Warning: The "hidden city" ticketing trick doesn't work anymore on Delta

I tried booking a flight from Chicago to LA with a layover in Denver last week, planning to just get off in Denver since it was way cheaper. Delta flagged my account within 2 days and canceled all my future reservations without a refund. They even sent me an email about violating their contract. Has anyone else had this backfire on them recently?

3 comments

3 Comments

drew_bennett2417d ago

Yeah, they probably flagged you before you even boarded - their system's gotten scarily good at catching that.

johnson.faith17d ago

Delta lost a good friend of mine over $800 doing exactly this last month. She had a similar itinerary flying out of Atlanta with a connection in Charlotte, and they not only wiped her future bookings but also threatened to ban her from the loyalty program. The trick worked fine for years, but their computer systems must have gotten a major upgrade around early 2024. From what I've read on the frequent flyer forums, they're now cross-checking passenger names against hotel and car rental bookings at the layover city to confirm you didn't actually go to the final destination.

brianl5317d ago

Cross-checking passenger names against hotel and car rental bookings" - wow, next they'll be checking if you liked any Instagram posts from the layover city. I guess the good old "missing the connection on purpose" trick has finally gone the way of free checked bags and actual legroom. Maybe it's time to just accept that paying for the flight you actually want is the path of least resistance.