It’s hard to imagine that a simple error could cost thousands of points or miles, but that’s exactly what happened to me while booking a flight to Cancun for my friends and me.
I’ve always been diligent about managing my rewards since I’ve heard horror stories of people losing large chunks of their balances through one mistake or another. But nobody’s perfect: I put too much trust in my account to auto-update after a points transfer, and it ended up costing me 15,000 miles.
Here’s what happened and how you can avoid making the same mistake.
The transfer: Moving Membership Rewards to Delta SkyMiles
Two of my friends and I decided to go to Cancun this summer, and I volunteered to book us with points and miles.
At the time, I had close to 200,000 Amex Membership Rewards points, so Delta Air Lines was at the top of my list of airlines to consider, since it’s one of Amex’s transfer partners. I knew I could easily book a few tickets to Cancun and still have a ton of points to spare.
One of my friends wasn’t flexible on our travel dates due to her work schedule, so I kept a close eye on Seats.aero to find the best option for us. Delta turned out to be the cheapest option for our flight to Cancun, perfect luck for me.
In total, I’d need to transfer 69,000 Membership Rewards points to Delta SkyMiles to book this flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Cancun International Airport (CUN). So, that’s exactly what I did.
Historically, my transfers have been credited to my account immediately. This time, though, the miles didn’t post right away. I made the transfer on a holiday weekend, and I’d heard transfers can sometimes take a couple of days to post, so I waited.
Big mistake.
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The mistake: Waiting too long to contact Delta support
I waited a few days after my transfer to contact Delta support.
My loyalty account balances have always auto-updated after past transfers, so, at the time, I thought Delta’s system was just taking a long time to process my transfer.
In reality, the transfer had posted right after I made it. When I contacted support, a representative confirmed that my updated balance wasn’t showing on my account due to a technical issue on Delta’s side. The fix to see them was simple: log out and back in.
As soon as I logged out and in, the problem was fixed. My 69,000 SkyMiles were available.
I immediately navigated to Delta’s booking page to snag three award tickets, only to find that the flight I’d chosen had gone up in price in the few days since I last checked.
It wasn’t anything jaw-dropping, but it wasn’t a painless increase, either. In total, I had to transfer an additional 15,000 Membership Rewards points to Delta to cover the additional cost.
I’m fortunate to have a significant Membership Rewards balance, thanks in large part to the welcome offers I earned from my American Express® Gold Card and American Express Platinum Card®.
If those 69,000 points were all I had, I would’ve been in a very tough spot. Transfers are always one-way, so I wouldn’t have had the option to use those points for another airline.
Related: I had no rebooking options after my flight was canceled. Here’s how transferable points got me home
The lesson: Always be proactive about contacting support if your transfer isn’t posting
The mistake itself was easy to avoid. I should’ve contacted support after 24 hours, since my previous transfers always posted instantly. Any unexpected delay in your rewards posting is worth contacting support about, just in case there’s a glitch.
Even if nothing’s wrong, take it from me: It’s better to be safe than sorry.
This is especially true if you’re using most or all of your rewards balance for a transfer, or if your travel dates are inflexible. Of course, you could always buy additional points or miles if you need more and don’t have any left to transfer. But that can get costly if you need to buy a substantial number of points and miles.
In the end, the best strategy is to contact support if something feels off. Don’t trust that your account balance will display properly.
Related: Don’t fall for this airline customer service scam
Bottom line
In the end, I was able to book the flight for my friends and me. 15,000 SkyMiles didn’t annihilate my rewards balance, but it took enough of a chunk for me to learn an important lesson.
I spent so much time focusing on big picture things like using the right card for certain purchases and monitoring award trackers that I missed something so simple. If you plan to make a transfer to Delta SkyMiles soon, remember to log out of your account and back in after the transfer completes.
Above all else, don’t hesitate to contact your loyalty program’s support if you’re concerned about how long a transfer is taking. If something feels off, it probably is.
Related: 7 mistakes to avoid when redeeming hotel points
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