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In an effort to curb overcrowding, Delta has announced big changes to how Sky Clubs will be accessed by credit cardholders. Flying Basic Economy? You’re not getting into the club. Do you currently get in with a credit card? Delta SkyMiles Platinum cardholders will no longer be eligible to buy their way in. And, starting in 2025, Delta Reserve cardholders will be limited to 15 entries per year while Amex Platinum cardholders will be limited to 10 per year. See below for full details.
Timeline
Starting January 1 2024
- No Sky Club access when flying Basic Economy. This applies to all cardholders.
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum Cardmembers can no longer pay for Sky Club access
- Delta begins tracking $75K spend towards unlimited Sky Club access for Delta Reserve and Amex Platinum Cardmembers.
Starting February 1 2025
- Delta Reserve cardmembers limited to 15 Sky Club visit-days per year (unless cardmember has spent $75K in a calendar year)
- Amex Platinum cardmembers limited to 10 Sky Club visit-days per year (unless cardmember has spent $75K in a calendar year)
Details
Delta SkyMiles Reserve Cardmembers
Applies to: Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
- Starting January 1 2024: No Sky Club access when flying Basic Economy.
- Starting Feb 1 2025: Limited to 15 Delta Sky Club visit-days per Medallion year (e.g. Feb 1 to Jan 31).
- The 15 visit allotment cannot be shared with guests. However, the Delta Reserve card will still come with two one-time guest passes each year.
- The card member can pay $50 for each additional Sky Club visit once their visit allotment is used.
- Earn unlimited Sky Club access with $75K calendar year spend. Unlimited Sky Club access will be valid for the rest of the current calendar year, all of the next year, and through January of the year after that. Tracking of $75K spend will begin January 1, 2024.
- During a Sky Club visit, card members can continue to pay for guest entry for up to 2 guests, or their immediate family (spouse/domestic partner and children under 21). The cost per guest is $50 per person for Sky Club access or $25 per person for Grab and Go access.
Platinum Card from American Express Cardmembers
Applies to: The Platinum Card from American Express, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, American Express Platinum Card for Schwab, The Platinum Card from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley
- Starting January 1 2024: No Sky Club access when flying Basic Economy.
- Starting Feb 1 2025: Limited to 10 Delta Sky Club visit-days per Medallion year (e.g. Feb 1 to Jan 31).
- The 10 visit allotment cannot be shared with guests.
- The card member can pay $50 for each additional Sky Club visit once their visit allotment is used.
- Earn unlimited Sky Club access with $75K calendar year spend. Unlimited Sky Club access will be valid for the rest of the current calendar year, all of the next year, and through January of the year after that. Tracking of $75K spend will begin January 1, 2024.
- During a Sky Club visit, card members can continue to pay for guest entry for up to 2 guests, or their immediate family (spouse/domestic partner and children under 21). The cost per guest is $50 per person for Sky Club access or $25 per person for Grab and Go access.
Delta SkyMiles Platinum Cardmembers
Applies to: Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
- Starting January 1, 2024: Paid access to Sky Clubs will no longer be offered.
Basic Economy Flyers
Applies to: Anyone flying Basic Economy (or the equivalent of Basic Economy with a partner airline)
- American Express Card Members traveling on a Basic Economy ticket or an equivalent ticket with a partner airline will not receive Delta Sky Club Access effective January 1, 2024.
FAQ
If I have multiple Delta Reserve and/or Amex Platinum cards, will I get more complementary Sky Club visits?
Yes. Visits are additive across your cards. So, for example, if you have both the Delta Reserve card and an Amex Platinum card, you would be eligible for 25 visits per year. Similarly, if you have two Delta Reserve cards (one personal and one business, for example), you would be eligible for 30 visits per year. Delta says that the card member “must present the applicable Card at the time of entry into the Sky Club.”
What happens with authorized user cards? Do they get their own 10 visits per year (Amex Platinum cards) or 15 visits per year (Delta Reserve)?
Yes, authorized user cards and employee cards that offer Sky Club access will have their own allotment of visits each year: 10 visits per year with additional Amex Platinum cards, and 15 visits per year with additional Delta Reserve cards.
What happens with authorized user cards once the primary cardholder has spent $75,000? Do authorized users also get unlimited Sky Club access?
Yes. Once the primary account has earned unlimited access with $75,000 spend, additional cardholders will also get unlimited access. This does not apply to fee-free additional cardholders such as Companion Platinum Cards on Consumer Platinum Accounts and Additional Gold and Additional Business Expense Cards on Business Platinum Accounts.
My Take
Delta Sky Clubs have been incredibly overcrowded recently. The announced changes are clearly intended to reduce that problem, but I have doubts that it will make much difference.
A lot of people have been very upset about these changes. And that’s completely understandable for people who visit Sky Clubs multiple times per month. Suddenly, for those frequent Sky-Club-ers, it will make more sense to buy a Sky Club membership than to pay for an ultra-premium credit card. Personally, I’d estimate that I usually visit Sky Clubs maybe 8 to 10 times per year. I have both a Platinum card and a Delta Reserve card. If I keep those cards into 2025, I’ll still be able to enter Sky Clubs 25 times per year, so I’m not too worried about these changes for myself.
For those who generally visit Sky Clubs more than 10 times per year, but not much more than 15, the math for which card is better (the Amex Platinum card or the Delta Reserve card) suddenly changes in 2025. The four extra club visits offered by the Reserve card, plus two guest visits could make the difference in favor of the Reserve card.
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It looks like they’re updating the Delta Reserve guest passes to four one-time guest passes instead of two starting in 2025 as well. Which could be a big difference for some.
[…] lounge crowding is the stuff of legend and, during rush hours, the mass of humanity converging on Delta’s SkyClubs has to be seen to be believed. Given that ATL is the country’s busiest airport (by 20-30%, […]
An Amex rep just told me today (9.20.2023) that Platinum Card members *can* pay for additional access to the Delta Sky Club after their 6 complimentary visits. Have the details been 100% confirmed anywhere yet?
If you have 2 reserve cards (personal & biz), does the spending combine for the $75,000 threshold or must it be on a single card?
I’m not sure, but i think it will combine. That said, I can’t think of any reason to put spend on multiple Reserve cards anymore starting in 2024. Up until the end of this year it made sense because you could then get more status boosts
The changes massively hit business travelers. I don’t travel a massive amount, but I do a business trip every month, so that makes at least 24+ SkyClub visits per year. Casual travelers will probably still have enough visits. So how much overcrowding is this really going to alleviate? And you’re now discouraging flyers who are buying a lot of airfare via their companies from flying your airline? The only way I can guarantee getting enough SkyClub visits is by having a Reserve card, spending on it, AND having enough flights to make Silver Medallion every year and ALSO paying $695 for a SkyClub membership. Total outlay of $1245/year. Incredible.
With American I can get unlimited lounge visits for $595 – $200 to $300 in credits = $300 to $400 net, plus status bonuses to help get me to Platinum, plus many more options for spend via portals, plus priority checkin and boarding. It is a MUCH less convenient airline for me but their program is now clearly superior to Delta’s for me.
IMO, If they’d just enforce the dress code they state in their membership “rules” they could eliminate (or greatly reduce) the overcrowding issue!
I haven’t figured out all the angles on this, but because I am not a super high mileage flyer this isn’t as terrible for me as some. Still, there are a few implications.
First, I no longer have any compelling reason to be loyal to Delta. Because I fly out of ATL I will obviously continue to fly Delta often. But without the unlimited lounge access and with higher bar to status there isn’t anything consistently steering me toward Delta over any other airline. Southwest often offers cheaper flights or more convenient schedules, so I will fly them a lot more. (I know some people don’t like Southwest, but I have had good experiences with them.)
As for credit cards, her is how I am thinking this shakes out.
Delta Amex Platinum: Keep. The companion pass, check bags, and priority boarding are still well worth it.
Amex Platinum: Maybe keep. Although the value is less and the AU fees have gone up, this might still be worth it. As a card for Delta + SW travel it could work out well, giving me Delta lounge access when I really want it and other lounge access when I fly SW. Plus I can use the airline fee credit on early boarding with SW. The tie breakers on this card will be whether I can get into Centurion lounges reasonably often, and what Amex decides to add or subtract to the coupon book.
Chase SW Priority: Heck yes, keep. I only mention this one because I was going to cancel, but now it is keeper because I will be flying SW enough to make the flight credit, annual miles, and 4 A1-15 boardings well worth it.
Delta Amex Reserve: I don’t have it, and now don’t want it. This card now has zero use for me. Because I can still get the SUB I will wait until the SUB looks good and I have travel ahead that will make the 10 extra lounge tickets worth it, and then cancel at the end of the year.
And when you skyteam gold which comes with lounge acces and you fly on Delta? (purchased light klm fare which gives you free lugguage because of status) Will you be able to enter the lounge?
I wonder if there’s going to an unintended consequence here of people visiting clubs towards the end of the Medallion year that otherwise wouldn’t have? Just to “use up” their 6/10 visit allocation rather than let it “go to waste”.
I can definitely envision a segment of people (e.g. those who try to put a dollar value on every card benefit 😉 ) … thinking “well, it’s January, I’ll go into the SkyClub at my connection airport and load my laptop bag with Kettle chips and free magazines, then I’ll stop at the SkyClub at my final destination and stay there and get hammered until it closes”.
No one in these comments has ever met a Delta loyalist…
“Delta Sky Clubs have been incredibly overcrowded recently.”
I recently went into the massive Skyclub at SeaTac and there were maybe 20-30 people in it, way less crowded than the Centurion lounge, (which seemed like it has half the floor space…but the food is 2x as good as skyclub).
I have no desire for Delta status or their worthless airline miles, but it’s a bummer that I won’t be able to visit sky clubs anymore. Here in Seattle we have 5 major airlines competing for my business, so I’m not going to pay an extra $30-50 for a main cabin economy when SeaTac has a perfectly good centurion lounge. And if you don’t have a Plat, there are still about 50 different restaurants to go hang out in.
So Bye Bye Delta!
If you’re flying Delta One internationally, are you still eligible for sky club access?
Yes
Just to confirm its not per day? Like if Im connecting to multiple airports in one trip, including my final destination, each visit counts?
This sucks.
Yes each visit counts. There are some exceptions when you change clubs within the same airport (like when your gate changes) where they won’t count it as multiple visits but usually they will.
The per visit does it court for example NYC to MSP to LAX does it count per day or per visits since you have a connection flight. that 3 if they counting connection vs 1 for all 3 visit on 1 flight
Per visit not per day
So can my P2 as an authorized user under a MS Platinum get in at the lounge without paying an additional cost?
Yes