Beware! Amex Delta Reserve Guest Passes Get Canceled Super Fast
For those with Amex Delta Reserve guest passes to the SkyClub, this is a heads-up. Hopefully, it can help others avoid the situation I ran into before a recent flight.
People with the Delta SkyMiles Reserve or Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business card from American Express get 2 guest passes to the SkyClub per year. I recently received mine and verified they showed in my Delta account & Delta app before going to the airport.
The day before our flight, I had to cancel my Delta SkyMiles Reserve card the day before, as it was the last day to get a refund on my annual fee. I figured that I could still use the Amex Delta Reserve guest pass to bring my wife into the lounge with me, since it’s in my app and within 24 hours, right?
Wrong!
My guest pass scanned as “invalid” when going to the Sky Club at LAX Terminal 2. The employees have a way to verify if your Reserve Card is active or not. They checked my SkyMiles account and saw the Reserve Business Card was canceled. According to 2 different people, the passes are immediately canceled by Amex when you close or downgrade the card. Thus, I could access the lounge with my Platinum Card, but I wouldn’t be able to bring a free guest.
Final Thoughts
This is PSA for those who have Delta Reserve guest passes and are considering canceling or downgrading that card. If you plan to use those guest passes, make sure the card is active. Even if you try to use them within 24 hours, you probably won’t be able to.
Bottom line: make sure to use the guest passes before downgrading or canceling your card. Otherwise, the passes go poof! that same day.
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AC is probably the crotchety old man that yells out of his front door, through his overgrown yard, at squirrels he sees in the distance.
Just a miserable human being who hides behind the keyboard, banging out stupid comments on his dialup internet connection because he can’t get highspeed in that crap hole part of the world in which he lives.
Go away you troll!
Great news. Clubs are already starting to get near capacity so anything that thins the heard is welcomed. Had to do a couple laps at ATL B club yesterday to find two seats together.
Sometimes clubs are busy, but I’m not really sure this is fixing anything connected to what you’re trying to convey. The club was so empty I could’ve taken a nap in the silence.
Good! You tried to scam them. You cancelled you to avoid the annual fee then wanted to use a benefit included in said fee. As a member since 86 (and holder of 5 Amex cards including Platinum, Gold and Bonvoy Brilliant) I applaud Amex for taking steps to protect the benefits of those of us that play by the rules
Thank you AC. It’s time someone looks after these big banks. You are doing the lord’s work, congrats.
AC, in my view, passes (and similar benefits like free night hotel rooms) are EARNED after paying 1 AF, using the card for a year, hitting the anniversary date. This leaves the bank with 1 year of AF, and a year of charge earnings. If the bank intended to claw the benefit back, full disclosure during cancellation was warranted, and then an opportunity to dispute should follow. In my contacts with AMEX seeking to close an account, I have been warned about retention bonuses being taken back but with a specific date range disclosed. That date range has always cleared once the new AF posts. This claw back of passes appears to be closely tied to the card being valid, one would hope that is disclosed in the terms, and if yes, then it’s not a claw back. But few if any benefits like passes, room, etc. post on the front end of an AF year, so AMEX should be clear up front.
I can always count on you to tell me I’m wrong in everything.
But AC is spot on here. You cancelled a card on the last day you could get your annual fee refunded and still tried to get one of the card benefits. You tried to take benefits that annual fee payers help to subsidize. This type of behavior is why benefits get constantly whittled down and RAT teams exist.
I admit that I tried to use a guest pass, but “scam” and “this is why … RAT teams exist” seems to be really stretching it. We complied and said “OK” and left the lounge. This is a PSA to others, not a rant or complaint. I think you and AC have missed the point and instead somehow my tip to others turned into me being a bad guy to the 2 of you. From where I sit, this is not even in the same ballpark as why RAT exists.
You really have little credibility on much because you always bash what we say. Thanks as always AC.