Delta Ends Policy of Transfering Reward Miles After Death

Delta Air Lines recently got rid of their policy in which customers were allowed to transfer miles to friends and family after death. The change has loyal customers pretty upset.

Delta recently released an updated version of the SkyMiles policies book and the new policy no longer allows miles to be transferred to others after death, the Daily Mail reports.

Customers are not happy with the change and have started an online petition to Jeff Robertson, the vice president of the SkyMiles program, Delta CEO Richard Anderson and Delta President Edward Bastian. Many are expressing their grievances on the petition as a forum.

"It shows a great lack of integrity and ethics when you trumpet loudly you're giving us a benefit, but you try to hide your actions when you steal what we've earned," customer Alan Barthel of Toronto said, according to the Daily Mail.

"Where is the moral responsibility?' Gary Stuebing from Fort Mill, South Carolina said. 'I flew [the miles], you benefited from me flying them... you should honor them!'

Some said that they're going to cancel their Delta credit cards due to the change.

Customers are likely angry over the change because they feel that the SkyMiles are like money.

"Earning frequent flier miles in the minds of most people is akin to earning money and the idea that your miles - or your money, for that matter - would simply disappear when you die strikes a profoundly disturbing note in the minds of many," Tim Winship, editor and publisher of FrequentFlier.com, told NBC.

Delta wants customers to now that their rewards are only made for people who directly participate in the SkyMiles program.

"We are the only airline whose miles do not expire, so our customers have the ability to enjoy using miles without the risk of ever losing them,' Delta spokeswoman Chris Kelly Singley in a statement. 'In order to offer this unique benefit, some other, lesser-used policies were examined and determined not to have as much value to our members."

Some pasengers argued that they choose to fly with Delta specifically knowing that they could transfer their miles to a loved one after they die.

"I have been loyal to Delta for 45 years and this is a slap in the face that I cannot leave my miles to my wife if I die," said Roy Heffern from St. Ignatius, Montana. "Maybe my loyalty is misplaced in Delta."