Delta is one of two US airlines, or I guess, air lines, that guarantees that your checked bag will be in your hands within 20 minutes of your flight’s arrival at the gate. If it doesn’t, you’re entitled to 2,500 SkyMiles. Alaska is the only other US airline that offers this sort of thing.
It’s been rumored that Delta was fixing to ditch that 20-minute guarantee. The good news is that it’s sticking around, but you’d better be quick if you want those miles. Passengers have traditionally had 72 hours to complete the online form to request 2,500 miles for a tardy bag, but Delta has decided to shorten that period slightly. And by slightly, I mean by 70 hours.
Now, passengers have just 2 hours from gate arrival to request compensation for a delayed bag:
This does bring Delta in line with Alaska, and at least it still allows you to submit a claim online, unlike its Seattle competitor, which requires affected passengers to submit a claim in person with a customer service rep.
The dodgy part is that, as far as I know, there was no real announcement about this rule change; I found out about it from this FlyerTalk thread that’s been shared around the interwebs. That’s a crappy way to do things; Delta wants to continue advertising its bag guarantee but wants to compensate as few people as possible.
I suppose the bright side is that it still has a guarantee, and it remains a better policy than any other US carrier. Heck, most American Airlines or Southwest passengers would be thrilled to just have a guarantee that their bag would show up on the same day that they arrive. Once, when I checked in a bag on an AA flight, the desk agent told me to buy a lottery ticket, because I must feel lucky. I think she was joking?
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