When an airline cancels or significantly delays your flight, they owe you a refund. But what about those more minor inconveniences you might encounter while flying?
Most travelers will simply endure things like a broken seat or bad inflight Wi-Fi without speaking up, but savvy Delta flyers know you can score bonus SkyMiles if you provide feedback or file a complaint about an issue you encountered during your flight.
While it's never a guarantee, it never hurts to ask for compensation if a service you paid for didn't function the way it should. We highly encourage you to speak up and advocate for yourself when something goes wrong during your flight. At worst, a customer service agent will say no. At best, you'll end up with some extra SkyMiles in your account.
While far from exhaustive, these are some of the most common situations we've encountered when flying Delta that warrant SkyMiles as compensation.
When Your Bags Arrive Late
Delta has a 20-minute guarantee to get bags onto the carousel after arrival. Did it take 21 minutes or more for your bags to slide down? You can easily (and, in most cases instantly) get 2,500 Delta SkyMiles as compensation for the delay!
This Delta baggage guarantee applies to all flights within the 50 U.S. states as well as Puerto Rico – no international trips are eligible for 2,500 bonus SkyMiles even when bags are late.
The 20-minute timer starts from the moment the boarding door opens and it ends when your bag arrives on the carousel. It might seem difficult to figure out whether you can claim 2,500 SkyMiles for a late bag, but fortunately, it's all fairly automated.
Delta logs the time of arrival directly within its app. Otherwise, just start a stopwatch on your phone when the boarding door opens and hit stop when your bag makes its way down to the carousel. Either way, it couldn't be easier to submit a claim if your bags take more than 20 minutes.
You must submit a claim within three days of your flight to get the bonus SkyMiles. Go file a claim directly with Delta or tap delta.com/bagsontime into your web browser.
Delta says it can take up to two weeks to deposit bonus SkyMiles, but it's typically instantaneous.
Read more: Bags Late? Get 2,500 SkyMiles Thanks to Delta's On-Time Bags Guarantee
When Your Wi-Fi Doesn't Work
Most Delta flights these days have free Wi-Fi for SkyMiles members, especially if you're flying domestically. And if your flight doesn't have free Wi-Fi, you can typically expect free messaging and the option to purchase a Wi-Fi pass.
While not every aircraft will be equipped with internet connectivity, in my experience, Delta has failed to live up to providing wifi service on many of my flights, even when they promise to deliver.
If you're unable to connect to Wi-Fi on a Delta flight, you're entitled to compensation. If you see a screen like this after trying to connect on your phone or laptop, keep trying throughout your flight.
If you are still unsuccessful or are unable to connect for the majority of your flight, once you land, contact a Delta customer service representative via chat and tell them about your issue. Say something along the lines of “I was on a recent Delta flight and I was unable to connect to wifi for my entire trip.” If they do not immediately offer compensation in the form of SkyMiles, you could ask them directly, “Are you able to provide compensation for my inconvenience?”
Each time this has happened to me, whether it's an international or domestic trip where I tried and failed to connect to the free Wi-Fi, Delta has given me 2,500 SkyMiles. The friendly customer service agents are always very understanding and sympathetic, often providing a quick response and solution in the form of SkyMiles that should be posted almost immediately.
We've also heard reports of Delta offering some passengers an eCredit for the inconvenience, but if you'd rather have SkyMiles, ask for them specifically.
When Your Seatback Entertainment System Doesn't Work
I take my flight map and inflight entertainment very seriously – it's one of my favorite things about flying. So it's a real bummer to board a plane expecting to be able to sit back and watch a movie or TV show and find my screen seatback entertainment system isn't working as it should.
If your screen doesn't work, you can't open your flight map or you're unable to hear clear audio, these are issues to note and mention to a Delta customer service representative after your flight. This is especially important to document if your flight crew is unable to resolve the issue during your flight.
Whether you're seated in economy or first class, don't be shy to ask for help from a flight attendant. When I've flown in the past and noticed that my seat map wasn't working while my seatmate's did, I flagged down a flight attendant, who's always happy to help. They have the ability to reset and reboot IFE systems for any seat from a control panel that only flight crew have access to.
Of course, you should try to fix the problem yourself first by turning your IFE system on and off, but if you and your flight crew are unable to resolve this issue, make detailed notes and contact Delta after your flight to ask for compensation.
When Your Seat is Broken
Thrifty Traveler co-founder Nick was recently on a flight seated in a Delta One suite only to discover the sliding privacy door – one of the hallmark features of these business class suites didn't work. For a premium cabin that costs thousands of miles – or dollars – that's more than a little annoying.
I also encountered a seat problem on a recent trip to Hawaii while I was seated in first class.
I was flying on a Boeing 767-300ER that had lie-flat seats for first class passengers, which I was excited about as an aviation geek. As I was going to recline my seat fully flat, I was unable to recline it all the way. I immediately flagged down a flight attendant, who was nice enough to fix the issue right there and then.
If the issue was not resolved and I was unable to use my seat as designed, I would've contacted customer service as I would have with any other issue and asked for some SkyMiles. Again, document the issue as thoroughly as you can and reach out after your flight.
Will You Always Get Bonus SkyMiles?
We can't guarantee you'll always get compensation from any airline for issues other than significant schedule changes (other than late baggage delivery on Delta). The point is, you'll never know unless you ask.
The key is advocating for yourself. Just don't make a big deal during your flight and give the flight crew a hard time. Just be graceful and kind, asking for assistance to hopefully resolve your issues. If you're unsuccessful, simply head to Delta's website and contact a representative via live chat – it's faster and easier than calling. And again, the more details or evidence you can provide about the issue, the better.
If something feels wrong during your flight, take note and be sure to speak up about these issues to get them resolved during your flight or afterward to be compensated for the inconvenience.
Read next: The 16 Best Ways to Earn Delta SkyMiles
Bottom Line
You don't have to settle when something goes wrong during your flight. While it might seem like a minor inconvenience that you can't connect to the Wi-Fi or a feature of your seat is broken, it's not too much to ask that you get what you paid for when you fly with Delta – or any airline.
Reach out to Delta for compensation in the form of SkyMiles when issues arise during your flight. It never hurts to ask.
Are you eligible for compensation of non-functioning WIFI when flying over Canada to Alaska? When flying from MSP to ANC (or ANC to MSP), they often announce there will be spotty WIFI while over Canada – and it almost always stops for awhile. Just wondering if their preflight announcement disqualifies me in any way in requesting compensation.