➤ Live in Austin? Phoenix? Join me and other points enthusiasts for lunch on Tuesday!

➤ I have posted some Mileage Run updates at Milepoint – 11,000+ MQM’s under $500!

➤ And lastly today, always take your SKY with you and shoot a photo for a chance to win from SKY!

 Any other little Delta updates I have missed or you know about? Please comment on the blog below. – René

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If you either book or fly the JFK route to LAX or SFO in Business class you will get your choice of a “delicious” meal (assuming they don’t run out of your choice before they get to your seat). And this is a longish flight so good food and drink is nice. In Economy Comfort you now get Complimentary Beer, Wine, and Spirits as well on these routes. But what about back in coach?

Delta.com now lets you order ahead to make sure those of us who don’t get an upgrade can have more than just what happens to be available (or not be) on the “Eat’s” menu.

As you can see from the above, you can now plan ahead and pick something nice delivered to your seat on your flight.

The ordering process seems very straight forward but for me, when I tried to place a test order, my flight from JFK-LAX (DL95) does not yet show up as a flight from JFK-LAX.

The cancellation policy, for now, seems very good. As long as you get your upgrade at least 48 hours before your flight you can cancel and get a refund. Heck the way I read the policy, for now, if you don’t like what you got, after the flight, you can even get a refund!

I would love to find out if any readers have tried out the new vittles and how the process worked for you and if you think the price is worth the service. If you have tested this, please share with your fellow readers on the blog! – René

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With a HT to reader Marc I can say I am not a happy club “hopper” as Delta Corp Guy has posted this:

Update from DL on Club beverage changes

Delta Sky Clubs are changing the selection of both complimentary and for-purchase premium alcoholic beverages beginning tomorrow. Complimentary well-known alcohol brands will still be provided at the Club just as they have been.

Altering our complimentary offerings will enable us to expand our portfolio of premium for-purchase products and maintain complimentary spirits, beer and wine as we continue to invest in the overall Club experience. We review our Club offerings periodically so that we are able to make changes based on customer feedback, financial considerations and other factors including the variety of options we offer our members.

The new offerings are comparable to house/well brands in other airport lounges.

• Complimentary spirits: Vodka – Gordon’s; Gin – Gordon’s; Rum – Myers’s Platinum; Scotch – Scoresby; Bourbon – Jack Daniel’s; Sweet Vermouth – Martini & Rossi; Extra Dry Vermouth – Martini & Rossi.
• Complimentary beer: Budweiser and Miller Lite
• Complimentary wine: no changes to current wine offerings

Other brands will be available through our for-purchase options available through our Luxury Bar. Our goal is to offer members quality products and services at reasonable prices that are competitive with other airport lounges while continuing to provide good value for membership.

__________________
DLCorpGuy
Manager, Social Media Ambassadors

I am all for Delta making as much money as they can from the Skyclubs but in NO WAY is Budweiser and Miller Lite a drinkable beer. I have said it before and will say it again, soon Delta will charge for AIR on the jets (unless it is a stinky CRJ 200 as they smell so bad that it would be criminal to charge for that air)! – René

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Do you know what has changed since I was interviewed by Million Mile Secrets and told readers to “Start earning everywhere you can”? Absolutely nothing. One of the keys to this crazy points earning “game” we play is paying attention to the details. If there is one and ONLY ONE most important feature you must learn to succeed in this, it is that you must be detail-oriented. For example, if you are not detail-oriented you may miss paying a credit card IN FULL each and every month forever and pay a stupid amount of interest to the banks. Even just one month of this and you are loosing big time, so be detail-oriented.

The same thing applies to points. Look at THIS post about dining rewards that just take the time to add your credit card then you can get extra points when dining out (plus they have a 1500 point Skymiles bonus for new accounts). E-Rewards no longer offers Skymiles as a redemption option, but there is a VERY nice way to earn Skymiles and more as you can see HERE as I blogged about in another rookie post. There are also Thanks Again that once you enter your card you can earn Delta Skymiles at a bunch of places. Lastly we can always check the Delta.com page that has all the current partner bonus deals going on.

But now to today’s topic E-Miles. Until the first of the year we could earn Skymiles. But, like E-Rewards, that came to an end. During the transition time they really had a very poor grouping of redemption options. That has now changed as you can see from the screen grab at the top of this post! If you are reading this post not on May 15th, 2013, you may want to search for the most current new member bonus deals. As of today, you can get:

• 275 E-Miles from the Hhonors link HERE

• 275 E-Miles from the US Air link HERE

• 100 United miles from this link HERE

• ZERO bonus but you can PICK your reward program HERE

So pick the link that will give you the best perk. Then, once you reach 500 E-Miles you can pick any of the rewards you like the best (you are not bound to the program you join from). EDIT: It seems you ARE still bound by the start program, at least if you are an old user, so you may want to start and PICK the one you want from the list with ZERO bonus points. So, old Delta users get much more choice than others!

I chose to redeem mine for 750 Priority Club points. I try to always use my PC points for the point breaks nights at 5000 each so this redemption has some nice value toward a free night for me. But there are some “gotcha’s” you need to watch out for.

As soon as you earn an E-Mile the clock starts ticking for it’s expiration. You ONLY have one year after earning your mile to use it so BE CAREFUL if you let your miles sit too long!

Details details details. I can not say this enough times rookies. There are so many points out there and all the little ones can add up and can mean not just getting 1x points for a dollar spent but maybe 2x or 5x or 10x! Have any other neat little ways of earning points? Please share them with your 4000+ daily E-Mail and RSS Delta Points readers on the blog below (and include the link to the program you are talking about please)! – René

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Next  Tuesday May 21st  myself and Kathy from “Will Run for Miles” will have a layover on a mileage run and will have time for lunch around noon in Austin Texas (assuming all our flights work out that is).

If anyone wants to join us or has some good ideas for a spot near the airport that would be great. Please feel free to comment below on the blog if you are game! – René

PS – #TheReason2BeDiamond day 1 all cleared!

▲Delta▲ SkyMiles® Credit Card
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from American Express®
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