Here's Why Some Elite Travelers May Be Locked Out Of Delta Club Lounges In 2025

For decades, mileage-savvy travelers have planned and plotted the most expeditious route to elite status. For many, that strategy involved optimizing their credit card use to take full advantage of miles-for-dollars airline partnerships. And it worked. Savvy travelers increasingly applied their accrued mileage points to purchase tickets, upgrade seats to a premium cabin where a bring-your-own pillow isn't necessary, and earn access to members-only, behind-closed-doors airport lounges. In fact, it worked so well that at least one U.S. airline is intentionally culling the herd.

Beginning February 1, Delta Air Lines is limiting airport lounge access for SkyMiles members whose use of the airline's co-branded American Express credit cards contributed to their elite status. According to the new rules, SkyMiles members who accrue miles using the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card or the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business American Express Card are entitled to a maximum of 15 Sky Club visits per year. SkyMiles members who earn miles via the Platinum Card from American Express or the Business Platinum Card from American Express max out at 10 visits per year.

There is a workaround, but it comes at a significant price. The new policy stipulates that SkyMiles members who spend at least $75,000 a year on their card will retain unlimited access to the airline's Sky Club lounges. Their unlimited access will kick in when they achieve the milestone and continue until January 31 the following year. One bright spot in Delta's new airport-lounge access policy? Sky Club visits made within a 24-hour period count as a single visit — an important perk for passengers traveling long-haul or flying a route with multiple connections.

This recent change in Delta's policy has customers outraged and is the latest in a long-running initiative the airline announced in 2022 to address the growing problem of airport lounge overcrowding. Since travel returned to normal levels following the global pandemic, elite travelers have become hard-pressed to find a lounge retreat with sufficient space to deliver the promised respite from the often-chaotic energy of airside terminals, crowded boarding gates, and long lines at top-rated airport restaurants. Long-time high-mileage travelers may remember the days when the discreetly hidden-in-plain-sight door to an airline club lounge offered passage to a pre- or between-flight haven of gentility, where guests conversed in hushed tones while enjoying complimentary cocktails, elevated dining, and in some cases, spa treatments, shower facilities, and napping pods. In recent years, it's more likely passengers with lounge access will encounter crowded conditions, limited seating, and a picked-over buffet. 

In a November 2022 statement, Delta addressed the issue. Citing the growing number of SkyMiles members with lounge access, the airline pledged to roll out initiatives created to ensure passengers' experience meets their expectations. At the same time, the carrier acknowledged the "frustration for some customers who find themselves waiting in lines or searching for seating once inside" (via NerdWallet). Soon after, NerdWallet posited the growing problem of lounge overcrowding was due, at least in part, to an increased reliance on credit cards that offer airport lounge access as a benefit, putting elite status (and its associated perks, including airport lounge access) within reach of travelers who may not otherwise be entitled to entry. In hindsight, it appears Delta's latest initiative is designed to directly address that exact situation.

Additional actions implemented by Delta since its 2022 announcement include discontinuing the lounge-access perk formerly granted to Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card members and the elimination of buy-ins for passengers traveling on a basic economy ticket. The Atlanta-based carrier also restricted pay-per-year lounge memberships to Diamond, Platinum, Gold, and Silver Medallion SkyMiles members. Previously, the perk had been available to anyone willing to pony up the annual membership fee. At the same time, Delta raised the basic individual annual membership fee from $545 to $695 (or 69,500 miles) and increased the per-visit fee for guests traveling with a member from $39 to $50 per person.

Delta also eliminated a courtesy long-afforded to elite-status SkyMiles members who had achieved Diamond, Platinum, or Gold Medallion status. As of early 2023, Delta revoked lounge access for elite-status members traveling in the main cabin on international flights. And the Delta's Choice Benefit? The intriguing perk that at one time allowed Delta SkyMiles Diamond Medallion members to pick a prize from a treasure chest that included individual Sky Club membership? It's a thing of the past. Overall, as status becomes increasingly difficult to attain, some airline industry pundits are beginning to wonder if the thrill of chasing miles is even worth the effort.