I posted this morning that Delta Air Lines has announced some pretty major changes to its Sky Club membership and access policies. The gist of the changes are:

  • If you want what I will call “traditional access” to the Sky Club, where you can bring along your spouse, kids, or two guests, you have to purchase an Executive Membership, and that will cost $695 per year, effective immediately.
  • In the spring of 2014, Delta will introduce an Individual Membership option which will cost $450. Individual means individual. If you want to bring anyone (including your spouse, children, etc) into the club with you, you will have to pay $29 per guest.
  • And finally, on May 1, 2014, if you receive complimentary access to the Sky Club via a card product, i.e. Delta Reserve Card, Amex Platinum or Centurion Card, you the cardmember, will continue to receive complimentary access. However, the ability to have 2 guests join you for free is going away. You will have to pay $29 per guest….even if you’re married to them.

Other news: if you are a Gold or Platinum Medallion member, you can receive a discount on a purchased Executive Membership through February 28, 2015. The discount for Golds is $50, while Platinums receive a $100 discount. I checked in with a Delta spokesperson, and they confirmed that as of this moment, there will be no discount for Medallion members after that date.

MJ’s Take

This might actually work. At the very least, I’m willing to wait and see if it does…not that I was going anywhere else anyway. $695 for an Executive Membership seems steep, and is certainly a big price increase, but overcrowding in the Sky Clubs is a legitimate concern. Whether this is the ultimate solution or not remains to be seen. I’ve never quite fallen for the theory that the reason the clubs are crowded is because of credit card holders and day pass buyers, but I remain open to the idea. My personal situation is that if I could not obtain access through the Reserve Card or Platinum Card, I would buy a membership without hesitation. Maybe I’m one of a small group of travelers? Time will tell. MrsMJ, as an authorized user on my Amex account, has her own Amex Platinum Card, so I do not see this impacting me at the moment. It will be interesting to watch what happens.

MJ, January 10, 2014