Delta Diamond on DCA–SAT via ATL and back

I recently flew DCA to San Antonio via Atlanta booking a couple weeks out for a funeral. I’m in theory a strong Delta DIamond, with a Reserve card on which I’ve met the $25,000 spend.

We received a battlefield upgrade after the plane door closed from DCA to ATL, because first class boarded with two missing. No further upgrades were available, Skyclubs at ATL were predictably horrendously crowded.

That said, flights were on time and baggage was on the carousel, so operational reliability held. So did weather, though.

There’s been much noise in the frequent flyer blogosphere about Delta’s restrictions on its frequent flyer program, but it’s hard to see value in a program that delivers so little.