While Rene of Delta Points, along with presumably many, many others begin dumping their Delta SkyMiles en masse in response to Delta’s move to eliminate award charts and go to a more “dynamic” award pricing model, at least one TripAdvisor member suggests this might not be such a bad thing for travelers after all.

The more I think about this move — toward a dynamic or market/demand driven model – the more I think its a good move and more inline with reality.

 

If there is low demand for a certain product at a certain time, shouldn’t that then have a downward push on prices? … and of course the opposite is true.. If there’s higher then that pushes prices up.

 

I think this is rather fair … For those who can or do “buy” during a low demand time, they are benefiting from the then-imbalance or lowered demand.. Why should they pay the same price as those who buy during peak demand? ~GOPBI

Now, before everyone runs to grab your pitchforks and torches, please take into consideration that GOPBI, while perhaps a bit optimistic, isn’t being contrary just to be contrary, or because he has drinken the Delta kool aid. In principle, his argument is valid. And he does also recognize that, if this is Delta’s intention then they sure could have communicated it better.

when you make a shift of this degree, it is *imperative* that you clearly explain the move, how it works and other details… Failing to do so … opens the ugly door to negative speculation which may .. or may not, be reality. ~GOPBI

Interestingly, amatrip sees the move by Delta and worries not so much about upcoming trips on Delta, but about the future of pricing in general:

I actually don’t care about Delta FF program. I think I am more upset with the use of dynamic pricing. And the reality is it is not always a good thing. …

 

If every and any business enterprise turns to dynamic cost and pricing I don’t think I can deal with the chaos. Where does it end? Will UA go ahead with dynamic pricing on economy plus seats? Will restaurants charge surcharge at busy times? Will dairy farmers cut their milk supplies to increase price? …

 

It’s the new Uber way.

Is this the future we’re looking at now? Will big data and super high-speed processing lead to dynamic pricing on everything, all the time? Will the next generation find it strange that products and services used to have a marked price that wouldn’t change for days, weeks, or even months!?

And more to the immediate point, do you think there is a snowball’s chance in hell that GOPBI might be right, and Delta’s dynamic award pricing might actually lead to reduced awards on low-demand routes?

Read the thread in its entirety: More changes to Delta SkyMiles program