Not Just Celebrity Removing Perks

[wrk2cruise]

I was just reading T&C for a new Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex Card offer DW received today.  Effective 1/30/2020 you will no longer be able to buy a day pass to the Delta Sky Club Lounge for you or a guest.  Platinum card holders will still be able to but the price has increased from $29 to $39 pp.

 

I am an existing card holder and just booked a Delta flight a few days ago mid afternoon thinking I could hang out in the lounge in FLL.  Guess not....

[Nachosdelux]

This has nothing to do with Celebrity, but I will humor you. 

 

Delta is trying to reduce (over)crowding in their lounges.

 

You are free to buy an annual club membership, or upgrade to the Delta Platinum card, or get the Amex Platinum card.

 

I do agree with you that nobody likes it when perks are removed, but frankly businesses these days seem to only care about the bottom line.

[miched]

It is like every reward program.   Dangle the carrot out there for everyone to chase after.   A few will grab it very fast and benefit.  Then the big herd will come in and at that time the bubble will burst as there are too many.

 

The programs accomplished  what there are for, to increase sales by getting everyone to rush and chase after the points to get the rewards only to find that the cupboard is bare when they get there.   Then claim that all the programs are doing it to justify the change.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[wrk2cruise]

4 hours ago, Nachosdelux said:

but frankly businesses these days seem to only care about the bottom line.

 

I thought you said it had nothing to do with Celebrity 🙂    I wouldn't normally have posted it.  But with the discussion going on regarding the CBP perk I couldn't resist.

[SeaHunt]

Platinum card holder here - they also snuck in a annual rate increase for us from $195 to $250 starting at the end of January 

 

[NMTraveller]

We just enjoyed this perk for our Edge sailing.

 

Sorry to see this one go.  Now this may be a make or break for the card.  Delta Airlines has devalued their points.

 

I like to fly free to Europe for my cruises on either American or Delta.  I haven't paid for an overseas flight in 3 years.

[hcat]

4 hours ago, Nachosdelux said:

This has nothing to do with Celebrity, but I will humor you. 

 

Delta is trying to reduce (over)crowding in their lounges.

 

You are free to buy an annual club membership, or upgrade to the Delta Platinum card, or get the Amex Platinum card.

 

I do agree with you that nobody likes it when perks are removed, but frankly businesses these days seem to only care about the bottom line.

 

That's what Royal  C did when they bumped Diamonds out of the Concierge lounges.  They said they were getting too crowded ( not that we ever noticed) They then made that space for suite guests  only.

 

That's also what Celebrity said when they banishd Elites/ E plus guests from Michaels,  and re- purposed them for suite guests only. By then there were too many Elites, esp with all the Diamond crossovers (  drawn by alc packages and perks),  so there really was no choice on that one.

 

The perks and benefits are all subject to change,  so we need to enjoy them while they are available.  The new upcharge on the Clasic Alc perk is a biggie....but who knows what's next????

[bikerunner]

I’ll look to see how much it affects me the upcharge for alcohol.  It will still be cheaper than paying the 59 plus grats per day for the drink package I’ll probably still do it. But if it’s close to the same than would have to rethink. All depends on how much of a discount it comes out to.  If it still is over 50% with say getting grats and drinks then it’s worth it for me n value. All depends how much people value things and the numbers. Everyone sees it different in value. Personally I like getting what I want at any time. 

[CGBanks]

We got our email from AmEx this week regarding the membership increase, which I think is quite substantial !! We enjoy using the SkyLounge and will probably shell out the extra $10 bucks if we have a multi hour wait at the airport. We generally let our points build up and use them for our cruise flights.  Maybe we will look into other travel cards after our cruise this year because the membership increase really is ridiculous !

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

22 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

I was just reading T&C for a new Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex Card offer DW received today.  Effective 1/30/2020 you will no longer be able to buy a day pass to the Delta Sky Club Lounge for you or a guest.  Platinum card holders will still be able to but the price has increased from $29 to $39 pp.

 

I am an existing card holder and just booked a Delta flight a few days ago mid afternoon thinking I could hang out in the lounge in FLL.  Guess not....

The price of the platinum card has also increased dramatically.  Without much of an increase in benefits.  Think I'll be ditching that when renewal rolls around.

Edited October 2, 2019 by Happy Cruiser 6143

[Mike981]

Okay color me stupid, but the title of this thread is "not only is Celebrity removing perks." What perk did Celebrity remove? If this is about them increasing the price on the drink package, that is not removing it. Please explain if I'm wrong.

Per the I used to chaise my tail trying figure out these loyalty benefits and basically stopped. The T&C's are like shifting sands.

[wrk2cruise]

1 hour ago, Mike981 said:

Okay color me stupid, but the title of this thread is "not only is Celebrity removing perks." What perk did Celebrity remove? If this is about them increasing the price on the drink package, that is not removing it. Please explain if I'm wrong.

Per the I used to chaise my tail trying figure out these loyalty benefits and basically stopped. The T&C's are like shifting sands.

Amenities such as foot stools, flowers, fruit ...........  But yes I only posted this because of the current hoopla regarding the perks changing like the beverage package increase.  You subscribe to a product expecting something consistent yet the sand is always shifting.  Yes it's all allowed in their terms and conditions but is rarely beneficial to the customer.

[Mike981]

Thank you WRK, it was the word perk that through me off.

 

My DW and I went back to Celebrity this past January after 18 years. Mostly Carnival, AI's and other land vacations. We were prepared for many changes, but WOW. Some don't like when I say this, per the MD we felt there wasn't much difference between Carnival and Celebrity. We could also see the change in staffing throughout the ship (Equinox). I don't think we ever saw any bar servers (not bartenders). I believe it is because of the drink packages. 😕

 

That said we still had a great time and are booked on the Reflection for this coming January.

[hubofhockey]

Removing perks, increasing prices, nickle and diming, and changing the way they do business, call it what you like.  Celebrity is changing and has been for a while.  When they built the Edge, with its focus on suites, they moved in the direction of a class system where standard consumers get less and less, even to the extent of public area space.  If you want more, it's there, but very a la carte.  It would push me more to booking more with the lines that are a step up, like Azamara or Oceania or even a step down like Royal Caribbean.  Everyone has his or her own value point and Celebrity understands its risk of losing customers.

[vermonter16]

Celebrity has lost me at this point.  We will finish out at least one of our two cruises we have booked - the second is a full Panama Canal transit and DH really wants to keep it but honestly, once I'm done - I'm done.  We may or may not continue with that sailing but unless something gives with Celebrity - we won't go back.  Like the above poster said - we will either step up or step down because Celebrity is no longer worth the cost in my book.