How Status Saved Our Vacation
We spent a peaceful week on the beach in Puerto Rico - until an invasion started.
I’m usually the first person to tell people not to use a credit card just to get airline or hotel status. It works if you’re an avid business flyer, but there’s not much return for the casual airline customer — especially when it comes to Delta in Atlanta and the sheer volume of Medallion members.
However….
Status saved our Christmas vacation.
We had a very early morning return flight and found ourselves at the gate before 5 a.m. in San Juan (4 a.m. Eastern).
The gate agent made an announcement and we weren’t really listening, but suddenly it seemed like people were upset or slightly panicked. A few minutes passed and he made the announcement again.
First in Spanish and then in English: “By order of the FAA, this airport is closed for the next 24 hours. We cannot help you rebook your flight here — you’ll need to go back to the main terminal desk.”
We had no idea what happened and started to quickly piece together that it was Venezuela-related, but more importantly realized we were stuck with no flight and no hotel.
This is where status kicked in — and our experience traveling. There’s no point in getting in lines when an entire flight is cancelled. You’ll wait for them to service one person at a time and wait and wait and wait for your chance. The best move here is to call the airline. Fortunately, it was very early and we were really quick.
My wife and I divided and conquered. She called Delta. I called Hilton.
The Hilton front desk answered and I explained that we technically hadn’t checked out yet — it was still 5 a.m. — but we needed our room for another night. She told me I could lock it in and pay cash if I just came to the front desk. She also gave me a deal since we had already stayed there two nights on points. I warned her that I wouldn’t be the first person to ask for an extension and explained the airport was closed. She seemed very skeptical — but extended the reservation.
When we finally got back to the hotel, there were about 20 people in line behind me, and by late afternoon they would not even entertain questions about staying another night because they couldn’t keep up with the demand.
One thing to know about Hilton is that if you are a Diamond member, you can often bump a guest. You’ll pay full rack rate, and I’ve never had to do it, but you always have that option. It’s just not cheap. Again, status matters.
Meanwhile, I could hear my wife speaking with the Delta agent and suddenly my phone went off.
Our flight had been rebooked to the same early flight the following morning — first flight out.
I thought it was a result of her speaking with the agent, but she hadn’t even gotten that far in the conversation. Delta had just rebooked us immediately. Later we discovered it was her Gold Medallion status that got our whole family automatically rebooked.
We had confirmed tickets but no seats. The following morning we were spots 1–4 on the standby list, and our seat assignments popped up right before boarding.
Those who did not have status or stood in line did not have the same luck. A lot of people we talked to back at the hotel said they were put on flights four to seven days later.
Fortunately, it all worked out for us and we had an extra day in the sun laying on the beach.
Our view from the Hilton Caribe in San Juan
Status made a huge difference and saved us. We were home by 10 a.m. on Sunday. Plus, our usual credit card perks came in handy. Three nights at this oceanfront hotel, drinks at the pool, breakfasts, etc., and we paid a total of $400. Not a bad deal for a room that was listed on their website for $964 a night.
