RELATED: American Airlines Is Getting Rid of This on Flights, Effective Immediately. Delta Air Lines confirmed that it is removing one of its top-tier elite perks, The Points Guy reported on Jan. 25. According to the news outlet, the airline will no longer be offering Platinum and Diamond Medallion members the option to choose a $200 gift card to Tiffany & Co. through its Choice Benefits. This benefits perk allows frequent flyers to choose from a list of potential rewards upon qualifying for Delta’s Platinum or Diamond Medallion status. Current benefits include upgrade certificates, Delta Sky Club memberships and guest passes, bonus miles, traveler vouchers, or a retail gift card from Tiffany & Co. According to The Points Guy, Delta Air Lines’ partnership with Tiffany & Co. is coming to an end—which is why the gift card will soon be cut from its list of rewards. Platinum and Diamond Medallion members can continue to select a Tiffany gift card through Jan. 31, however. Delta’s top members must choose their benefits—one for Platinum and three for Diamond—by this date for the 2021 Medallion Year. For the 2022 Medallion Year, the gift card will no longer be on the list of offerings.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb “The SkyMiles program is continuously evaluating benefits and updating them based on partner agreements and demand, as well as SkyMiles member feedback,” Delta said in a statement to The Points Guy. RELATED: For more travel news, sign up for our daily newsletter. The Tiffany & Co. gift card can only be shipped to a U.S. mailing address, according to Delta’s fine print. And it’s valid for just up to 12 months from the issue date, per Nerd Wallet. But these are not the only two stipulations that make it a questionable choice on the benefit’s list. According to The Points Guy, “nearly every other choice benefit is considerably more valuable” than the Tiffany & Co. gift card. Other choices like upgrade certificates, bonus Sky Miles, and Sky Club access are all valued at more than $2o0. “While the move is bad news for those who were planning to redeem one of their choice benefits for the Tiffany gift card, most flyers won’t be phased by the change,” The Points Guy said. “Even if you were holding out for a Tiffany gift card, Delta will continue to offer a $200 travel voucher as one of its elite perks. While that won’t save you on a jewelry purchase, it’ll give you $200 off your next Delta trip. You can then use those savings to offset the cost of the necklace or earrings that you were eyeing.” Delta Air Lines flyers can earn towards a Medallion status by being members of its SkyMiles program. But the airline recently made a change to its program requirements that is likely to affect a number of travelers. Delta is no longer allowing passengers to earn SkyMiles or elite status on basic economy fares, Travel + Leisure reported in December. The change took place on Dec. 9, with the airline stating that any Basic Economy ticket booked after this date for travel on or after Jan. 1, 2022 would no longer earn award miles or count toward Medallion status. RELATED: Delta Will No Longer Fly to These 3 Cities.
