What do the words “Best Match” mean to you? As far as flight options go, they should mean the least connections or travel time and the least amount of money or miles. Apparently, on Delta.com, they do not. Not that anyone should care, but my birthday is next week and with Delta’s impending Skymiles doom, I felt like it would be a good time to cash out. I wanted to fly a cool product, something I haven’t flown before, and I wanted to fly it somewhere warm. After a quick search I decided that flying AeroMexico’s 787 Dreamliner could be really cool. According to Delta’s “Best Match” I was short on miles. Boy was that wrong…..
I’ve heard for years that the “Best Match” option which naturally comes up, is often wrong. I have booked countless awards in the last couple years and it was often in fact right. I never worried about it too much. That has now seriously changed. How can they present consumers a forward facing page which says “Best Match” when more often than not, it displays the WORST match?! Here is a case in point example. Numbers don’t lie and the only way for you to believe it is to see it.
Naturally, I first search for a round trip for my dates and the best offer presented to me is 55,000 miles round trip for coach or 92,500 for business p/p. One of the “best” options includes a connection.
Next, I decide to look one way at a time to see if things load any different, still using the “Best Match” search sort. Nope. Same pricing, same connection options…..
I now search one ways to put together a round trip piece by piece using the “Travel Time” sort option rather than the automatic “Best Match” option that Delta presents. I am now presented with two direct options for 30,000 miles one way in business! Mind you, I was just shown a price of 55,000 miles for round trip coach using the “Best Match” sort which Delta automatically loads. Roundtrip coach for 55,000 or round trip business for 60,000?! Hmm…
Now for the other one way leg to make a round trip…Miraculous. I change it from “Best Match” to “Travel Time” for the sort option and I am presented with two 17,500 mile direct coach options and a 30,000 mile business class option! If I piece together a one way business leg, with a one way coach leg, I am getting round trip for 47,500 miles. One of my legs is now business class on the Dreamliner for less miles than I was quoted for round trip coach with connections (55,000). If I have the miles I can go business both ways direct for only 5,000 miles more than the original coach quote!!!!
This kills me because I am a loser with too much time who knows better. How is this fair to the average consumer or budding mileage user, who has no idea that the engine is broken. I was quoted 55,000 as the “Best Match” for a round trip coach flight with a connection! By looking into two separate one way tickets, I found a round trip business class option on the 787 Dreamliner for only 60,000 miles, or a round trip direct coach option on the Dreamliner for only 35,000 miles! What a joke. Don’t take face value as the only value. Make sure to change the sort options and search on a one way basis for a round trip. GodSaveThePoints….
Shocking? godsavethepoints@gmail.com
