Unhumble brag: after several years of chasing higher status on Delta, I recently crossed the Platinum threshold. I dreamt for a long time about all the silly ways it would make traveling better: boarding extra early, mileage bonuses, the occasional upgrade to the front of the plane. But last week, during the throes of snowstorm Jonas, I discovered the stellar benefit nobody really talks about.
Friday afternoon: The inevitable has happened. It’s evident that Jonas is going to be one angry dude and my 6AM direct flight scheduled for Saturday from SFO to JFK has been axed—and, along with it, all direct flights between the two destinations. I call, prepared to listen to elevator music on speaker for upwards of 50 minutes, as I’ve heard the waits of friends in similar situations had been. Within 30 seconds flat, a polite gentlemen named Arthur from the Platinum member desk had greeted me as a loyal customer, re-booked my flight, upgraded me to first, and given me a heads up for when to expect additional cancellations.
Inevitably, as these things went, I was rebooked on several different flights over the course of those two days—two days in which more than 5,000 flights were canceled. My collective time on the phone during my five or so calls? Around 10 minutes, easily over 150 minutes less than I’d have expected based on past crappy-weather travel experiences.
As much as this doofus loves sipping champagne from a first class seat, I’d almost trade those upgrades for the extra simple, sure-no-problem service you get even during the busiest call times. The convenience of the well-staffed VIP lines are totally worth a monogamous relationship with one carrier.
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