Fact check: No, Delta Air Lines is not giving away $1,000 credit to women age 40 and older

BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY
·2 min read

The claim: Delta Air Lines is giving $1,000 credit to women 40 and older

An April 10 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) claims women over a certain age can take advantage of a major promotion from one of the nation's biggest airlines.

"Delta's First-Class Seats are often Empty," reads the post. "Delta offers $1000 Delta Credit to women over 40 to occupy those seats! Answer 4 questions to get the 1000."

The post was shared more than 50 times in less than two weeks. Other versions of the claim racked up hundreds of additional shares.

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

Our rating: False

Delta Air Lines is not offering any such promotion. The posts are scams, and the websites direct Facebook users to answer a series of questions and submit personal information. None of the pages touting the supposed promotion are affiliated with Delta.

Delta may offer money for overbooked flights, but not just for women over 40

No such offer is mentioned in Delta's official social media accounts, website or news releases.

The pages touting the promotion do not have a blue verified check mark, which Facebook uses to identify authentic brand accounts and can be seen on Delta's official Facebook page. They were also created the same day the scam posts appeared, another sign of illegitimacy.

The links in the posts direct Facebook users to a website, unaffiliated with Delta, that asks them a series of questions, then prompts them to select one of 12 gift boxes. After selecting one with a gift card inside of it, they are asked for personal information, including their phone number and mailing address.

Fact check: Delta debunks rumor that vaccinated pilot died mid-flight

Though the particular promotion mentioned in the posts is false, the airline does at times offer money to travelers.

Its customer commitment policy says in the event of an oversold flight, the airline will offer compensation for those who voluntarily give up their seat. The offer allows customers to select from a choice of gift cards, which includes Delta gift cards that can be used to book future flights.

In 2022, passengers reported the airline offered $10,000 to each person who did so on an oversold flight from Michigan to Minnesota, as reported by USA TODAY.

USA TODAY previously debunked a similar claim that Amtrak was giving free one-year passes to women 40 and older.

USA TODAY reached out to Delta and users who shared the claim for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Claims of $1,000 Delta giveaway are social media scams