This week, Delta Air Lines announced big plans for expanding and improving its lounge portfolio in 2025.
But accessing those new and improved Sky Clubs — along with other clubs across its network — will soon require a bit more strategy for SkyMiles members.
Beginning on Feb. 1, the Atlanta-based carrier will begin deploying stricter access rules for its Sky Club portfolio.
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Specifically, members who get Sky Club access via an American Express credit card will be limited to a set number of annual visits.
These new limitations are the final piece of sweeping changes Delta first announced for its loyalty program well over a year ago — changes that, you may recall, sparked fervent backlash at the time.
While Delta loyalists have now had more than a year to contend with tougher Medallion qualification requirements unveiled in the fall of 2023, a big part of the lounge access crackdown will come when the calendar flips to February.
Here are the Sky Club access changes that take effect on Feb. 1:
Note that you can make multiple lounge stops within a 24-hour period without it counting as more than one visit.
So, for example, I could stop at my home Sky Club at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) before a morning flight, and then visit another in Atlanta during a layover — and that would count as just one visit.
As a frequent flyer who gets Sky Club access via the Amex Platinum card, I'll probably be a bit more strategic with how and when I visit Sky Clubs as these new rules go into effect.
With 10 visits over the 12-month calendar, I'll likely avoid checking into the lounge for a quick cup of coffee, and instead save my allotment for long layovers or airport visits when I need a full meal or a quiet place to work.
At airports where there's an Amex Centurion Lounge available, I'll almost always opt for that outpost, since there is no limit on the number of visits cardmembers can make to those facilities.
We should note that Delta Reserve, Reserve Business and Amex Platinum cardmembers can earn unlimited Sky Club visits by spending at least $75,000 in purchases with their card in a calendar year.
Delta's limits on lounge visits is part of a larger, multiyear effort to crack down on overcrowding in its outposts — a trend that in recent years has often taken the form of packed clubs and long lines to enter.
Along with tightening access rules, the airline has expanded or built new (often larger) lounges at a host of airports, like the new facility in the A gates of Terminal 4 at its John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) hub in New York.
The airline this week announced plans to open one of the biggest clubs in its Sky Club network at Salt Lake
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At the end of 2023, Delta announced that it would start limiting the number of times American Express cardholders could access Delta Sky Clubs starting in February 2025. Now that we're a few days into February, these limits are officially in place.
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Delta Air Lines is limiting access to its sought-after airport lounges, putting new restrictions in place this month for travelers who use a credit card membership to get in.
Big changes are now in effect at Delta Air Lines' network of Sky Clubs. As of Feb. 1, SkyMiles members who get Delta lounge access via a cobranded credit card have a set number of annual club visits they can make.
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