Delta Air Lines has quietly made a negative change to one of its most customer friendly policies. It’s worth being aware of, or you may miss out…
Delta limits window for requesting bag guarantee
Delta has a 20-minute bag guarantee, whereby the airline promises that your checked bag will arrive at the baggage carousel within 20 minutes of your domestic flight’s arrival time at the gate. If the airline doesn’t meet that guarantee, you’re entitled to 2,500 bonus SkyMiles.
For a long time, there have been rumors that we could see changes to this, or that Delta might discontinue the policy altogether. Well, the good news is that this policy is sticking around, but the bad news is that there’s a new restriction, as is being discussed on FlyerTalk.
Per an update to the terms, Delta now requires travelers to submit their claim for the 20-minute baggage guarantee within two hours of the flight’s arrival time. As a point of comparison, previously you had up to 72 hours, so Delta shortened the window by around 97%… no biggie, right? 😉
The intent with this policy change is clear — Delta wants to keep this benefit around, but wants to control costs associated with this, so one obvious way to do that is to give people less time to submit the claim.
Many travelers may have their hands full when they first arrive at a destination, get in a transfer to wherever they’re going, etc. So by the time you get to your destination (home or hotel) and get around to it, the window may already have passed. Of course everyone should be able to submit the request within that timeframe, but it’s also easy to forget for a moment, only to then remember when it’s too late.
In fairness, Delta’s policy is still better than Alaska’s, which is the only other carrier to have such a rule. With Alaska, you have to request the compensation in person at the airport baggage office, so that’s an extra hurdle.
I’m just happy to see this policy stick around
The “big three” US carriers all try to find ways to differentiate themselves. If you ask me, Delta’s 20-minute baggage guarantee is one of the top five things that sets Delta apart from the competition.
To me, the baggage guarantee is the most obvious way an airline can show that they respect the time of their passengers. It’s not about the fact that you get compensation if the guarantee isn’t met, but instead, it’s that having the guarantee in the first place creates certain expectations among ground handlers about how fast bags have to be brought to baggage claim.
It’s not super important to me whether the bag is there 19 or 21 minutes after I arrive, but I do care that it doesn’t arrive 45 minutes later (as happens all too often with American in Miami). As I see it, the most basic thing an airline can do to be “premium” is to get all the basics right, and that includes timely delivery of checked bags.
I would love to see American or United eventually match Delta on this, but it’s pretty clear to me that’s not going to happen.
Bottom line
Delta has quietly updated its 20-minute baggage guarantee, which offers 2,500 bonus miles if your bags don’t arrive at the carousel within 20 minutes of the arrival of a domestic flight. While you previously had up to 72 hours to make a claim, that window has now been lowered to just two hours.
So if you do find yourself in a situation where you qualify for the claim, make sure you submit the request within that timeframe.
What do you make of Delta’s baggage guarantee change?