Delta Air Lines has implemented a $25 handling charge on award tickets that include a segment on another airline when not booking your award through delta.com. The $25 will be added to the fee Delta already charges for booking award travel over the phone, which has increased to $25 from $20. The irony of this latest fee, and the rise in the existing fee, is that members have no choice sometimes but to call reservations to book flights on partner airlines because the capability is not available online. And now, when calling for award reservations, you cannot place a courtesy hold on the reservations like you can when redeeming awards online — so be prepared to spend the miles instantly when you make your award reservations over the phone.

Other fees that have increased include the unaccompanied minor fee from $50 for nonstop flights to $100 (matching the current $100 for connecting flights); the pets in cabin fee has increased from $75 to $100; pets as checked luggage from $150 to $200 and the Administrative Service Charge and award ticket re-issue and re-deposit fees have increased from $75 to $100. Although the fees are not out of line with other frequent flyer programs, it’s going to be a shock to some SkyMiles members if they aren’t keeping up with program changes.