Quick win I had to share.
Got an email that my return flight next week was changed again. Annoying but whatever… until I noticed my seat assignments were gone. Amex (booking side) told me I was downgraded to coach. Delta told me I was now standby. Great.
After bouncing between Amex and Delta for a bit, I found out I could cancel the flight entirely through Amex and get the full 156k MR points back (takes about 6 weeks, but still).
Before canceling, I checked prices and fares had dropped a lot. I rebooked the exact same flight using Delta points I already had: 48k SkyMiles + ~$100.
Once the cancellation went through, I used my medallion status to upgrade myself back into the same seats I had just vacated.
End result:
Same flight
Same seats
48k Delta points + $100
Got 156k MR points back
Net gain: 100k+ points for ~45 minutes of effort.
Probably the cleanest “reboot” I’ve ever pulled off.
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